Early life
Born in Hull, Paul Spencer Denman is the son of Ethel Denman. From 1959 to 1979, he lived on Greatfield Estate, Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, where Mick Ronson also grew up. Denman later noted noted that he shared Ronson's early ambition to leave their hometown to establish a career in the music industry.
In 1970, at the age of 13, Denman received his first bass guitar from his parents, teaching himself the instrument by playing along to records by David Bowie and other contemporary rock artists.
Denman was educated at Greatfield Senior High School. He left school at the age of 15 after achieving three O‑Level and several CSEs. He then became an apprentice in fabricating metal aircraft components at Hawker Siddeley (HS). The HS became British Aerospace (BA) and he was with the BA for five years; becoming a certified coppersmith. In a 1993 interview he credited his dexterity in playing the guitar partially to his training in metalwork.
Denman performed with local bands in the Hull music scene, including an early local trio showcased in 1977 - but driven by economic conditions in the North and desire to be part of the music scene in London, he moved to London in 1981, eventually joining Latin / funk / post-punk band Pride, which then evolved into the creation of the band Sade.
Career
Denman is a right-handed bass player and rarely uses guitar picks. He often plays a MusicMan Stingray Bass with natural finish from 1978.
Pride
He was a member of the band Pride from 1981 to 1983, a creative Latin/Funk collection of seven musicians with diverse influences. The band comprised Nick Moxsom, Ray Saint John, Stuart Matthewman, Paul Anthony Cooke, Barbara Robinson, and Sade Adu. They had several notable performances beginning in 1982, including playing on a back of a lorry outside Le Beat Route in London and a performance at Danceteria, New York.
Sweetback
Sweetback was founded as a spinoff from Sade, including Stuart Matthewman, Andrew Hale, and Paul Denman with various guest vocalists. Their first album, Sweetback, was released October 1996. Their second album, Stage 2, was released on 22 June 2004.
