Terence Trent D’Arby was billed as the next Prince and was a huge star in the 1980s before he vanished from the music scene
10:00, 14 Jun 2025Updated 10:08, 14 Jun 2025
Terence Trent D’Arby pictured backstage in 1990(Image: Mirrorpix)
The 1980s was an era that brought us iconic musicians like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston, but one name that once shone alongside them has largely faded into obscurity. Terence Trent D’Arby made a splash in 1987, riding a wave of publicity surrounding his music.
Just a few years prior, he was an amateur boxer and US army soldier, but his debut studio album, Introducing The Hardline According to Terence Trent D’Arby’, catapulted him to the forefront after claiming it was as groundbreaking as The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Although his bold statements about his work earned him a reputation, they say all publicity is good publicity. The album featured some of his most popular tracks, including If You Let Me Stay, Sign Your Name, and Dance Little Sister, which became a hit.
The 80s pop icon is now known as Sananda (Image: mirror.co.uk)
Critics devoured it, and he took home a Grammy and a BRIT award, drawing comparisons to big names like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Sam Cooke. Reflecting on the time and his statement, D’Arby told The Guardian: “I said a lot of s***, but Muhammad Ali was one of my heroes, and I similarly realised that if you say outrageous things, it gets attention..
“As a young artist, you’ve got to get your work heard and to a degree, I hypnotised myself into believing I was a genius. It worked like a charm, but I didn’t understand the degree I’d have to pay for that.”
However, his commercial success came to an abrupt end in 1989 with the release of his second album, Neither Fish nor Flesh, which marked a significant departure from his debut sound, as per the Mirror US. The album failed to resonate with both fans and critics, effectively halting his once-promising career.
Four years later, after relocating to Los Angeles, D’Arby released his third album, Symphony or Damn. Although it showed some promise, it fell short of recapturing the success of his original hits.
In the years that followed, the singer became increasingly reclusive, rarely venturing out of his California mansion.
Terence Trent D’Arby performing on stage(Image: Mirrorpix)
In 2001, he made headlines again by announcing that he was changing his name from D’Arby to Sananda Maitreya. He explained this transformation by stating, “Terence Trent D’Arby was dead… he watched his suffering as he died a noble death. After intense pain, I meditated for a new spirit, a new will, a new identity.”
Maitreya went on to release new music sporadically under his new name, albeit without the backing of major record labels. He eventually left Los Angeles in search of a quieter life, initially settling in Munich, Germany, before moving further south to Milan in 2002.
The following year, he married Italian architect and television host Francesca Francone. From his home in Italy, he continued to release new music, uploading it to his website.