he joined Push, a British funk band, and
toured with them in Japan. In Asia he
joined a blues band in Thailand for a while
before separating from the group and journeying throughout India on his own. Seal
returned to England, sleeping on the couch
of friend Julian Bunster, then a model. He
sometimes asked him “Do I sing well?”;
to which he often received the response
that he sang better than most current
artists. His break came when he met the
producer Adamski. He was given the lyrics
of the song “Killer”, which was a huge hit
in 1990 reaching number one in the UK.
Seal subsequently signed to ZTT Records
and released his self-titled début album
(produced by Trevor Horn) in 1991. Two
versions of the album are known to be in
circulation: the original “premix” version
and a second, more common version with
an updated mix. This is attributed to the
demand for a produced single rushing the
final album edit, and as Seal puts it, his and
producer Horn’s “inability to let go.”
Seal was positively received by critics. The
singles “Crazy”, “Future Love Paradise”,
and his own rendition of “Killer” performed well on the charts. In particular,
“Crazy” became an international hit in
1991, reaching number two in the UK
Singles Chart and number seven on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Seal stole the
show at the 1992 Brit Awards held at the
Hammersmith Odeon, London, with the
first hat-trick of wins in the history of the
event. He won in three categories: Best
British Male, Best British Video (“Killer”),
and Best British Album (Seal).
In April 1992 Seal performed with the surviving members of the rock band Queen at
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert held
at Wembley Stadium. Seal performed on
his own singing the 1986 hit “Who Wants
to Live Forever” and joined the rest of the
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