Stuart Matthewman

Stuart Colin Matthewman (born 18 August 1960), also known as Cottonbelly, is an English songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer With Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, and Andrew Hale, he gained worldwide fame as the guitarist/saxophonist of the English band Sade. Stuart is also a member of Sweetback, and was one half of Twin Danger.

Early life and career

In 1982, Matthewman relocated to London. Joining Latin funk band Pride, he met singer-songwriter Sade Adu and they began writing songs together. Teaming with bassist Paul S. Denman and keyboardist Andrew Hale, they formed the band Sade. Sade signed with Epic Records U.K. division in 1984. In addition to songwriting, Matthewman can be heard on saxophone, guitar, keyboards, and programming. He appeared on all of Sade's tours and albums: Diamond Life, Promise, Stronger Than Pride, Love Deluxe, Lovers Rock, and Soldier of Love all of which went triple platinum in the U.S. and have totalled sales over 40 million albums worldwide.

In 1996 Matthewman along with Andrew Hale and Paul Spencer Denman formed the studio band Sweetback. Their work featured instrumental songs and songs with guest vocalists. They released two albums, Sweetback (1996) and Stage 2 (2004).

Using the pseudonym Cottonbelly, Stuart released the dub/electronic album, X Amounts Of Niceness in 2010 [1] and produced remixes for artists.

Stuart was also a member of the group Twin Danger, formed in 2011 with singer/writer Vanessa Bley, daughter of late jazz pianist Paul Bley and pioneer video artist Carol Goss. In 2014 Twin Danger signed to Decca Classics/Universal records and released their eponymously titled album in spring 2015. Vanessa Bley was killed in a car crash on 25 October 2019 in California.

Matthewman has discussed diverse musical influences including Junior Walker, King Curtis, Art Pepper, Ernie Isley, Steve Jones, Wah Wah Watson, Issac Hayes, Bill Withers, Lee Perry, Tony Iommi, and Gustav Mahler.

Notably, Matthewman contributed to Maxwell's debut album, 'Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite', co-writing, co-producing, and playing on three tracks on the double platinum-selling album.

Personal life

Married to Michele Matthewman (1990-2018). They have a son, Clay Matthewman. Stuart is an avid cyclist, and races with New York race team RBNY.