On The Cover:Seal

Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adelo Samuel is an English soul and R&B singer-songwriter, known simply as Seal. He was born on February19, 1963 in Kilburn in North London, England to a Nigerian mother, Adebisi Samuel and Brazilian father, Francis Samuel. His name, Olusegun, means “God is victorious”. He was raised in a district of the City of Westminster in inner London by his foster family. He received a two-year diploma, or associate’s degree, in architecture and worked in various jobs in the London area. After a short time singing in local clubs and bars, in the 1980s, 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 first came to public attention as a vocalist on the Adamski single “Killer” in 1990. The single eventually reached number one in 1990 in the UK. Seal subsequently signed to ZTT Records and released his début album, self-titled Seal, in 1991. A recipient of BRIT, MTV and Grammy Awards, Seal is known for his numerous international hits; perhaps best known is “Kiss from a Rose,” which appeared in the soundtrack to the 1995 Batman film Batman Forever and won him three Grammy Awards. He is married to German model Heidi Klum. Although there have long been rumours as to the cause of the scars on his face, they are in fact the result of a type of Lupus called Discoid lupus erythematosus – a condition that specifically affects the skin above the neck Ends