Terence Trent D'Arby

Sananda Maitreya, born under the name Terence Trent Howard, and most well-known by his performing name, Terence Trent D'Arby was born in 1962. Born in Manhattan, New York, D'Arby joined the army after graduating from DeLand High School. D'Arby was discharged from the army in 1985 when he went absent without leave, but it was not before he developed a musical background in Germany.

While in Germany, D'Arby was a member of the band The Touch, which released an album called Love On Time in 1984. In 1986, D'Arby moved to London, England where he joined the band The Bojangels.

In 1987, D'Arby released his first, and most successful album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby. The album did well, going 2X platinum in the United States and scoring several hits. The single, 'If You Let Me Stay,' reached #68 on the Hot 100 and #19 on the R&B charts but was trumped by 'Wishing Well' which skyrocketed to the top of the Hot 100 and R&B charts. The single went gold and reinforced D'Arby's success. The album had two more hits with 'Sign Your Name' reaching #4 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B charts, and 'Dance Little Sister' which reached #30 on the Hot 100 and #9 on the R&B charts.

Following the success of D'Arbys debut, he had trouble reaching the same level of success. His follow-up album, Neither Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope & Destruction, was released in 1989 to harsh reviews. The album only had one single 'To Know Someone Deeply Is To Know...' which charted and only reached #47 on the R&B charts.

D'Arby moved to Los Angeles then and in 1993, he released Symphony or Damn: Exploring the Tension Inside the Sweetness. The album was more rock-influenced than D'Arby's earlier, more experimental work. With the new style, the album scored a single on the Hot 100 with 'Delicate' reaching #74 on the Hot 100.

His last album to be released in the 1990s was Vibrator in 1995. The album was similar to Symphony or Damn in style but failed to achieve similar success.

After his final release, D'Arby left Columbia Records and moved to Java Records. While there, D'Arby released an album, Terence Trent D'Arby's Solar Return, which never saw release. D'Arby then left the label in 2000, buying the rights to his album as he did so.

In 2001, D'Arby saw some major changes in his life. He had a series of dreams which led him to change his name to Sananda Maitreya. He legally made the change on October 4, 2001 and moved back to Europe. Settling in Munich, Germany, D'Arby started the label Treehouse Pub. He also released his album Solar Return under the name Wildcard.

2002, saw D'Arby moving to Milan, Italy where he began work on the album Angels & Vampires - Volume 1. The album was released in sporadic segments on the web until it was released in July, 2005 through a webshop.

D'Arby then released VOlume II of his Angels & Vampires series on April 29, 2006 through his webshop.