''Diamond Life'' is the debut studio album by English band
Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 16 July 1984 by
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
and in the United States on 27 February 1985 by
Portrait Records. After studying fashion design, and later modelling,
Sade Adu
Helen Folasade Adu ( ; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade ( or ), is a British-Nigerian singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of her band Sade. One of the most successful British female artists in ...
began backup-singing with British band Pride. During this time Adu and three of the original members of "Pride"—Paul Anthony Cook,
Paul Denman and
Stuart Matthewman—left the group to form their own band called Sade. After various demos and performances, Sade received interest from record labels and signed to Epic.
Recording for the album began in 1983 at
Power Plant Studios in London and took six weeks to complete. The album's content was written by the group Sade and the production was handled by
Robin Millar. Fifteen songs were recorded. The album contained a variety of musical elements including
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and
sophisti-pop
Sophisti-pop is a pop music subgenre that developed during the mid-1980s out of the British new wave era. It originated with acts who blended elements of jazz, soul, and pop with lavish production. The term "sophisti-pop" was coined only afte ...
, mostly with love lyrics. The album spawned four singles, including "
Your Love Is King" and "
Smooth Operator".
''Diamond Life'' received widespread acclaim from music critics and it was also a commercial success, winning the
1985 Brit Award for
Best British Album. The album reached number two on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and number five on the US
''Billboard'' 200, and has been certified multi-platinum in both countries. ''Diamond Life'' sold over 10 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the era and the best-selling debut album by a British female vocalist, a record that stood for 24 years.
Background
After studying fashion design, and later modeling briefly, Sade began backup singing with British band Pride, during this time she formed a songwriting partnership with Pride's guitarist/saxophonist Stewart Matthewman; together, backed by Pride's rhythm section Paul Anthony Cook and Paul Denman, they began doing their own sets at Pride gigs.
Her solo performances of the song "
Smooth Operator" attracted the attention of record companies, and in 1983, Adu and Matthewman split from Pride, along with bassist Paul Denman and drummer Paul Anthony Cook to form the band Sade.
In May 1983, Sade performed for the first time in the United States, at Danceteria Club in New York. On 18 October 1983 Sade Adu signed with Epic Records, while the rest of the band signed to her as contractors in 1984.
Recording
Prior to signing the record deal, the group recorded ''Diamond Life'' in six weeks. It was recorded at
Power Plant Studios in London. After cutting the proposed singles "Smooth Operator" and "Your Love Is King", the first album track recorded was "Sally", a song about the Salvation Army.
During recording the band worked collectively on the musical direction, rehearsing each song in detail and then recording it.
The song "When Am I Going to Make a Living" was started by Sade on the back of a cleaning ticket after she picked her clothes up from the cleaners. She had no money and she wrote down, "When Am I Going to Make a Living".
Producer Robin Millar met the band in 1983, and the band members had never worked in a professional studio and only had demos and recordings from the BBC studios and EMI publishing studios. Millar booked a week's worth of studio time and noted that the limitations of recording before computers had an impact upon the sound. "We used a real piano and a Fender Rhodes piano, painstakingly synching them up." They recorded 15 songs, all written by Adu and members of the group, except "Smooth Operator" written exclusively by Adu and
Ray St. John. They also recorded a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of "
Why Can't We Live Together" (1972) by
Timmy Thomas.
For the recording of "Cherry Pie", the band had no mixing desks with automation; each member had their job of putting a bit of echo, delay, or changing a level.
Millar would then edit between the different mixes. Speaking about this Stuart Matthewman said, "Very often, we would have six people at the mixing desk at the same time."
Content
Lyrically, the album revolves around themes of love, discussing both the positives and the negatives of relationships. The music features jazzy textures built over prominent basslines, smooth drums and subtle guitar. The album also features heavy use of brass instruments and keyboards.
According to
Paul Lester of
BBC Music
BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...
, the album is "sufficiently soulful and jazzy yet poppy, funky and easy listening", Lester described the album as being predominantly a quiet storm album with elements of mellifluous R&B.
Sade's vocals on the album were described as "deliberately icy, her delivery and voice aloof, deadpan, and cold" while Ron Wynn of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
stated that the album contained "slick production and quasi-jazz backing".
In a contemporary review, Stephen Holden of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said ''Diamond Life'' "eschews the synthesizers that dominate British pop to make music that resembles a cross between the
rock-jazz of
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...
and the West Indian-flavored folk-pop of
Joan Armatrading. Smoldering Brazilian rhythms blend with terse pop-soul melodies and jazzy harmonies to create a sultry, timeless nightclub ambiance." ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' called it soul music with "self-possessed sophistication", and described Sade's vocal as "thick and rich".
The album opens with the single "Smooth Operator", which combines elements of R&B, jazz, adult contemporary, pop, and dance music. "Your Love Is King" is a smooth ballad that contains a saxophone solo performed by Stuart Matthewman. The album closes with a cover version of Timmy Thomas' 1972 song "Why Can't We Live Together".
Release and promotion
"
Your Love Is King" was released as the album's lead single on 25 February 1984, the song was a success in European territories charting at number seven in Ireland and number six on the
UK Singles Chart.
The song was less successful in the United States, where it peaked at number 54 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
"
When Am I Going to Make a Living" was released as the album's second single in the UK on 26 May 1984, the single was less successful than its predecessor charting at number 28 on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
and number 36 on the
UK Singles Chart.
However, the song did fare well elsewhere peaking at number 12 on the
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...
.
"
Smooth Operator" was released on 15 September 1984 as the album's third single. It peaked at number 19 in the UK,
while reaching the top 20 in
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, Switzerland, France and Germany.
In the United States, the song peaked at number five on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Billboard''
Hot Black Singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...
chart, as well as topping the ''Billboard''
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
'',
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
applauded Sade's "taste, concept, sound", and avoidance of indulgent musicianship, arguing that these qualities enhanced the "humanitarian" themed songs. The range of both the singer's "grainy voice" and "well-meaning songwriting" was questioned by Christgau, who found "Hang On to Your Love" and "Smooth Operator" more "warming" than "seductive" and incapable of sustaining the rest of the album.
Lynn Van Matre from the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' deemed the record "casual cocktail-lounge elegance", performed "with far more style than substance". Connie Johnson of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' said "there's an earthy substance to some of the cuts—not much substance, but enough to draw you back for another listen", while crediting Sade for knowing how to "clamp personal style onto recycled R&B idioms and make it all look invitingly new".
Paul Lester was more enthusiastic in a retrospective review for
BBC Music
BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...
, crediting Sade for her ability to write "songs that were sufficiently soulful and jazzy yet poppy, funky yet easy listening, to appeal to fans of all those genres".
Paul Evans called ''Diamond Life'' a "victory of attitude" in ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' (1992), writing that Sade "projects a wised-up sensuality, and the record neither creaks with the revivalism of
Harry Connick nor the sterility of
Simply Red
Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...
, to name but two of Sade's neo-cocktail rivals."
The album won the
1985 Brit Award for
Best British Album.
It was also among 10 albums nominated for British Album of 30 Years at the
2010 Brit Awards, losing to ''
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
''(What's the Story) Morning Glory?'' is the second studio album by the English Rock music, rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's lead guitarist and chief ...
'' by
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment[Julien Temple
Julien Temple (born 26 November 1953) is a British film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll ...]
, was nominated for two
MTV Video Music Awards in 1985,
Best Female Video and
Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...
. ''Diamond Life'' was voted the 14th best album of the year in the 1985
Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...
, an annual poll of American critics, published by ''The Village Voice''; "Smooth Operator" was voted 25th in the singles poll. ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' placed the album at number 10 on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the album number 200 on its list of "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
" and, in 2022, number 66 on its list of "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time".
Commercial performance
''Diamond Life'' reached number two in the
UK Album Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Offici ...
and was certified quadruple platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) on 2 March 1987, denoting shipments in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom.
In the United States, it peaked at number five on the
''Billboard'' 200,
and on 2 February 1995, it was certified quadruple platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for shipments in excess of four million copies.
Additionally, the album topped the charts in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.
By May 1985, ''Diamond Life'' had international sales of over one million copies in the United Kingdom, and four million copies sold worldwide. As of November 1997, worldwide sales stand at 10 million copies.
Legacy
Sade and the band were credited as being influential to
neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...
. The band achieved success in the 1980s with music that featured a
sophisti-pop
Sophisti-pop is a pop music subgenre that developed during the mid-1980s out of the British new wave era. It originated with acts who blended elements of jazz, soul, and pop with lavish production. The term "sophisti-pop" was coined only afte ...
style, incorporating elements of soul, pop, smooth jazz, and
quiet storm.
Lester credited the album with giving quiet storm music a "wide, even international audience".
The band were part of a new wave of British R&B-oriented artists during the late 1980s and early 1990s that also included
Soul II Soul,
Caron Wheeler,
The Brand New Heavies
The Brand New Heavies are an English band formed in 1985, consisting of Simon Bartholomew, Andrew Levy, and Jan Kincaid. After the addition of N'Dea Davenport in 1990, the group experienced mainstream success and pioneered a new genre called a ...
,
Simply Red
Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...
,
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...
, and
Lisa Stansfield
Lisa Jane Stansfield (born 11 April 1966) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition ''Search for a Star''. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first ...
.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Alex Henderson wrote, "Many of the British artists who emerged during that period had a neo-soul outlook and were able to blend influences from different eras".
The album made an appearance in the 2004 horror comedy film ''
Shaun of the Dead'' where it was described by main character Shaun (
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...
) as being the favourite album of his now ex-girlfriend Liz only for his best friend Ed (
Nick Frost
Nicholas John Frost (born 28 March 1972) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He has appeared in the '' Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy of films, consisting of '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's ...
) to use it as a weapon against the zombies.
Track listing
Some cassette editions, like the initial US and Canadian editions, use the above standard track listing. Others used the track listing below, which included "Smooth Operator" / "Snake Bite" and "Love Affair with Life" from the single for "Your Love Is King".
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Diamond Life''.
Sade
*
Sade Adu
Helen Folasade Adu ( ; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade ( or ), is a British-Nigerian singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of her band Sade. One of the most successful British female artists in ...
– vocals
*
Stuart Matthewman – saxophone, guitar
* Andrew Hale – keyboards
*
Paul S. Denman – bass
Additional musicians
* Dave Early – drums, percussion
*
Martin Ditcham – percussion
* Paul Cooke – drums
* Terry Bailey – trumpet
* Gordon Matthewman – trumpet
Technical
*
Robin Millar – production
*
Mike Pela – production engineering
* Ben Rogan – engineering
Artwork
* Chris Roberts – photos
* Graham Smith – sleeve design
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
See also
*
List of European number-one hits of 1985
References
Bibliography
*
{{Authority control
1984 debut albums
Albums produced by Robin Millar
Albums recorded at Morgan Sound Studios
Brit Award for British Album of the Year
Epic Records albums
Portrait Records albums
Sade (band) albums