Diamond Life

Diamond Life is the debut studio album by English band Sade, released in the United Kingdom on 16 July 1984 by Epic Records and in the United States on 27 February 1985 by Portrait Records. After studying fashion design, and later modelling, Sade Adu 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 demo recordings 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 members of Sade, and the production was handled by Robin Millar. Fifteen songs were recorded. The album contains a variety of musical styles, including soul, jazz, and sophisti-pop, while its lyrics mostly discuss love. 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 and number five on the US Billboard 200 and has been certified multiplatinum 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.