Diamond Life

Diamond Life is the debut album by the English group Sade, released in 1984 in the United Kingdom on Epic Records and 1985 in the United States on Portrait Records.

Although initially not a big seller, the album was catapulted into the spotlight once the track "Your Love Is King" went top ten. Diamond Life was also highly successful in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, where it reached number one for ten weeks, eight weeks, and five weeks, respectively.

Track listing

CD

1. "Smooth Operator" (Sade Adu, Ray St. John) – 4:57
2. "Your Love Is King" (Adu, Stuart Matthewman) – 3:41
3. "Hang on to Your Love" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:55
4. "Frankie's First Affair" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:39
5. "When Am I Going to Make a Living" (Adu, Matthewman) – 3:27
6. "Cherry Pie" (Adu, Matthewman, Andrew Hale, Paul S. Denman) – 6:20
7. "Sally" (Adu, Matthewman) – 5:23
8. "I Will Be Your Friend" (Adu, Matthewman) – 4:45
9. "Why Can't We Live Together" (Timmy Thomas) – 5:28

Cassette

1. "Smooth Operator"/"Snake Bite" ("Snake Bite": Matthewman, Hale, Denman) – 7:28
2. "Your Love Is King" – 3:41
3. "Hang on to Your Love" – 5:55
4. "Frankie's First Affair" – 4:39
5. "When Am I Going to Make a Living" – 3:27
6. "Cherry Pie" – 6:20
7. "Sally" – 5:23
8. "I Will Be Your Friend" – 4:45
9. "Why Can't We Live Together" – 5:28
10. "Love Affair with Life" (Adu) – 4:35

Personnel

Musicians

Sade

• Sade Adu – vocals
• Andrew Hale – keyboards
• Stuart Matthewman – guitar, saxophone
• Paul S. Denman – bass
• Paul Cooke – drums

Additional musicians

• Terry Bailey – trumpet
• Martin Ditcham – percussion
• Dave Early – drums, percussion
• Gordon Matthewman – trumpet

Production

• Robin Millar – producer
• Ben Rogan – engineer
• Mike Pela – production engineer
• Pete Brown – assistant engineer
• Simon Driscoll – assistant engineer
• Tom Coyne – remastering
• Chris Roberts – photography
• Graham Smith – artwork, design, sleeve design

Charts

Certifications

• 4× platinum

BPI: 1,200,000

RIAA: 4,000,000

• 2× platinum

CRIA: 200,000

• Platinum

NVPI: 60,000

IFPI: 200,000

References