Diamond Life

Diamond Life
Studio album by Sade
Released	28 July 1984 (UK) 23 February 1985 (U.S.)
Recorded	1983–1984; Power Plant Studios (London)
Genre	Soul, R&B, jazz
Length	44:52
Label	Epic (UK) Portrait (U.S.)
Producer	Robin Millar
Sade chronology
Diamond Life (1984) Promise (1985)
Singles from Diamond Life
"Your Love Is King" Released: 25 February 1984 "When Am I Going to Make a Living" Released: 26 May 1984 "Smooth Operator" Released: 15 September 1984 "Hang On to Your Love" Released: 8 December 1984

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B)[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Diamond Life is the debut album by the English group Sade. It was released in the United Kingdom on 28 July 1984 by Epic Records and in the United States on 23 February 1985 by 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 The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, where it reached number one.

The album won the Brit Award for British Album in 1985.

Track listing

CD/LP
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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
No.	Title	Length
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

• Sade Adu – vocals
• Andrew Hale – keyboards
• Stuart Matthewman – guitar, saxophone
• Paul S. Denman – bass
• Paul Cooke – drums
• Terry Bailey – trumpet
• Pete Brown – assistant engineer
• Tom Coyne – remastering
• Martin Ditcham – percussion
• Simon Driscoll – assistant engineer
• Dave Early – drums, percussion
• Gordon Matthewman – trumpet
• Robin Millar – producer
• Mike Pela – production engineer
• Chris Roberts – photography
• Ben Rogan – engineer
• Graham Smith – artwork, design, sleeve design

Charts

Peak positions Chart (1984/1985) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[4] 1 Dutch Albums Chart[5] 1 German Albums Chart[6] 1 Norwegian Albums Chart[4] 20 Swedish Albums Chart[4] 18 Swiss Albums Chart[4] 1 UK Albums Chart[7] 2 US Billboard 200[8] 5 US Top R&B Albums[8] 3 US Top Jazz Albums[8] 5 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[9] 2× Platinum 200,000^ France (SNEP)[10] 2× Platinum 600,000* Germany (BVMI)[11] Platinum 500,000^ Netherlands (NVPI)[12] Platinum 100,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[13] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^ United States (RIAA)[14] 4× Platinum 4,000,000^ *sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart precession and succession

Preceded by Parade by Spandau Ballet Make It Big by Wham!	Dutch Albums Chart number-one album 22 September 1984 – 26 October 1984 2 February 1985 – 15 March 1985	Succeeded by Purple Rain by Prince and The Revolution No Jacket Required by Phil Collins
Preceded by Discovery by Mike Oldfield	Swiss Albums Chart number-one album 30 September 1984 – 18 November 1984	Succeeded by Perfect Strangers by Deep Purple
Preceded by 4630 Bochum by Herbert Grönemeyer	German Albums Chart number-one album 15 October 1984 29 October 1984 – 17 December 1984	Succeeded by 4630 Bochum by Herbert Grönemeyer Arena by Duran Duran
Preceded by Der Sinn des Lebens by Wolfgang Ambros	Austrian Albums Chart number-one album 1 December 1984 – 1 February 1985	Succeeded by Live Is Life by Opus

References

1. ^ Diamond Life at Allmusic
2. ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Sade". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Sade. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
3. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sade/albums/album/201622/review/5946642/diamond_life^{[dead link]}
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Sade – Diamond Life". Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sade&titel=Diamond+Life&cat=a. Retrieved 26 May 2008. 
5. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Sade - Diamond Life". dutchcharts.nl. http://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Sade&titel=Diamond+Life&cat=a. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
6. ^ "Top 100 Longlay". Media Control. charts.de. 15 October 1984. http://www.charts.de/charts.asp?cat=a&country=de&year=1984&date=19841015&x=34&y=15. Retrieved 14 March 2010. 
7. ^ "Chart Stats – Sade – Diamond Life". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=8512. Retrieved 10 October 2008. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Diamond Life – Sade – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/diamond-life-r17249/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved 26 May 2008. 
9. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sade – Diamond Life". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Diamond+Life&sa=Sade&smt=0. 
10. ^ "French album certifications – Sade – Diamond Life" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php.  Select SADE and click OK
11. ^ "German album certifications – Sade – Diamond Life" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Diamond+Life&strInterpret=Sade&strTtArt=alben&strAwards=checked. 
12. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Sade – Diamond Life" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. http://www.ifpi.nl/nvpi/pagina.asp?pagkey=61112&documentid=1237434. 
13. ^ "British album certifications – Sade – Diamond Life". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter Diamond Life in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
14. ^ "American album certifications – Sade – Diamond Life". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Diamond+Life%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH