Diamond Life is the debut studio album by English band Sade. It was first 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. Following various demos and performances, Sade received interest from record labels and later signed to Epic.
Recording for the album began in 1983 at The Power Plant in London and took a total of six weeks to complete. The album's content was written by the group Sade whilst the production was handled by Robin Millar. A total of fifteen songs were recorded for the album with the use of live instruments that used sonically experimental material. The album contained a variety of musical elements including soul, jazz and sophisti-pop, with lyrics revolving mainly around themes of love. The album spawned four singles, including the hit singles "Your Love Is King" and "Smooth Operator".
Upon release, Diamond Life was met with acclaim from music critics, and went on to win the Brit Award for Best British Album in 1985. Commercially, the album was also a success, charting highly in the UK and US, and was later certified multi-platinum in both regions. Diamond Life went on to sell over six million copies worldwide, becoming one of the top-selling debut recordings of the era, and became the best-selling debut by a British female vocalist, a record that stood for twenty-four years.
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