Diamond Life – Sade (1984)

September 19, 2025

In the early 80s, Sade Adu was a back-up singer for a Latin Soul band called Pride, where she would meet guitarist and saxophonist Stuart Matthewman. The duo shared an instant musical chemistry and began writing songs on the side, which they would perform as their own sets during Pride’s shows. During one of these performances, the songwriting partners would debut an undeniable new track called “Smooth Operator” – catching the attention of record companies who encouraged them to split off from their band and record their own music. Bringing along Pride’s rhythm section, they would form a group named after their new lead singer – Sade.

Pride in the early ’80s

Given that Adu and Matthewman already had an array of songs written from their time in Pride, they were able to move quickly on Diamond Life, recording their debut album in just six weeks. The creative aim for the newly formed band was to blend together genres like R&B, soul, and jazz to make a refreshed version of the sophisti-pop genre that had been originally created by Roxy Music with 1982’s Avalon. Adu’s strong, but coldly aloof vocal delivery became the key to their appeal, but the band also made the wise choice of not using synthesizers (which had already become pretty tired in pop music by 1984), and instead opting for piano, guitar, and a brass band overlaying a strong rhythm section of heavy bass lines and smoothly seductive drums. And this perfect combination of forces led to what would end up being an extraordinarily successful debut – with Diamond Life reaching #5 on the Billboard 200 and “Smooth Operator” hitting #5 on the Hot 100. The album would go on to sell over ten million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling debut by a British female vocalist – a record that would stand until 2008, when it was broken by Adele’s Nineteen.

Lyrically, Sade’s focus is mainly on songs about romantic relationships – examining both the positives and the negatives of love. Much akin to some of the characters written by the likes of Steely Dan and Frank Zappa, Adu and Matthewman create stories of love and loss that feature stand-ins for themselves. The titular “Smooth Operator” is a playboy who travels from “coast to coast” to seduce women; the protagonist of “Frankie’s First Affair” finds herself on the losing end of infidelity after cheating in many of the relationships of her past; and “Sally” tells the stories of three men – Dave, Tommy, and Vince – who are rescued by the Salvation Army when they have nowhere else to turn. Some of the other tracks on the album drip with romantic disappointment – like “Hang on to Your Love” and “Cherry Pie” – and ooze a raw sexuality that is made even more enticing by Adu’s alluring voice – most notably “Your Love Is King,” which contains fairly unsubtle allusions to oral sex, including, “I’m coming. You’re making me dance inside.”

Sade poses for the camera at a party

Diamond Life shines as a truly distinct pop record of the mid-80s, a time when popular music really needed a breath of fresh air. In the same way that electronic, synthy sounds felt new and different just a few years prior – Sade’s rejection of these exact same techniques brought a similar sense of innovation and excitement. Their overall vibe feels completely singular, and I can’t think of a single other musical artist who sounds like Sade, nor can I think of a single other record that sounds like Diamond Life. The smoothness and sensuality of their songs makes the listener feel like they’re sitting at a table in a smoke-filled jazz club that they never want to leave, and the album as a whole feels so timeless that it could have easily been just as big of a hit in the 70s, 90s, or even now. And their signature song – “Smooth Operator” – is not only one of the most well-known songs of the decade, but has also remained in the cultural lexicon as a term for a charming, confident player – even being sampled in hip hop music by Snoop Dogg, Big Daddy Kane, and Eric B. & Rakim. Sade’s legacy lives on as one of the most unique pop bands of the 80s, and Diamond Life remains the crown jewel of their exceptional, decades-long career.