It could have been that Sade (collectively, the vocalist Sade Adu and her band) would have remained the darlings solely of the British underground rare-groove scene, but the sound of Diamond Life proved irresistible to the mainstream, and the rest is history. Caught at the beginning of her career in 1985, Sade's cool vocals and exotic looks grabbed everyone's attention. But equally as important to Diamond Life's success was the velvet muscle of the band's accompaniment, a sinewy after-hours groove, laden with minimalist funk. Eight of the nine tracks are self-penned. Straddling R&B and pop, this disc lays out the hooks and sultry allure that became Sade's soulful standard—intelligent and sexy at the same time.

• Artist: Sade
• Format: Audio CD
• Genre: Pop, R&B, Soul, Funk
• Producer: Robin Millar

• Release Date: 1985
• Country: UK
• Audio: Stereo

Emerging from St Martin’s Art School in London, the band was formed from London funk favourites Pride. Adored by publications such as The Face, the group’s lead singer Sade Adu looked stunning and had a voice to match. Produced by Robin Millar, Diamond Life succeeded in making the Soho in-crowd of the early 80s an in-crowd for the world. With well-honed originals and a cover of Timmy Thomas’ rare groove swamp ballad "Why Can't We Live Together," Sade made explicit both the musical elitism and joy of discovery of that era. "Smooth Operator" is a perfect capture of this heady, glossy time. Adu's voice curls round the recording like smoke. "Your Love Is King" – surprisingly, their only ever UK top 10 single – is sweetness writ large. There’s the dispassionate funk of "Hang on to Your Love" and the penniless optimism of "When Am I Going to Make a Living?", which provided a mellow critique.