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.

Diamond Life received widespread acclaim from music critics and it was also a commercial success, winning the 1985 Brit Award for Best British Album.

After cutting the proposed singles "Smooth Operator" and "Your Love Is King", the first album track recorded was "Sally", a song about the Salvation Army.

[11] For the recording of "Cherry Pie", the band had no mixing desks with automation; each member had their job of putting a bit of echo, delay, or changing a level.

[14] In a contemporary review, Stephen Holden of The New York Times said Diamond Life "eschews the synthesizers that dominate British pop to make music that resembles a cross between the rock-jazz of Steely Dan and the West Indian-flavored folk-pop of Joan Armatrading.

Smoldering Brazilian rhythms blend with terse pop-soul melodies and jazzy harmonies to create a sultry, timeless nightclub ambiance.

[16] The album opens with the single "Smooth Operator", which combines elements of R&B, jazz, adult contemporary, pop, and dance music.

[21] In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau applauded Sade's "taste, concept, sound", and avoidance of indulgent musicianship, arguing that these qualities enhanced the "humanitarian" themed songs.

The range of both the singer's "grainy voice" and "well-meaning songwriting" was questioned by Christgau, who found "Hang On to Your Love" and "Smooth Operator" more "warming" than "seductive" and incapable of sustaining the rest of the album.

[32] Lynn Van Matre from the Chicago Tribune deemed the record "casual cocktail-lounge elegance", performed "with far more style than substance".

[34] Paul Lester was more enthusiastic in a retrospective review for BBC Music, crediting Sade for her ability to write "songs that were sufficiently soulful and jazzy yet poppy, funky yet easy listening, to appeal to fans of all those genres".

[42] Diamond Life reached number two in the UK Album Chart and was certified quadruple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 2 March 1987, denoting shipments in excess of 1.2 million copies in the United Kingdom.

[43][44] In the United States, it peaked at number five on the Billboard 200,[45] and on 2 February 1995, it was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of four million copies.

The band achieved success in the 1980s with music that featured a sophisti-pop style, incorporating elements of soul, pop, smooth jazz, and quiet storm.

[53] AllMusic's Alex Henderson wrote, "Many of the British artists who emerged during that period had a neo-soul outlook and were able to blend influences from different eras".