"Diamonds" is a song by the French singer

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

, released in 1979 by

Ariola Records Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

as the second single from her album ''

Diamonds for Breakfast ''Diamonds for Breakfast'' is the fourth studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1980 by the West German label Ariola Records. The album turned out a commercial success and spawned two European hit singles, "Fabulous (Lover, Love M ...

''.

Song information

The song was composed and produced by

Anthony Monn Anthony Monn (also known as Tony Monn, born March 17, 1944) is a German singer, composer, and record producer. Biography Monn started his career as a singer in the German schlager genre in the early 1970s. Among his best-known songs from tha ...

, Lear's long-time collaborator in the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

era, and is an uptempo pop track. Lear's lyrics are a praise for

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

s, which she says for her are "just the best" and "better than pearls", adding, "I eat diamonds for my breakfast." "Diamonds" was released as the second single preceding Lear's fourth album, ''

'', at the end of 1979. The B-side was "It's a Better Life", a track about a so-called "

couch potato Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like socia ...

" spending her days in front of TV, which was later also included on the album. The single was a moderate chart success across Europe, especially in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, where it was a top 10 hit in Norway and remains Lear's only charting single in that country. In the 2017 book ''Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop'', the song is mentioned as one of Lear's "noteworthy tracks" from the 1980s.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Diamonds" was filmed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It primarily consists of footage of Lear dancing and performing the song in front of the

Van Cleef & Arpels Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...

boutique in

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It is ...

. The video also includes scenes of the singer in a bath and eating breakfast in bed.

Track listing

*7" single :A. "Diamonds" – 3:40 :B. "It's a Better Life" – 4:40

Chart performance

Cover versions

* In 2006, the Spanish singer

Pedro Marín Pedro Marín (born 22 November 1961) is a Spanish pop singer. Biography Pedro Marín is one of the most emblematic Spanish pop singers. Since his beginnings during the 80s as the pop superstar to his mysterious retirement during years and his l ...

released a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the song on his Amanda Lear tribute album, ''Diamonds''.

References

{{authority control 1979 singles 1979 songs Amanda Lear songs Ariola Records singles Songs written by Amanda Lear Songs written by Anthony Monn