"Your Love Is King" is a song by English band

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

from their debut studio album, ''

Diamond Life ''Diamond Life'' is the debut studio album by English band Sade, 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 ...

'' (1984). The song was written by

Sade Adu Helen Folasade Adu ( yo, Fọláṣadé Adú ; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade ( ), is a Nigerian-born British singer, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. One of the most successful British fe ...

and

Stuart Matthewman Stuart Colin Matthewman (born 18 August 1960), also known as Cottonbelly, is an English songwriter, record producer and musician. With Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, and Andrew Hale, he gained worldwide fame as the guitarist/saxophonist of the band Sa ...

, and produced by

Robin Millar Robin John Christian Millar, CBE (born 18 December 1951) is an English record producer, musician and businessman, known variously as 'The Original Smooth Operator', 'The man behind Sade', and 'Golden Ears' Boy George. He was born in London to ...

. It was the album's lead single in the UK, released in February 1984, and the third single in the US, released there circa June 1985. The song became the group's highest-charting single on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

to date, peaking at number 6. In the US, it reached number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, number 35 on ''Billboard''s

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart, and number eight on ''Billboard''s

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. The B-sides of the 12-inch single were included on cassette versions of ''Diamond Life'', with the extended "

Smooth Operator "Smooth Operator" is a song by English band Sade from their debut studio album, ''Diamond Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom as a 7-inch single with "Spirit" as its B-side, and as a 12-inch maxi ...

/Snake Bite" replacing the original. The song is performed on the ''

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

'' concert. English pop singer

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 Pop Idol (series 1), inaugural series of the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the f ...

covered the song for the soundtrack to the 2004 film '' Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason''.

Composition

"Your Love is King" was originally published in the key of

A Major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 90 beats per minute. Adu 's vocals span from A₄ to F#₅. The

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

is played by

Reception

"Your Love is King" was ranked at number seven on

Heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy (aeronautics), a term used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * Heavy, ...

's list of Top 51 Best Love Songs: The Heavy Power List. Tanya Rena Jefferson of AXS stated, "The jazzy slow swaying song, allows you to feel the smoothness of Sade's voice." Frank Guan of

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

commented, "There's a special charm to certain early Sade songs where poise and lightness prove compatible with profound commitment, and this song, with its blend of spiritual and physical love, is definitely one of them."

Track listings

*UK, US, and Dutch 7-inch single :A. "Your Love Is King" – 3:39 :B. "Love Affair with Life" (recorded live) – 4:35 *UK and Dutch 12-inch maxi single :A1. "Your Love Is King" – 3:58 :B1. "

"/"Snake Bite" – 7:28 :B2. "Love Affair with Life" (recorded live) – 4:35

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1984 songs 1984 debut singles Epic Records singles Sade (band) songs Songs written by Sade (singer) Songs written by Stuart Matthewman Soul ballads Will Young songs