Song · Sade
“The Sweetest Taboo” by Sade
From the album Promise (1985)
“The Sweetest Taboo” by Sade appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1985 and 2026. It was first released in 1985 on the album Promise. Its best result is #14 on the Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #103 alternative song of 1985.
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Video from YouTube (SadeVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"The Sweetest Taboo" led off the singles from Promise, the English band Sade's second album, in 1985, and it's the group at their most velvety, Sade Adu's voice gliding over Paul S. Denman's bass and Andrew Hale's keyboards. Adu wrote the words and composed the tune with Martin Ditcham, and Robin Millar produced. AXS's Tanya Rena Jefferson heard a mellow, uptempo song about a love that brings out the best in her.
Britain only took it to 31, but America fell hard, sending it to number five on the Hot 100 in March 1986, keeping it in the top 40 for 13 weeks and making it the band's second straight Adult Contemporary chart-topper after "Smooth Operator". Brian Ward's video sets them in a New York loft while Adu thinks back on her man, cut with desert scenes shot in Andalusia.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 14 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1985 | 30 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 732 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2026 | 878 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
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