If a song talks about regrets over mistakes made in a relationship, well, it doesn’t surprise anyone.
Songs talk about life, and feelings, of any kind, are the most important thing in our daily lives.
How many love stories end every day in the world? And how many newly single people live with regrets in the aftermath?
It’s happened to everyone… or almost everyone.
Which is why even a tear-jerking song has its reason, and it’s nice to listen to it again every now and then.
Do you remember Jim Diamond?
I hadn’t listened to him in a while, but today, while having lunch, I heard one of his songs on the radio and thought I’d dedicate a post to him.
Jim Diamond’s Story
Jim Diamond was a Scottish artist. I use the past tense because he sadly passed away in 2015 at the age of 64.
Although his most successful years were the 1980s, Diamond joined his first band, The Method, in the 1960s, when he was just 15.
The following year, he joined a band called Jade and stayed with them for about three years.
Jade performed at various English clubs and supported British rock band The Move on their 1969 Scottish tour.
In 1970, blues musician Alexis Korner hired Diamond for his band.
In 1976, Diamond himself founded a group, Bandit. The band landed a record deal but failed to sell, disbanding just over two years later.
Diamond later sang for a Japanese group, founded Slick Diamond, wrote songs for other artists, and composed soundtracks.
In short, success may have been lacking, but there’s no denying that Jim Diamond was an artist.
And it’s undeniable that such a wealth of experience leads, sooner or later, to more concrete results.
In 1981, Jim Diamond formed PhD and achieved worldwide fame with the song I Won’t Let You Down.
The band lasted just a handful of years, but the fame they achieved allowed Diamond to secure a solo recording deal soon after the breakup.
Solo success with I Should Have Known Better
And here we are with the tear-jerking song I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
I Should Have Known Better, a single from the album Double Crossed, was released in late October 1984 and was an immediate worldwide hit.
Meaning of the Lyrics
The lyrics address the regret and guilt that sometimes plague us after the end of a relationship. We often realize too late the mistakes we’ve made and the fact that we’ve taken our partner’s love for granted. Lies and betrayals are paid for later, when we realize we’ve lost someone special. But despite this realization, pride can prevent us from apologizing, and we’re left wallowing in grief and regret.
Charts
In the UK, the song reached number one on the singles chart. It held the top spot for only one week but was displaced by a song that made music history: the power ballad The Power of Love by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Australia, Ireland, and Portugal also awarded the song number one. In the Netherlands and Norway, the single peaked at number two, while in Switzerland and Belgium, it reached number three.
Other chart results included number four in South Africa, number five in Italy, number eleven in Spain, number fifteen in West Germany, and number twenty-second in Finland.
A fun fact about Jim Diamond: while I Should Have Known Better was climbing the charts, he publicly asked his fans to buy Do They Know It’s Christmas, the Band Aid charity single released in December 1984, as an alternative.
A true gentleman.
I’d conclude by saying that such generosity should be rewarded by listening to the song again 👇, but I don’t think any justification is needed! So, enjoy the song. ☺️
