GRACE JONES
AMAZING GRACE
GRACE JONES’ JOURNEY FROM MODEL TO MUSICAL SUPERSTAR BEGAN IN THE 70S, BUT WITH THE HELP OF TREVOR HORN’S PRODUCTION NOUS AND NOT ONE BUT TWO ALBUMS, PLUS A CLUTCH OF CLASSIC SONGS, 1985 WAS TO BE THE YEAR THAT TRANSFORMED HER INTO AN ICON
DAVID POLLOCK
1985
was the year which made Grace Jones a true superstar.
Ordinary stardom, of course, had first arrived a decade earlier, notably with a modelling career which saw her striking looks and distinctive style take New York, and then the world, by storm, walking the runway for brands such as Yves St Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the cover of Vogue and Elle.
A music career followed almost immediately after she started modelling, first with the little-noticed proto-disco hoofer I Need A Man on the French label Orfeus in 1975, then its double A-side follow-up Sorry/That’s The Trouble the year after. Then, in 1977, after signing to Island and becoming a fixture at the newly-opened Studio 54, Jones found her moment, with the re-released I Need A Man arriving as a gay disco anthem and hitting No.1 on the US Dance chart.
Yet for all that her androgynous and singularly incredible disco-meets-punkmeets-New Wave look – topped off by the trademark flat-top haircut which rose to prominence around the release of Warm Leatherette in 1980 – made Jones an instantly recognisable figure, for many years she was viewed as a celebrity who dabbled in music. It’s difficult to believe now, after many decades of rising appreciation for her work’s quality and diversity, but Jones’ records found modest success at best in the late 1970s and early 80s.
A few other very early singles made an impression on the US Dance Chart, but she had no mainstream hits in the United States, while only Private Life broke through in the UK, getting to No.17 in 1980. Even the now classic Pull Up To The Bumper didn’t crack the Top 50 on its first release the following year. After six albums in as many years demonstrated her talent for adaptability and reinvention, commercial progress was slow.