We were thrilled when we heard Grace Jones was writing an autobiography, and judging by a recently released excerpt, it will be nothing short of explosive. Tracking every phase of Grace’s illustrious life, the memoir will detail her early modeling career (which saw her work with Yves Saint Laurent), her collaborations with Andy Warhol and subsequent rule as the queen of disco, plus her later foray into Hollywood.
But Grace won’t just reflect on her own life, she’s going to talk about the stars of today. Turns out, she’s not too impressed:
“Trends come along and people say, ‘Follow that trend’. There’s a lot of that around at the moment: ‘Be like Sasha Fierce. Be like Miley Cyrus. Be like Rihanna. Be like Lady Gaga. Be like Rita Ora and Sia. Be like Madonna.’ I cannot be like them—except to the extent that they are already being like me.”
She simply has no interest working with these stars, despite her label’s insistence. “I remember when one of the singers on the list of those who came after me first said that she wanted to work with me. Everyone around me is going: ‘You have to do it, it will be so good for you, it will introduce you to a whole new audience, you will make a lot of money’. No!”
Graces goes on to namecheck Kate Moss, who she’s totally cool with. Fellow musicians though? Grace wants them to know they’re not that revolutionary:
“You are not off the beaten track, pushing through the thorny undergrowth, finding treasure no one has come across before. You are in the middle of the road. You are really in Vegas wearing the sparkly full-length gown singing to people who are paying to see you but are not really paying attention. If that is what you want, fine, but it’s a road to nowhere.”
Grace does have a lot of authority when it comes to breaking new ground. And in 2015, she’s still keeping busy, headlining Afropunk and Sydney’s Vivid Festival. There’s also a Sophie Fiennes-directed documentary on the way, entitled Grace Jones: The Musical of My Life. If that weren’t enough, Henry Rollins just announced Grace would star alongside Iggy Pop in “the loudest silent movie on earth” – though we’ll have to wait until next year for that one.
‘I’ll Never Write My Memoirs‘ by Grace Jones is out on September 24.
Credits
Photography Nick Knight [The Pop Issue, No. 46, 1987]