GRACE JONES – ISLAND LIFE LP – Nr MINT A2/B2 UK 1985 FUNK SOUL ELECTRONICA REGGAE

Grace Jones – Island Life
(Island Records   1985  GJ1)
Matrix No’s: A2/B2 – UK Pressing

Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– some slight wear to edges
Original Black Inner Sleeve

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition

Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, supermodel, record producer, and actress. Born in Jamaica, she moved when she was 13, along with her siblings, to live with her parents In Syracuse, New York. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features.

In 1977, Jones secured a record deal with Island Records, initially becoming a star of New York City’s Studio 54-centered disco scene. In the early 1980s, she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae, funk, post-punk and pop music, frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie. Her most popular albums include Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981), and Slave to the Rhythm (1985). She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with “Pull Up to the Bumper”, “I’ve Seen That Face Before”, “Private Life”, and “Slave to the Rhythm”. In 1982, she released the music video collection A One Man Show, directed by Goude.

Jones appeared in some low-budget films in the US during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984, she made her first mainstream appearance as Zula in the fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas, and subsequently appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day. In 1986, she played a vampire in Vamp, and acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film Wolf Girl. For her work in Conan the Destroyer, A View to a Kill, and Vamp, she was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1999, Jones ranked 82nd on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, and in 2008, she was honored with a Q Idol Award. Jones influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s and has been an inspiration for artists including Annie Lennox, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lorde, Róisín Murphy, Brazilian Girls, Nile Rodgers, Santigold, Basement Jaxx and Stanka Brljevic. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 40th most successful dance artist of all time.

Island Life is Grace Jones’ compilation album released in December 1985, summing up the first nine years of her musical career. The album sits among Jones’ best-selling works.

The cover picture is one of the most famous images of Grace Jones and was created by her then-partner Jean-Paul Goude. The impossibly graceful arabesque is actually a montage of separate images, following Goude’s ideas on creating credible illusions with his cut-and-paint technique. The body position is anatomically impossible. The picture was originally published in the New York magazine in 1978 and subsequently used in the music video for Jones’ hit single “La Vie en rose”. It has been since described as “one of pop culture’s most famous photographs”. Also included in the album sleeve are other most iconic images of Jones, among them the “twins” photograph, Grace Jones in cage and wearing “maternity” dress.

The cover picture was featured in Michael Ochs’ 1996 book 1000 Record Covers and has been often imitated in works by other artists. American model Amber Rose recreated the pose for her 2010 photo shoot. The image was also parodied in Nicki Minaj’s 2011 music video for “Stupid Hoe”, mimicking the pose. The cover art for Kylie Minogue’s most successful album Fever, was inspired by the Island Life cover.

Track listing

Side A

Side B