This Jamaican-born icon requires no introduction, and if you ever wanted to see her perform, this could be your chance. According to BBC, Grace Jones, “the singer, actress and model, will play under the gaze of the Lovell Telescope at Cheshire’s Jodrell Bank Observatory in July.”
Yes, there are many acts on the bill, but Jones dwarfs them. She’s part of that small group of people who managed to leave a stamp on multiple industries.
First, there are Jones’ contributions to music. The Guardian ranked her best songs, including I Need A Man, Slave To The Rhythm, and La Vie En Rose. Recently, she collaborated with Beyoncé on the Renaissance album.
In her memoir, Jones addressed working with younger artists and pointed out that she paved the way for them.
“Trends come along and people say follow that trend,” she wrote. “A big act emerges, and the advice comes in: why don’t you follow them? There’s a lot of that around at the moment. Be like [Beyoncé’s] 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.”
Jones appeared in the Bond film A View To A Kill, as well as Vamp and Conan The Destroyer. She took a shot at Eddie Murphy’s character in Boomerang, resulting in one of its most outrageous scenes.
Last, but certainly not least, there’s the androgynous, Afro-futuristic style. As Vogue put it, Jones is known for her “flat top fades, a lithe but muscular figure, and pyramid-sharp cheekbones.”
What Is The Bluedot Festival?
This festival in Cheshire, England will take place July 20-23, 2023.
It offers a dizzying amount of activities for all ages, especially lovers of electronica and the sciences.
According to the website, the festival is “a unique carnival of music, science and cosmic culture beneath Cheshire’s iconic Lovell Telescope.”
Grace Jones Has Had An Incredible Career
Born in Jamaica, Jones has been a force in the entertainment world for decades. In fact, the BBC rightly called her “the spiritual godmother of Rihanna and Lady Gaga.”
Her eccentric fashion sense shook up the establishment even in the 70s – long before Madonna came onto the scene.
BBC wrote, “Jones reportedly once attended a party with French ministers in the ’70s wearing nothing but a string of bones around her neck.”
In spite of attempts to put her in a box, Jones isn’t a fan of labels.
In 1985, an interviewer who clearly didn’t understand what she was about, asked her: “Does masculinity carry through to your sexual preference? Does that make you bisexual?”
Jones replied: “That doesn’t make me anything. I think it’s ridiculous trying to categorize people’s feelings. It’s just do what you feel, when you feel like it, if you feel like it.”
She was ahead of her time.
The Bluedot Festival Has Attracted Other Top Acts
If you aren’t much of an electronic music fan, some of these past artists might not ring familiar.
The Chemical Brothers, Kraftwerk, and Underworld have all performed at Bluedot in the past.
Like those artists, Jones will likely perform on the Lovell Stage, “which is the hub of the Bluedot universe.”
The stage was named for an accomplished English physicist.
According to the website, “Sir Bernard Lovell not only conceived and constructed the world’s largest steerable radio telescope at the time (the Lovell Telescope is still the world’s third largest) but also directed the Jodrell Bank Observatory for 35 years.”
Who Else Will Be Performing This Year?
If the name Róisín Murphy doesn’t ring a bell, surely the chorus of her song “Sing It Back” will.
Other acts include Leftfield, Pavement, Max Richter and many others.
If you’re going to be in England, grab your tickets here.
Related: Did You Know That Michael Jackson Shutdown Salvador, Brazil 25 Years Ago?
