punkbooks

DEFYING GRAVITY: Jordan's Story
by Cathi Unsworth (Author), Jordan Mooney (Author)
Hardcover – Illustrated, 2 May 2019
(448 Pages)
ISBN-10 : 1785588362
£14.09 Kindle edition

This was the most anticipated punk tome since the Steve Jones brutally honest biography 'Lonely Boy'. And I
was so looking forward to hearing Jordan's take on being behind the counter of the most infamous punk shop
in musical history. The Sex Pistols story has been well documented and covered already. We had the bands
versions, we've had the managers, but now finally were gonna get the sartorial punk iconic version, the face!
In all honesty Jordan was an the image of punk in the truest sense of the word, a sort of deity without so much
as twanging a note. She was the female face in defiance, an emblemIc punk rock tapestry to drape across the
mid 1970's punk boom. Someone who took to walking the streets in those creations much to the chagrin of
every day commuters on her way to work. They thought she was a hooker or a stripper in between jobs. How
she survived the violence of those times is beyond anyones guess, especially being female. But she had balls,
she owned a look of thunder and just looking like that in early 70's London, was unheard of at the time and
made a definite statement. Even Vivienne Westwood who actually created a lot of the clothes Jordan worn with
real conviction was impressed by Jordan's early look. I imagined her to be like a woman who you would be
scared to ask what size those bondage pants come in? As she scowled at you from behind the rat cage in
Seditionaries. So it was a neat insight to hear she was very nice underneath all the decadence and rubber.
And I think this book has come at the right time too, many people write autobiographys in their early career, but
Jordan has done it all at the very right time. And we always knew she was sussed enough to do that. I read this
book when it came out in 2019, but have only just got round to writing this review from the pile of books awaiting
in line. In all honesty I didn't really think it lived up to our expectations. It's a good read but not as compelling as
I expected from someone who was there at the very beginning of Punk. Stranger still, whilst writing the final draft
I was informed by a few friends that sadly Jordan has passed away on April 3rd 2022 aged just 66. Which was a
total shock. She had more recently come back into the spotlight and even become really up for public talks on
her life story. So more than anything, this book has become the perfect footnote on her existence in musical
and fashion history.

Her early life however, was a far cry from the cutting edge of World's End muslin and Colluden Tartan. Lets just say mildly amusing
for the young Pamela Rooke and pretty average. She came from a very quiet south coast town in England called Seaford and from
a working class family. She loved ballet from an early age, and cites Margot Fontaine as one of her life's true inspirations, which
would come into prominence later on in her apparel. But once her teenage years come in, what set her apart from everything
else in sleepy Seaford was her dress sense. She would adapt her own creations from 50's second hand shops which made her
standout from an early age. At 14 she was booted out of school for her hair colour which was bright pink. She wasn't keen on
her name and as a suggestion from her sister, she chose Jordan from the book ‘The Great Gatsby’ and one of the characters was
a very powerful lady called Jordan Baker. Jordan too would adopt that powerful character set in the not too distant future. At 16
she got into Bowie and glam, which is where her fixation with fashion and creativity really kicked in.

The real meat and potatos of this book is her punk period. Which to be fair, is pretty much less shocking than we would first
envisage. She got herself a job at Harrods in London's Knightbridge in a boutique and whilst working there she had spotted a
small ad in the teen mag Honey which caught her eye. Quite what an ad for Sex was doing in that publication was anyone's
guess? So while still working at Harrods in London she visited the shop called Sex on 430 Kings Road in Chelsea to see what
it was like. Michael Collins the manager immediately offered her a job on her looks alone and they hit it off immediately.

She started working at Sex at 430 Kings Road Chelsea around Autumn '74 after quitting her Harrods job. Which is where her story
gets interesting, although her punk stories from the shop and around punk itself was shall we say a slight anti climax. She still
believed the Sex Pistols were the best band and everything else couldn't compete. Maybe she was still holding back, she seems
very loyal to those who she admired or was close too. Romance wise she admits to being bi-sexual loving both male and female
relationships. She slept with Adam Ant which he was so over the moon about, he punched the bed in celebration, after pursuing her
for a long time with raunchy love letters addressed to the shop anomynously. And they still remained very close friends to this very
day. She also had a thing for Dee Dee Ramone when the Ramones come over in 1976. In between stopping Steve Strange and
Johnny Thunders from nicking stock. Her American affiliations did not stop there, she is a massive Star Trek fan and adores Mr
Spock. When she visited New York in 1977 after an invite from a friend who brought stock from the shop. She was on her own and
at a loose end so had a mad fling with black hooker in New York while under the guise of Andy Warhol who loved her and took photos of her with Penguins lol. Even Bowie was intrigued by her presence. It was fascinating reading how she got that unique makeup style which was a step up from her previous racoon look and beehive. It's a combination of Mondrian and the Kau tribe of Northern Sudan’. She also admits to having a brief liason with Vivienne Westwood in bed one night. However that was it really, no sordid details about much else. She doesn't really mention the Sex Pistols as much as you'd expect and stopped seeing them play live towards the end of '77 in Uxbridge. She seemed closest to Sid who she warned about going to America. I get the feeling she wasn't all that bothered about the music, her only real love and passion was for clothes, cats and the day to day running of the shop. She did however become manager of Adam And The Ants. She even recorded the track "Lou" (about Lou Reed) as a guest lead vocalist with the band for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel's show. A song which she often performed live with them from mid-1977 up to May 1978. She also became a muse for film Director Derek Jarman who offered her an appearance in the film Jubilee in 1978 playing Amyl Nitrate and her image from that movie was used all over the World promoting the film, which has since become a cult classic.

During her Adam And The Ants period, she admits she wasn't happy when he kicked his leather fetish look for the teenybopper market, which made him a household name. Her own look was was also revolving, Vivienne Westwood was going through her Pirate phase by now which was a complete contrast to the punk designs. During this period Jordan fell for the new Ants Bassplayer Kevin Mooney in 1980 and subsequently they got married in 1981. She also fell out with Vivien Westwood because Vivienne disapproved of marriage sacre bleur. Which in turn signalled the end of her life in the fashion industry behind the counter. Her look by now was a more toned down Burundi look the Shop had been promoting. Her husband however left the Ants to form Wide Awake Boy whom Jordan also managed. However Kevin also introduced her to Heroin which as she admits was her darkest moments, and he also abused her pet cat. It was then she realised her marriage was over and had to get out of London and thats one of many reasons why she left the madness in 1984 and retreated back to the South coast never to darken the Kings road again for many years.

She went back home to Seaford and in complete contrast become a Vetenary nurse which she has enjoyed doing ever since. She is also a proud cat breeder and has won numerous events show casing her beloved Burmese cats. Which was a far cry from her photogenic early career. I spose that's quite a lot for us punk fans to devour. But I was antcipiating so much more from this book and the face that still occasionally fronts covers. Jordan sort of blew in made a dramatic impact then blew out again within a decade. There are some great pictures included in this book which has to be included, because Jordan was a visual icon to many of us and always will be. She comes across as very down to earth and was happy in life away from the flashbulbs and at peace with her coteri of cats with her partner Nick. She sold her prized Punk collection of clothes on her 60th birthday that still survived from her infamy period for over £52,000 in 2015. Her 'Venus' shirt alone (which is one of only a handful in existence and all totally unique) for a staggering £22 grand at auction. Since the book was launched in 2019 she has done numerous spoken word events, TV programs and interviews which are available online. Maybe some of her secrets will remain behind closed doors forever. It was really sad to hear of her sad loss and she will always be a punk icon in our book!

Peter Don't Care (April 11th 2022)
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About the Co Author...
Cathi Unsworth is an English writer and journalist. After working for Melody Maker and Bizarre, she began writing novels, with The Not
Knowing in 2005 and The Singer in 2007, on Serpent's Tail. She also edited its London Noir anthology in 2006.
Her writing is heavily influenced by the late Derek Raymond.
She lives in London, where she still works as a journalist, including for Dazed & Confused.