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Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story
The image of Jordan in her white shards of beehive and Mondrian make-up is one of the most iconic in pop history. But nobody knows what was really going on behind those watchful eyes when Anarchy hit the UK. How did a ballet-mad girl from sleepy Sussex make her way, via the clandestine gay clubs of Brighton and London, to 430 King's Road and the eye of punk's storm? How could she share hair-raising adventures with McLaren and Westwood, The Sex Pistols, Adam and his Ants, Derek Jarman and Andy Warhol, and then just disappear? With commentary from key players including Vivienne Westwood, Paul Cook, Marco Pirroni, Holly Johnson, and her partner behind the SEX/Seditionaries counter, Michael Collins, plus a wealth of never-before-seen images from Simon Barker, Sheila Rock, and Harri Peccinotti, Jordan finally reveals her outrageous life story.
460 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2019
23 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 15, 2020
The UK punk scene would have played out differently without Jordan who, along with a handful of other orginators, defined it in the early days.
I am old enough to remember how shocking just wearing drainpipe trousers and having short hair was in 1976. She took this shock value and multiplied it by a hundred. She was totally fearless in an era where violence on the street was commonplace. Her looks and outfits were also imaginative and inventive.
As the title suggests, Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story, is her story. She was assisted by the wonderful Cathi Unsworth and together they have created a really compelling account of Jordan's formative years. From her childhood in Seaford, through the 70s she has a great story to tell and this book is full of interesting social history and excellent anecdotes. The text is augmented by other eye witness accounts from friends and other participants.
If you're interested in the punk era, social history, fashion and subculture then Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story is another essential read.
4/5
I am old enough to remember how shocking just wearing drainpipe trousers and having short hair was in 1976. She took this shock value and multiplied it by a hundred. She was totally fearless in an era where violence on the street was commonplace. Her looks and outfits were also imaginative and inventive.
As the title suggests, Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story, is her story. She was assisted by the wonderful Cathi Unsworth and together they have created a really compelling account of Jordan's formative years. From her childhood in Seaford, through the 70s she has a great story to tell and this book is full of interesting social history and excellent anecdotes. The text is augmented by other eye witness accounts from friends and other participants.
If you're interested in the punk era, social history, fashion and subculture then Defying Gravity: Jordan's Story is another essential read.
4/5
April 25, 2021
Selected because I wondered why a woman who became a punk icon with her wild personal style retreated from (at least cult) stardom to breed cats in the English countryside - it seemed like such a wild diversion.
But, then, Jordan reveals herself to be a complex personality. Her teenage interests in Star Trek, ballet, and Bowie appeared to be a foundation for an interest in performance and reinvention. Her life wasn't always glamorous (indeed, some of the punk personalities she knew are people I'd never want to meet) and when she no longer thrived in that environment she very smartly got out...and reinvented herself again as a veterinary nurse.
Overall Jordan comes off as a genuine personality who never sought fame or infamy, she just did what she enjoyed and was good at and when it stopped working, did something else, to hell with expectations. That, I think, is admirable.
But, then, Jordan reveals herself to be a complex personality. Her teenage interests in Star Trek, ballet, and Bowie appeared to be a foundation for an interest in performance and reinvention. Her life wasn't always glamorous (indeed, some of the punk personalities she knew are people I'd never want to meet) and when she no longer thrived in that environment she very smartly got out...and reinvented herself again as a veterinary nurse.
Overall Jordan comes off as a genuine personality who never sought fame or infamy, she just did what she enjoyed and was good at and when it stopped working, did something else, to hell with expectations. That, I think, is admirable.
June 26, 2019
Brilliant.
Recollections by maybe ‘The’ Face of punk.
Fascinating anecdotes and chronology of events that led to an amazing time at the latter half of the 70s and early 80s; a time that changed things for so many people and the wider music industry.
A pertinent quote from Simon Barker “The real creative force behind punk was women.....It was [Jordan], Vivienne, Siouxsie, Poly Styrene, The Slits who were the real originals. They’re the ones you think : where did that come from? You couldn’t explain where the look came from. You’ve seen it since, but you’d never seen it before”
A totally absorbing and well written memoir.
Rob D
Recollections by maybe ‘The’ Face of punk.
Fascinating anecdotes and chronology of events that led to an amazing time at the latter half of the 70s and early 80s; a time that changed things for so many people and the wider music industry.
A pertinent quote from Simon Barker “The real creative force behind punk was women.....It was [Jordan], Vivienne, Siouxsie, Poly Styrene, The Slits who were the real originals. They’re the ones you think : where did that come from? You couldn’t explain where the look came from. You’ve seen it since, but you’d never seen it before”
A totally absorbing and well written memoir.
Rob D
August 5, 2024
I only really 'discovered' Jordan after seeing her star in the film 'Jubilee' a few years back. I'd long been a fan of the Sex Pistols and punk itself, and was fascinated by this clever and stylish woman, and the part she played in the whole story of punk.
So it was good to read her briliant autobiog - written in conjunction with Cathi Unsworth, who have done an excellent job here.
I loved reading about her early life and love of ballet and art, & how this inspired her to become the person she would - a 'waking work of art'.
It was fascinating too to see how she became a pivotal character for Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood's notorious 'Sex' clothing shop in London's King's Road - and how this led to her involvement at the forefront of punk, firstly with the Pistols, and later with Adam & the Ants.
There's lots of info from various people she knew along the way, and the book takes you on a magical journey from the genesis of punk to what happened in its aftermath.
We also get some fascinating facets of Jordan's private life too, and how she loved and lost.
This is essential reading not just for fans of the Pistols, but for anyone who loved the whole alternative culture of the late 1970s and beyond.
A really remarkable woman who deserves to be remembered for her place in music and fashion history.
So it was good to read her briliant autobiog - written in conjunction with Cathi Unsworth, who have done an excellent job here.
I loved reading about her early life and love of ballet and art, & how this inspired her to become the person she would - a 'waking work of art'.
It was fascinating too to see how she became a pivotal character for Malcolm McLaren & Vivienne Westwood's notorious 'Sex' clothing shop in London's King's Road - and how this led to her involvement at the forefront of punk, firstly with the Pistols, and later with Adam & the Ants.
There's lots of info from various people she knew along the way, and the book takes you on a magical journey from the genesis of punk to what happened in its aftermath.
We also get some fascinating facets of Jordan's private life too, and how she loved and lost.
This is essential reading not just for fans of the Pistols, but for anyone who loved the whole alternative culture of the late 1970s and beyond.
A really remarkable woman who deserves to be remembered for her place in music and fashion history.
March 26, 2020
I heard that Jordan, a.k.a Jordan Mooney had written a book when Steve Jones interviewed Chrissie Hynde on Jonesy's Jukebox. Although not a musician, she was as an important part of the 1970s UK punk movement as the bands, especially because of her groundbreaking experimental looks. She was best known as sort of the gatekeeper of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's shops on King’s Row, SEX, later Seditionaries and later, as manager of Adam and the Ants. You couldn't avoid seeing her and noticing that big blonde beehive, rubber clothes, and blacked out eyes in many of the early photographs and videos.
Jordan gives a unique perspective to the scene that could only come from her but what I really liked about this book was essentially her history lesson of everyone and everything artistically coming out of England during that time, complete with footnotes! She knew fashion people, artists, writers, actors, filmmakers, musicians and was there for all the early days of the Sex Pistols during their rapid rise and fall. It's written with honesty and empathy and with so much detail, it felt like the closest thing to being there since I read Jon Savage’s "England’s Dreaming".
Jordan gives a unique perspective to the scene that could only come from her but what I really liked about this book was essentially her history lesson of everyone and everything artistically coming out of England during that time, complete with footnotes! She knew fashion people, artists, writers, actors, filmmakers, musicians and was there for all the early days of the Sex Pistols during their rapid rise and fall. It's written with honesty and empathy and with so much detail, it felt like the closest thing to being there since I read Jon Savage’s "England’s Dreaming".
May 12, 2019
The punk revolution as seen through the eyes of one of the major figures of the UK punk scene in the 70s. Jordan stood out from the crowd, epitomising the art of being non-conformist. Punk was a major turning point in my life and I was the right age to love it (17 in 77). Even then, in a group of non-conformists, I didn't conform.
Anyway, back to Defying Gravity. This is a fascinating trip back to that heady era and Jordan is just as I interesting as I always suspected she would be. Lovely to discover a fellow hater of Rocky Horror. An explanation of the Reginald Bosanquet wink at the end of News at Ten. Life working for McLaren and Westwood. Being part of the Pistols' entourage. I used to wonder what happened to Jordan as she disappeared from the public eye, only learning in recent years that she became a veterinary nurse.
Fashion was not the reason I tuned into punk. But punk was whatever you wanted it to be. Punk is all about attitude and Jordan had that in volumes. Great photos as well in this entertaining read. Highly recommended.
Ray Smillie
Anyway, back to Defying Gravity. This is a fascinating trip back to that heady era and Jordan is just as I interesting as I always suspected she would be. Lovely to discover a fellow hater of Rocky Horror. An explanation of the Reginald Bosanquet wink at the end of News at Ten. Life working for McLaren and Westwood. Being part of the Pistols' entourage. I used to wonder what happened to Jordan as she disappeared from the public eye, only learning in recent years that she became a veterinary nurse.
Fashion was not the reason I tuned into punk. But punk was whatever you wanted it to be. Punk is all about attitude and Jordan had that in volumes. Great photos as well in this entertaining read. Highly recommended.
Ray Smillie
April 20, 2020
Jordan, in many ways the face of British punk, shares her unorthodox journey of influencing and inspiring musicians, independent film makers and, most of all, the punk aesthetic.
My only complaint about the book is the way it’s organized. Jordan’s narrative momentum repeatedly comes to a screeching halt with an over-abundance of inserted side-comments and interviews (albeit with cultural icons from Vivien Westwood to Marco Pirroni that are insightful in their own right). I think Jordan’s voice and story are strong enough to stand on their own.
With that being said, I would recommend this book to any punk fan. (And note, the print version includes beautiful, never-before-seen photos.) Jordan was a bad ass who refused to compromise and follow the standard script. In her own words “I was always determined that I was going to excel...as the living work of art I fashioned myself into on my journey to, and my time at, the epicentre [sic] of punk.”
My only complaint about the book is the way it’s organized. Jordan’s narrative momentum repeatedly comes to a screeching halt with an over-abundance of inserted side-comments and interviews (albeit with cultural icons from Vivien Westwood to Marco Pirroni that are insightful in their own right). I think Jordan’s voice and story are strong enough to stand on their own.
With that being said, I would recommend this book to any punk fan. (And note, the print version includes beautiful, never-before-seen photos.) Jordan was a bad ass who refused to compromise and follow the standard script. In her own words “I was always determined that I was going to excel...as the living work of art I fashioned myself into on my journey to, and my time at, the epicentre [sic] of punk.”
March 7, 2021
Really enjoyable trip through the world of London punk and fashion and back out the other side. She's surrounded by pretty monstrous people - Macolm, Vivienne, Vicious and Rotten and seems to feel quite at home there - she's uncompromising and carves out her own identity. Her ego seems as big as the other players and there were too many similar reminiscences from others that started "I first saw Jordan walking down King Road / getting on the Tube / going to the supermarket and she looked incredible/ amazing / fantastic ...." which didn't add anything. She tries to justify wearing the swastika as a way to remove its power When you factor in the rise of the National Front at that time and the incendiary atmosphere, it was an idiotic gesture and I was disappointed that there was no recognition of that.
She's lived an incredible life and I'm glad her story is out there now.
She's lived an incredible life and I'm glad her story is out there now.
August 12, 2021
I use to say there were three books any punk enthusiast should read: 1. Please Kill Me, by Legs McNiel and Gillan McCain, Sex Pistols The Inside Story, by Fred and Judy Vermorel, and England's Dreaming, by Jon Savage. Now I add this biography of Jordan Mooney, an insider to McLaren's Sex store, where it all happened. Any one who seen pictures of the world-changing 1977 punk movement will have seen tons of pictures of Jordan. Now, we know the story behind this so familiar face. Will read many times again.
February 16, 2020
Coming from someone who has been described as having invented punk, Jordan's memoir is surprisingly reliant on a number of prior accounts, most obviously Jon Savage's 'England's Dreaming'. There are some enjoyable anecdotes and the section concerning the relationship between Adam Ant and Malcolm McLaren is illuminating, but there's not the first-hand historical insight for which one might have hoped and overall it felt like a bit of an opportunity missed.
August 21, 2022
This book was entertaining but also very disappointing. I wanted to learn more about Jordan but instead got a ton of tales about the Sex Pistols, and Adam and the Ants. I didn’t at all learn what made Jordan Jordan. She barely is in the book. Seriously on page 374 she mentions she had a second abortion - um when was the first? It’s quite apparent from reading her autobiography/ memoir that she didn’t want to talk about herself - not sure why. This book is not her story and it’s too bad.
December 4, 2021
I’ve always been fascinated by the 70s (born in ‘75) and whilst I’ve never been a massive fan of punk music, the whole movement is of interest and Jordan is the face of punk. Young people in 2021 are so conforming that it’s difficult to imagine the guts she had to dress the way she did in a sleepy town in Sussex back then. A really interesting read for anyone interested in that period.
April 20, 2022
I didn't know half the stuff written about here and I would say its well worth the read if you like popular culture and what came out of the punk 70s etc. She also comes across as an amazing person and not at all like her public image from back then! She ended up as a vetinary nurse and burmese cat breeder and shower. RIP Jordan ! Respects
August 26, 2019
There are plenty of punk histories out there but Jordan's memoir is still an essential read. An authoritative first-hand account of her time spent patrolling the counter at SEX, 20th Century London's most revolutionary shop.
June 2, 2023
I could not put this book down, the stories told were amazing, a few I laughed out loud with. It was very enjoyable yet sad as you will never get to meet her, this book means that she is timeless and will live forever in the pages.
August 17, 2019
What a fantastic book. So well written drawing on so many peoples memories from that mad time. I could not recommend this enough brilliant!
July 7, 2020
Quite brilliant.
August 8, 2022
Didn't realize that she had passed on earlier this year. :(
Aside from the continuing influence of her amazing style, her autobiography makes her integrity and willpower clear. And some great scene stories included!
Aside from the continuing influence of her amazing style, her autobiography makes her integrity and willpower clear. And some great scene stories included!
November 11, 2022
From a Trekkie (loved Spock) to the original Sex Pistol to a veterinarian nurse.
January 20, 2024
Incredible
January 12, 2021
This book reads as a series of interviews, which makes the structure quite disjointed, but includes some great punk rock stories from 70s London.
January 10, 2020
I saw her Q&A at the book launch and she is a force of nature, full of charisma and great stories. The SEX shop on King’s Road, the Sex Pistols launch and insanity of Malcolm McLaren, her relationship with a very young Adam Ant etc. But unfortunately somehow there was none of her spark and her personality did not translate onto the page. So the book fell a little flat for me.
April 17, 2023
So interesting, what a life!
November 9, 2019
Defying Gravity
If you want a true insight into the punk era, this is the book for you. Full of quotes, not just from Jordan, but from others who were there such as Marco Pirroni (Adam & The Ants) Paul Cook (Sex Pistols / The Professionals) and Vivienne Westwood. One thing that kept me smiling was being reminded of all the women I knew as teenagers that would kill to meet Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni missed out by not going to Seaford and scour vets practices until they found Jordan. Seaford is smaller than London, and not far from Crawley
If you want a true insight into the punk era, this is the book for you. Full of quotes, not just from Jordan, but from others who were there such as Marco Pirroni (Adam & The Ants) Paul Cook (Sex Pistols / The Professionals) and Vivienne Westwood. One thing that kept me smiling was being reminded of all the women I knew as teenagers that would kill to meet Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni missed out by not going to Seaford and scour vets practices until they found Jordan. Seaford is smaller than London, and not far from Crawley
September 11, 2021
‘Defying Gravity: Jordan’s Story’, Jordon Mooney. Some people just have a story to tell and few are as good as Jordon’s. Coming from a small English village, working in the most provocative clothes fashion store of the day, being part of the Sex Pistols rise and fall, and many more musical associations. She lived it, recalls it, and writes it well.
From my Medium review at: https://medium.com/music-voices/the-r...
From my Medium review at: https://medium.com/music-voices/the-r...
November 25, 2019
This book was absolutely wonderful from start to finish. I felt like I was there on the King's Road with Jordan. This book echos the importance of women in punk and how they propelled things forward. There is so much more to Jordan than the Jubilee film or her work at SEX and Seditionaires. It was nice to spend some time with her. Rule Britannia indeed!!
Read
March 8, 2021This was an indulgent read....of course it was interest to my ol' punk self. It was refreshing to read her account of that extended moment in time and the perspectives/memories of others. She writes without ego. I watched an interview she did with Ben Westwood on Youtube, she seems to be pretty authentic and true to her unique identity.
Want to read
March 23, 2024SFP 6/6/22. CML: no way
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews