The image of Jordan with her white shards of beehive and Mondrian make-up is one of the most iconic in pop culture. From the counter of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwoods taboo-busting shop on 240 Kings Road, she helped shape a revolution.
But who was the woman behind it all? How did a ballet-mad girl from Sussex make her way, via the clandestine gay clubs of Brighton and London, to the eye of punks storm? What happened after she shared so many hair-raising adventures with the Sex Pistols, Adam and his Ants, Derek Jarman and Andy Warhol and then just disappeared?
With commentary from key players and close friends including Vivienne Westwood, Paul Cook, Marco Pirroni, Holly Johnson, and her partner behind the SEX counter, Michael Collins plus a wealth of never-before-seen images Jordan reveals her outrageous life story.
Buckle up for a masterclass in true punk spirit.
| Credits and captions |
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ix | |
| Introduction |
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xii | |
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Childhood on the wild Sussex coast (1955-66) |
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1 | (22) |
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2 High School Confidential |
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I was a teenage alien (1966-70) |
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23 | (16) |
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Teenage adventures in clubland (1970-73) |
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39 | (18) |
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4 A Walk On The Wild Side |
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Arriving in London (1973) |
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57 | (16) |
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Behind the counter at 430 King's Road (1974) |
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73 | (16) |
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Rubber Ducks meet the Dyke from the Deep (1975) |
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89 | (18) |
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Malcolm returns with a plan (1975) |
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107 | (16) |
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8 This Is What You'll Get |
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Becoming a Sex Pistol (1975) |
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123 | (14) |
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The horror horde take London (January-April 1976) |
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137 | (22) |
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Summer of anarchy (April-July 1976) |
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159 | (18) |
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11 In The Heart Of The Establishment |
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Under the nose of Buckingham Palace (April-October 1976) |
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177 | (20) |
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12 The Filth And The Fury |
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Punk hits the headlines (April-December 1976) |
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197 | (18) |
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13 Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell |
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Sedition, swindles and syringes (January-March 1977) |
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215 | (18) |
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The Jubilee summer (April-June 1977) |
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233 | (18) |
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The making of Derek Jarman's Jubilee (February 1977-February 1978) |
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251 | (18) |
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Rise of the Ants, fall of the Pistols (July-December 1977) |
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269 | (20) |
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Crawling out from the wreckage of punk (December 1977-October 1978) |
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289 | (16) |
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The Winter of Discontent (September 1978-May 1979) |
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305 | (22) |
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19 On The Good Ship Venus |
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Vivienne dreams of dandies and Malcolm returns (June 1979-June 1980) |
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327 | (18) |
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20 Join Our Insect Nation |
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A new royal family with its very own usurper prince (April 1980-February 1981) |
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345 | (16) |
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Love, marriage and leaving King's Road (February 1981-September 1982) |
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361 | (18) |
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Bad drugs juju and the dirty rotten music business (1982-4) |
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379 | (16) |
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23 My Family And Other Animals |
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New vocations (1984 onwards) |
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395 | (22) |
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24 The History Of The Void |
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Funeral games for Malcolm and rising from the ashes of Chaos |
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417 | (10) |
| Selected bibliography |
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427 | (2) |
| Acknowledgements |
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429 | (3) |
| Afterword |
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432 | (2) |
| Index |
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434 | |
Icon, muse, catalyst and the most recognisable female face of punk, Jordan was described as the first Sex Pistol by Derek Jarman, Jon Savage and those who dared to walk up to 430 Kings Road from 1975-81. The public face of SEX, Seditionaries and World's End; the motivating force behind Jubilee and the first manager of The Ants are just some of her achievements.
Cathi Unsworth has written six pop-cultural noir novels, That Old Black Magic, Without The Moon, Weirdo, Bad Penny Blues, The Singer and The Not Knowing. She started out on Sounds and has since written for Bizarre, Fortean Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, Mojo and Sight & Sound.
