Slave to the Rhythm

Slave to the Rhythm is the seventh album by Grace Jones. It was produced by Trevor Horn (assisted by Stephen Lipson) and released in 1985. The album was written by Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn. Unlike most albums that feature a collection of different songs, Slave to the Rhythm was a concept album that featured several, radical interpretations of the title track, interviews with Jones as well as actor Ian McShane reciting passages from Jean-Paul Goude’s biography Jungle Fever.

In the liner notes to the forthcoming box set celebrating the 25th anniversary of ZTT Records, journalist Paul Morley says Slave to The Rhythm was originally intended for Frankie Goes To Hollywood as a follow-up to their single “Relax”. The song was assembled and produced by Horn after “Two Tribes”, but the project was given to Jones. Morley says Horn worked on the song endlessly and had hoped it would become one of his biggest and most successful creations.

The album reached number #12 on the UK Album Chart in November 1985 and #10 on the German Album Charts.