Pull Up To The Bumper (4:42)

“Pull Up to the Bumper” was the second single released by Grace Jones from her critically-acclaimed 1981 album Nightclubbing and has since come to be one of Jones’ signature tunes. The song was co-written by Jones herself, Sly Dunbar, Dana Mano and Robbie Shakespeare.

Upon its release, the song spent seven weeks at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, as well as becoming a Top-5 single on the U.S. R&B chart. The original 1981 release peaked at #53 on the UK Singles Chart. It was re-released as a single in 1985, then with the 1977 recording of the song “La Vie en Rose” as the B-side, and this reached #12 on the UK pop chart in early 1986.

The song was also recorded for Jones’ A One Man Show in 1982, and two music videos were produced: one a live version of the song; and another the studio version containing images included from the film Koyaanisqatsi.

12” versions

Over the years, “Pull Up to the Bumper” has been remixed several times. The original 12-inch single featured the unedited album master recording as an extended mix of 6m45s. An extended dub version lasting 7m17s was included as the B-side on the 12-inch release of Jones’ “Walking in the Rain”; this version can be found on the Universal Music compilation CD 12”/80s. The “Walking in the Rain” 7” single also had an alternate dub mix as the B-side, called “Peanut Butter” and credited to The Compass Point All Stars.