Maggie K. De Monde of British dance-pop act Scarlet Fantastic told us about her Grace Jones experience...
Maggie K. De Monde: I grew up in Birmingham, U.K. and from a very early point in my musical career, I was hugely influenced by the amazing Grace Jones. One of the first songs I wrote for my first Scarlet Fantastic album 24 Hrs back in 1988 was “Rhythm of Resistance.” I believe this song more than any other was directly influenced by Grace. I used to love watching her iconic videos, directed by Jean Paul Goude. Grace was a force of nature and still is today. This became apparent when I saw her perform at the Cambridge Club Festival in June 2023.
This gig totally blew me away, what an amazing experience seeing this legend perform and she is reputedly in her mid '70s.
Grace delivered a magnificent career spanning set kicking off with her classic 1981 track “Nightclubbing.” Some stand out favorites were “Love is the Drug” and “Pull Up to the Bumper” where she twerked along with her backing singers. She came on stage wearing a black cape and a gold skull mask with spiky feathers. She changed outfits several times throughout the set. Grace had so much energy, she sang whilst spinning a hula hoop around her for at least 10 minutes and jumping around the stage at the same time! At one point she climbed off the stage and sat on the shoulders of a security guard.
The absolute highlight was when she sang “Amazing Grace” acapella. I had always known how talented she was but this was absolutely out of this world. I felt like I had goosebumps for the rest of the evening. Amazing Grace indeed.
Scarlet Fantastic's From Montreal to Rotherham album is out now.
Photo credit: Andrew Payne
