Legendary Moments: When Tim Noakes Met Grace Jones

In the lead up to the Dazed x Ray-Ban event with Kim Gordon and Bobby Gillespie this September, the Editors of Dazed & Confused looked back over their years of working on the magazine, reflecting upon their greatest moments, having met some of the world's biggest legends in art, film, fashion and music. Here, deputy editor & music editor, Tim Noakes recalls the time he met none-other than Grace Jones...

It goes without saying that Grace Jones’ fierce reputation precedes her, but luckily there weren’t any Russell Harty slaps in store for me the day we met in a rehearsal studio in Putney. The interview and Chris Cunningham photo shoot had taken months to set up and happened while she was in the middle of preparing her live comeback in support of Corporate Cannibal, her first album in nearly 20 years. After waiting for an hour or so (pretty punctual by diva standards), I was ushered into her dark domain where she was sat on a sofa eating a Nandos takeaway and guffawing into her mobile in heavy patois. Behind her was a cracked mirror. I wondered if she was responsible, but kept it to myself. She hung up the phone, looked me dead in the eyes and asked if I was nervous. I said, no, I was excited. A huge smile spread across her face, she poured me a large glass of red wine, and then we started. The studio was under a railway line, so every few minutes we’d have to pause to let a train thunder over our heads. This could have been annoying, but it became a running joke and gave us more time to drink booze and eat hot wings. As we finished the bottle, I asked if she would sign my 12” copy of “Slave to the Rhythm”. She took the pen and wrote, “Dear Tim, Slave to Your Rhythm, Grace”. What a lady.

Wanna get involved? We're offering you tickets to the exclusive event throughout the week. Head to our Facebook page to choose the legendary song you want Kim and Bobby to perform for your chance to win tickets to Ray-Ban's 75th Anniversary Celebration on the 13th September!