Nightclubbing, the fifth studio album by Grace Jones, is released. Produced by Chris Blackwell and Alex Sadkin, it is recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas, in early 1981. Issued as the follow up to the critically acclaimed Warm Leatherette, it is the second album Jones records with a group of musicians that includes Sly Dunbar (drums), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Wally Badarou (keyboards), and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson (percussion). Spinning off three singles including Demolition Man (written for Grace by Sting, with The Police recording their own version later in the year), I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango) and Pull Up To The Bumper (#5 R&B, #2 Club Play). It is her commercial breakthrough on a worldwide basis.
The album is also supported by the groundbreaking concept tour A One Man Show, which is filmed for a live concert video (released in 1982) and is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long Form Video. The album is remastered and reissued as a two CD Deluxe Edition in 2014, with the first disc containing the original nine song album. The second disc features 12-inch mixes and previously unreleased tracks from the recording sessions.
Nightclubbing peaks at number nine on the Billboard R&B album chart, and number thirty two on the Top 200.
Still have my original vinyl. 36 years ago? Makes me feel old…