Aloysius "Lucky" Gordon (5 July 1931 – 15 March 2017) was a British-based Jamaican jazz singer who came to public attention during the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century Politics of the United Kingdom, British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative Party (UK), Conservative government, had an extramar ...

. He arrived in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in 1948, and moved to London after a few days.

Early years

Aloysius "Lucky" Gordon was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and stowed away to Britain in 1947, according to his account to the ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'' in a 1998 interview.

Profumo affair

Joining his brother "Psycho" Gordon on the London jazz scene, Lucky Gordon became involved with nightclub hostess

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the height of the Cold War, she became s ...

, a relationship that ended acrimoniously, although Keeler disputed that there was ever a relationship between them. According to Keeler, he raped her at knifepoint at his flat in St Stephen's Square, assaulted her in the street and held her hostage for two days. Keeler sought the protection of her lover,

Johnny Edgecombe John Arthur Alexander Edgecombe (22 October 1932 – 26 September 2010) was a British jazz promoter, whose involvement with Christine Keeler inadvertently alerted authorities to the Profumo affair. Early life Edgecombe was born on 22 October 1 ...

, which culminated in a public fight between Edgecombe and Gordon at the Flamingo Club in

Wardour Street Wardour Street () is a street in Soho, City of Westminster, London. It is a one-way street that runs north from Leicester Square, through Chinatown, London, Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street. Throughout the 20th century the ...

in October 1962. Gordon required 17 stitches after Edgecombe slit his face with a knife. He later posted the 17 used stitches to Keeler and warned her that for each stitch he had sent she would get two on her face in return. Edgecombe's frustrations in seeking protection from Keeler following this fight led to him firing gunshots outside

Stephen Ward Stephen Thomas Ward (19 October 1912 – 3 August 1963) was an English osteopath and artist who was one of the central figures in the 1963 Profumo affair, a British political scandal which brought about the resignation of John Profumo, the Sec ...

's flat in December 1962 that in turn set in motion a chain of events that would eventually result in the public revelations of the

. In June 1963, Gordon was jailed for three years for assaulting Keeler, but she subsequently withdrew her accusations, and was convicted of perjury in December 1963.

Musical career

Gordon later worked as a cook at

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

Basing Street Studios Basing Street Studios was a recording studio in a former 17th century chapel at 8–10 Basing Street, in Notting Hill, London, England. Originally established in 1969 as Island Studios by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, the studi ...

near

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

, his employers including

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. After the studio changed ownership to become

Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...

in the mid-1980s, Gordon contributed "skank" vocals to a cover version of "

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is a song by English rock band the Smiths. Released as a single in May 1984, it reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's first top ten single. It was later included on the November 1984 com ...

" by pop duo Act (under the name of "Casbah"), and a rare vocal mix of the

Art of Noise Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music ...

's "

Moments in Love "Moments in Love" is a song performed by Art of Noise and written by Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, J. J. Jeczalik, Gary Langan, and Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley is an English music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 ...

", both for

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...

. Gordon died on 15 March 2017, aged 85.

Cultural references

*In the 1989 film ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

'' about the Profumo affair, Gordon was portrayed by

Leon Herbert Leon Herbert is a British actor. Herbert is known for appearances in films including ''Salome's Last Dance'' (1988), ''Scandal'' (1989), ''Batman'' (1989), ''Alien 3'' (1992), '' Double X: The Name of the Game'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' ( ...

. *Gordon was portrayed by Ricardo Coke Thomas in

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's stage musical '' Stephen Ward the Musical'', which opened at the

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

on 19 December 2013. *Anthony Welsh acts the part of Lucky Gordon in the BBC series ''

The Trial of Christine Keeler ''The Trial of Christine Keeler'' is a British television series based on the chain of events surrounding the Profumo affair in the 1960s. The six-part series premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2019. The series was adapte ...

''. *In 2020 Emily Capell and

Dreadzone Dreadzone are a British electronic music group. They have released eight studio albums, two live albums, and two compilations. Career Dreadzone were formed in London, England in 1993 when ex- Big Audio Dynamite drummer Greg Roberts teamed up ...

released "Flamingo", a musical retelling of the story.

References

External links

''The Profumo Affair'' - a summary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Aloysius 1931 births 2017 deaths People from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican jazz musicians Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom Jamaican male musicians