Musicians:
Grace Jones: vocals
Ian McShane: spoken word
Louis Jardim: bass, percussion, vocal hi hat
J. J. Belle: rhythm guitar
S. J. Lipson: lead guitar, bass, keyboards, Synclavier programming
Bruce Woolley: keyboards, backing vocals, guitar
Andrew Richards: keyboards
William "Ju Ju" House: drums
Reginald "Little Beats" Daughtry: percussion
Timothy "Shorty Tim" Glover: percussion
The Wall of Men (featuring Glen Gregory, John Sinclair, Gary Maughan)
The Zang Tuum Tumb Big Beat Colossus
    conducted, directed and arranged by Richard Niles
        Frank Ricotti: percussion
        John Thirkel: trumpet
        Guy Barker: trumpet
        Stuart Brooks: trumpet
        Pete Beachill: trombone
        Geoff Perkins: bass trombone
        Jamie Talbert: alto sax
        Phil Todd: alto sax
        Stan Sultzman: tenor sax
        Dave Bishop: tenor sax
        Andy McIntosh: baritone sax
        John Pigneguey: French horn
        David Snell: harp
        Tessa Niles: backing vocals
        The Ambrosian Singers: choir (John McCarthy: choir master)
        Gavyn Wright: string leader

Produced by Trevor Horn
Assisted by Lipson
Engineer: Lipson

Front cover by Jean Paul Goude
 

Tracks: THE RHYTHM IN 8 BITS
1. "Jones the Rhythm" (5:24)
2. "The Fashion Show" (4:05)
3. "Operattack" (2:17)
4. "SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM" (6:13)
5. "The Frog and the Princess" (7:34)
6. "The Crossing (ooh the action...)" (4:51)
7. "Don't Cry—It's Only the Rhythm" (2:48)
8. "Ladies and Gentlemen: Miss Grace Jones" (4:28)

Written by Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Steven Lipson and Trevor Horn
Text: extracts from "The Annihilation of Rhythm" by I. Penman
 

Notes: (***) Fashion supermodel Grace Jones became a ZTT project with this strange concept album. There is only really one song, as such, here, "Slave to the Rhythm", which is re-arranged and distorted to produce further tracks, alongside experimental pieces in the style of the Art of Noise. There are several familiar ZTT names here—like Lipson, Jardim, Niles, Richards—and note Horn's former colleague and "Video Killed the Radio Star" co-writer Bruce Woolley. Peter Banks claimed to have done an uncredited session for this album too.

The above is the original UK CD version, which was somewhat abridged compared to the original LP and other CD releases.

"Slave to the Rhythm" was originally written for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Horn felt the band needed a single and asked Woolley for ideas. Woolley had been writing with Darlow, who had worked with Horn on the second Buggles album and with Dollar. Woolley had a title: "Slave to the Rhythm of the Chain Gang", which Darlow suggested shortening. The two of them demo'd a version that Woolley has described as "Teutonic", with a "White groove" and like Gary Numan. Frankie didn't want to do it. In an Apr 2020 podcast (The Hustle), Woolley said he was uncertain but that he thought Holly Johnson said he was OK to do the song if he got a share of the publishing (i.e., a co-writing credit), but Woolley and Darlow were unhappy with that.

Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, got to hear the song. Grace Jones was leaving Island and would do one more song with them. So Blackwell asked Horn to do "Slave to the Rhythm" with her. A version of the song was soon recorded, but Goude commented that the groove was too White. The team decamped to New York to re-record. Horn got Chuck Brown's rhythm section in the studio and recorded them. The song was re-written to fit what had been recorded, and Jones then brought back to the studio.

Woolley and Jones started writing together during the sessions, including the song "Party Girl", which would appear on Jones' Inside Story (1986): Woolley writing the music and Jones, lyrics. Woolley continued to work with Grace Jones on subsequent projects. (HP, 23 Jun 02; updated 7 Jun 20)