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| Jordan interview |
| Posted on 09/12/03 at 02:50 by fletch |
In the recent past, the word Jordan would put you in mind of the famous river, a Formula One racing team, or a Middle Eastern country. The headline 2,000 U.S. TROOPS ENTER JORDAN would have been a cause for political concern, not schoolboy sniggering. The Cult of Celebrity has changed all that&
DEPENDING on where you stand, Jordan real name, Katie Price - is either an inflated symptom of the celebrity fever that Britain is currently in the grip of - a talentless bimbo with a sense of cultural worth as inflated as her 36DD chest. Alternatively, she a harmless piece of eye-candy to brighten up your day, part of a great linage of saucy British end-of-the-pier dolly birds - Barbara Carry On Windsor in the 1970s, Sam Fox in the 80s, Melinda Messenger in the 90s.
Unlike the others though, Jordan always seemed more explicit and far less girl-next-door. Shes been living her life through the window of the tabloids as the public view her trials and tribulations in the same way that people slow down to look at a car crash. The lovers, the romps, the abortion, the new pregnancy, her son Harvey being born blind and then the news she has cancer in her hand.
Sitting in the VIP lounge at Liquid Nightclub, Jordan looks as real as Jessica Rabbit. Shes a modern media-creation of what men want - almost a woman designed by a committee of teenage boys. But under all the make-up, revealing outfits and silicone she says shes just Katie Price - a single mum doing the best she can for her child: Youre not going to find Jordan at home in her suspenders, on the sofa cradling Harvey thats not on. Jordan is the girl who goes in the studio and gets her kit off or entertains people on stage. Katie is a family girl, she goes to Asda shopping.
She says becoming a mother has changed her, but how much is hard to ascertain.
It doesnt stop me going out and doesnt stop me working. In fact it makes me want to go and work more so I can give him more in life. Hes a little human being and he relies on me totally and when I go home, even if Im in a bad mood he makes me smile he means everything to me, she said waiving to club manager Roland, and pointing to her empty cocktail glass. He brings her a re-fill.
Appearing at clubs is how Jordan makes most of her money and given that she recently just bought a ﾣ750,000 five-bedroom house in an East Sussex village its a gig that clearly pays well.
But is a life like this what she wanted as a child? With a voice like the missing Slater sister, she said: All I wanted to do in life was be famous. I wanted to do Page Three and I never thought that Id be doing it nine years later, Im fortunate a very lucky girl. Ive got good management. She turned to her manager, Dave, and ruffled his hair. Dave smiled politely.
I later asked Dave, who seemed like a genuinely nice bloke, if his job travelling about with Jordan is as fun as it looks. Hmmm&sometimes, he said. Its like babysitting really. Sometimes with the clubs and drinks its great but other times&I wish I was at home having a cup of tea.
Jordan has never been shy of the attention and, in fact, she thrives on it. Her presence on an almost daily basis in The Star newspaper helped significantly boost their circulation figures and they were so confident of her as a marking tool, they paid for her to stand in the 1997 British General Election under the slogan "For a Bigger and Betta Future". As a part of her election campaign - which was intended to bring a little fun into a dull election - she promised free breast implants, increases on nudist beaches, and a ban on parking tickets. In the end, Jordan running under the name Katie Price - won 713 votes or 1.8% of the vote.
I would have beaten the real people who were serious about it, but they only counted the votes for Katie Price, my real name, not the ones for Jordan, she said. If theyd added those Id have beaten most of them. Probably. They said that. You get the feeling that someone might be pulling her leg about how close she came to winning a seat in Parliament, but she still managed to secure over 700 votes. What does that say about British politics or her supporters who arent sure which name on the ballot is hers?
All I know is that Id have got that free ﾣ45,000 cheque at the end of the year just for being me, she replied laughing.
You understand how Jordan is in this for the money, as the money is actually very good and its given her many things that otherwise would have almost certainly been out of her reach. However, Jordan isnt sure what shed have been if shed not gone into modelling, but reports that her younger sister wants to follow in her footsteps are apparently inaccurate.
Teenagers these days are very grown up for their age. Its not that she want to be like me, but she looks up to me and thinks she should be able to dress older than her age - Its a sister thing. She raises her cocktail to chest height and sucks hard on the straw as the liquid in the glass drops away revealing more and more of her cleavage, its like a 3D version of those novelty pens with the undressing woman.
Jordan added: My sister knows what Im like, she knows that what people think of me in the press Im not like that. She knows the real me, so theres no worry there. She knows what Im like - the press dont know. She put down her empty glass and scanned the room for manager Roland. Dave smiled politely again.
In a confused way, Jordan feels that shes not like the tabloids portray her, but admits shes happy to play the role: The press have made me out to be this bad girl and I dont theyll ever change their ways, even if I do good things, which I know I do, theyll never acknowledge that. Im just the bad girl, but I dont care, it pays my bills. Ill play up to it if they want me to. I know the truth.
So what is the truth? How would you like to be remembered?
How Id like to be remembered is different to how I will be remembered. Id like to think that Im not just a bimbo and I have got brains. I have made a living out of what I do and Ive got everything I want in life.
Do you care what people say about you?
Dont care any more, She grinned. It pays the bills. I used to think oh my God, this really hurts but theyve made me strong. My son being blind and me getting cancer thats made me strong. Know what I mean? Come at me with all the attacks you want and Ill shield it all out. My answer is cmon give it to me! Give it to me more! I love it!
You get the feeling that in the past, the best Katie Price could have hoped for in terms of fame was a bit-part role on television chasing Benny Hill at high speed. These days you can be famous for being famous. So what exactly does she do? Shes Jordan, thats what she does, and she loves it - she really loves it.
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