Adam and the Ants
Encyclopedia
Adam and the Ants were a British rock
band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock
era to the post-punk
and New Wave
era. By the end of 1979, this early lineup featured musicians Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman
and Leigh Gorman
— all of whom would later leave the band on 26 January 1980, at the suggestion of then-de facto manager Malcolm McLaren
, to form the instrumentalist personnel of Bow Wow Wow
. The second incarnation of Adam and the Ants — which featured guitarist Marco Pirroni
and drummer/record producer Chris Hughes
— existed from about February 1980 to January 1982 and achieved major commercial success in the UK as early leaders of the burgeoning New Romantic
movement there. Both versions of the band were led by singer and chief songwriter Adam Ant
.
group Bazooka Joe
, now primarily known as the band that headlined when the Sex Pistols
played their first concert on 6 November 1975 at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
. After witnessing this, Adam immediately quit the band with the intention of forming his own, inspired by the Sex Pistols.
Tentatively called the B-sides, they practised regularly over the following months, but, lacking a drummer, never managed to play a gig. Meanwhile, Adam Ant had befriended some influential figures in the burgeoning London punk scene, most notably Jordan
, who worked in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood
's SEX boutique
shop. The Ants eventually formed in early 1977 consisting of Lester Square
(guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Paul Flanagan (drums). Lester Square left to finish Art school and to later form The Monochrome Set
just days after the Ants played their first gig on 5 May 1977, at a bedroom in Muswell Hill. Mark Ryan
replaced him on guitar and played the first formal gigs (starting with a performance at the ICA
in London on 10 May 1977). In early June, Flanagan was replaced with Dave Barbe and the resulting line-up recorded "Plastic Surgery" (along with seven other unreleased demos later dubbed the "Jubilee Demos" by bootleggers) and featured in the film Jubilee as the band of Adam's character Kid, until Ryan was replaced by Johnny Bivouac in October 1977.
show with a session recorded on 23 January 1978, including the song "Lou" featuring the group's manager Jordan guesting on lead vocals (as she would regularly do on live performance of the song from mid 1977 until May 1978 when she split from the band). The following day, the Ants re-recorded "Deutscher Girls" (and overdubbed a guitar solo onto the above mentioned version of "Plastic Surgery") for the Jubilee soundtrack album, which would be released in April – the two tracks on the album being group's vinyl debut.
Touring extensively around the UK, often with Siouxsie and the Banshees, they proved to be unpopular with much of the British music press who disliked their fetishistic lyrics and imagery. In response, the group formed a strong – at times ideological – rapport with amateur punk fanzines such as Ripped And Torn which gave them more favourable coverage. The band built up a strong cult following (the early "Antpeople") but struggled to find overground success or even a record deal (apart from the two Jubilee soundtrack songs) until 1978 when they were signed to Decca
.
By this time, the Ants had been through several lineup changes before eventually settling on the stable lineup of Adam Ant (vocals and guitar), Matthew Ashman (guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Dave Barbarossa (Drums). It would be this lineup that recorded and released their first single "Young Parisians
" to confused reviews and little success, along with a total of 21 demo recordings, all bar one of which was recorded at Decca's own studio in West Hampstead
. Many of these and other early recordings and demos would eventually surface on bootleg
records. They also recorded a further two John Peel Sessions in July 1978 and March 1979 and all three sessions were released in 2001 on The Complete Radio 1 Sessions.
Apparently unable to satisfactorily market the band, Decca let them go in early 1979, and the group, still with the same lineup but employing a lighter sound than previously (except for live shows), signed with independent label Do It Records
and recorded their second single "Zerox" and debut album Dirk Wears White Sox
, before Warren also left to join Square in The Monochrome Set. Ashman also temporarily left the band at this point, and Ant and Barbe recorded a set of nine demos at Solid Gold Sound Studios in London for a putative Ant solo project, using a heavily soul/funk/disco influenced sound. Do It rejected the new songs and Ashman returned to the band shortly thereafter.
. The album was somewhat dark, with post-punk riffs and some vestiges of glam rock
, as well as attempts to fuse this sound with funk
and soul
. Lyrically it attempted to address subjects such as fetishism, historical figures like Adolf Hitler
, John F. Kennedy
and Cleopatra as well as art history, particularly the Futurism
movement. It gained a cult following
rather than commercial success, leading a frustrated Adam to hire Malcolm McLaren, former manager of the Sex Pistols, in the hope of gaining more widespread recognition.
On 26 January 1980, McLaren convinced the rest of the band — then comprising guitarist Matthew Ashman, bassist Leigh Gorman and drummer Dave Barbarossa — to leave the Ants and form Bow Wow Wow, fronted by Annabella Lwin
.
) (guitar), Kevin Mooney
(bass guitar), and two drummers, Terry Lee Miall and Chris Hughes (ex-The Blitz Brothers
, future Tears For Fears
producer), called also Merrick. Pirroni would become an influential member of the group, co-writing all of their new songs with Adam Ant.
While in the process of assembling the band, Ant and Pirroni re-recorded the Dirk Wears White Sox track "Cartrouble Pt.2" as a contract fulfilling single for Do It, together with future Culture Club
drummer Jon Moss
and with Hughes producing. The label released the single under the shorter title "Cartrouble" in March 1980 (with Moss credited as "Terry 1+2"), and it reached #1 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. The following month, the by-then recruited full band recorded the single "Kings Of The Wild Frontier" for prospective record companies.
Without label support, the band carried out a major UK "Ants Invasion" tour, at the end of which, they signed a major label deal with CBS Records
and began recording Kings of the Wild Frontier
, having first rush-released the title track as a single. That album was a hit in the United Kingdom and put the band at the forefront of the New Romantic movement. The album reached #1 on the UK album charts on 24 January 1981.
There were several hit singles from this LP, including "Dog Eat Dog" (reaching #4 on the UK singles charts in October 1980), "Antmusic
" (#2 in January 1981), and "Kings of the Wild Frontier" (#2 in March 1981, previously #48 in August 1980). In addition, "Antmusic" made it to #1 in Australia for five weeks.
Decca and Do It Records both repromoted all of the band's previous output in order to cash in on the success of the album and its satellite singles. "Young Parisians" reached #9 in December 1980 (giving the old Ants band a posthumous UK Top 10 hit single) while the Dirk album made it to #17 in the album charts in February 1981. "Zerox" and "Cartrouble" also charted that month, making it to #33 and #45 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.
Bassist Kevin Mooney left the band in 1981, and was replaced with Gary Tibbs
, who joined just in time to promote the hit single "Stand and Deliver
".
. The band had two United Kingdom #1 singles: "Stand and Deliver
" was a #1 single in the UK for 5 weeks in May 1981, followed by "Prince Charming", which topped the UK charts for 4 weeks in September 1981. "Ant Rap" reached #3 in January 1982.
There would be a further round of cash-in reissues of early material in early 1982, when the two Jubilee soundtrack songs were reissued in February as a 7-inch single with "Deutscher Girls" as the A Side, reaching #13 on the UK singles chart (giving the original Ants band a second posthumous Top 15 hit), while The Antmusic EP, an EP of three unused tracks from the Dirk sessions, was released by Do It in March, reaching #46.
nomination for Best New Artist
.
In March 1982, feeling certain band members "lacked enthusiasm", Adam Ant disbanded the group. Newspaper articles at the time offered various explanations for the motivations behind the split. Initially Adam was quoted as saying that the split was amicable but later he was to say that "the interest just wasn't there any more. It might have been Adam and the Ants on the billboards but not on stage." In addition, it is said that Pirroni quit as he was tired of touring. A few months after the split Adam Ant launched a solo career (though he retained Marco Pirroni as co-writer), enjoying immediate success with a 3rd UK #1 hit single Goody Two Shoes. Some copies of the single are credited to Adam and the Ants, but only Ant & Pirroni from the band feature.
Merrick, meanwhile rejoined Dalek I Love You
.
2004 saw the digitally remastered re-release of the albums Dirk Wears White Sox, Kings of the Wild Frontier, and Prince Charming
, with bonus material in the form of previously unreleased demo songs. These were overseen by Marco Pirroni, and Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming were remastered by Chris Hughes (a.k.a Merrick in the band's line-up).
On 10 September 2008, The Daily Mail give-away for Prince Charming was released with the newspaper.
, The Charlatans, Dirty Pretty Things
, Republica
, Nine Inch Nails
, Suede
and Elastica
.
In early 1995, Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni joined Nine Inch Nails on stage to perform "Physical (You're So)", "Red Scab" and "Beat My Guest" three songs from Adam and the Ants early catalogue. Nine Inch Nails also covered "Physical (You're So)" on their 1992 EP
Broken.
An affectionate short film, featuring Nick Moran, called Ant Muzak was made in 2002 featuring Adam and the Ants visiting a supermarket late at night at the same time as Sigue Sigue Sputnik
. Gary Tibbs appeared in the film as Dirk, the supermarket Manager, and naturally he wore white socks. The film is available on DVD with two similar parodies.
On 8 May 2006 Hyper released their debut album featuring a cover of "Antmusic", with Leeroy Thornhill
of the Prodigy
on lead vocals.
In April 2009, No Doubt
performed a cover of "Stand and Deliver" on an episode of the American TV show Gossip Girl
, and performed it at the Bamboozle
music festival, New Jersey
, in May 2009, although they had no plans to release the song as a single.
. Lavish videos were produced for "Stand and Deliver", "Prince Charming", and "Ant Rap". All Adam and the Ants music videos were produced and storyboarded by Adam Ant. These videos helped break the band in the United States when MTV began airing them.
"Prince Charming" features a guest appearance by British screen legend Diana Dors
as the fairy Godmother
and "Ant Rap" features Scottish
pop singer Lulu
as the "damsel in distress".
British rock
British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by The Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the development of American music and rock music across the...
band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
era to the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
era. By the end of 1979, this early lineup featured musicians Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman
Matthew Ashman
Matthew James Ashman was an English guitarist with Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow. He died of diabetes-related complications in 1995, aged 35.-Career:...
and Leigh Gorman
Leigh Gorman
Leigh Gorman is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow.-Early life:...
— all of whom would later leave the band on 26 January 1980, at the suggestion of then-de facto manager Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
, to form the instrumentalist personnel of Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow were an English 1980s New Wave band created by Malcolm McLaren to promote his and business partner Vivienne Westwood's New Romantic fashion lines.The group's music is described as having an "African-derived drum sound".-History:...
. The second incarnation of Adam and the Ants — which featured guitarist Marco Pirroni
Marco Pirroni
Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer...
and drummer/record producer Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes (record producer)
Chris Hughes is a music producer and a former drummer for Adam and the Ants....
— existed from about February 1980 to January 1982 and achieved major commercial success in the UK as early leaders of the burgeoning New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
movement there. Both versions of the band were led by singer and chief songwriter Adam Ant
Adam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
.
Formation
Prior to the Ants, Adam Ant (born Stuart Leslie Goddard) played bass in pub rockPub rock (UK)
Pub rock was a rock music genre that developed in the mid 1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, pub rock was a reaction against progressive and glam rock. Although short-lived, pub rock was notable for rejecting stadium venues and for returning live rock to the small pubs and...
group Bazooka Joe
Bazooka Joe (band)
Bazooka Joe or Bazooka Joe and the Lillets was a British pub rock band formed by John Ellis and Danny Kleinman in 1970. It featured Stuart Goddard, who would later change his name to "Adam Ant". Both Ellis and Goddard would go on to find success with The Vibrators and Adam and the Ants, respectively...
, now primarily known as the band that headlined when the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
played their first concert on 6 November 1975 at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
. After witnessing this, Adam immediately quit the band with the intention of forming his own, inspired by the Sex Pistols.
Tentatively called the B-sides, they practised regularly over the following months, but, lacking a drummer, never managed to play a gig. Meanwhile, Adam Ant had befriended some influential figures in the burgeoning London punk scene, most notably Jordan
Jordan (Pamela Rooke)
Jordan , is a model and actress noted for her work with Vivienne Westwood and the SEX boutique in the Kings Road area of London in the mid-1970s, and for being a fixture at many of the early Sex Pistols performances...
, who worked in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
's SEX boutique
SEX (boutique)
SEX was a boutique run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at 430 King's Road, London between 1974 and 1976. It specialized in clothing that defined the look of the punk movement.-History:...
shop. The Ants eventually formed in early 1977 consisting of Lester Square
Lester Square
Lester Square is the lead guitarist for The Monochrome Set. He also sings backing vocals, designed some of the band's record sleeves, and co-wrote much of their music...
(guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Paul Flanagan (drums). Lester Square left to finish Art school and to later form The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set
The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...
just days after the Ants played their first gig on 5 May 1977, at a bedroom in Muswell Hill. Mark Ryan
Mark Ryan (The Kid)
Mark Ryan was an English guitarist who played in different punk bands during the late 1970s.He was born in Tottenham, London, to an Irish Catholic family. His father was a university lecturer and his mother was a nurse and midwife...
replaced him on guitar and played the first formal gigs (starting with a performance at the ICA
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
in London on 10 May 1977). In early June, Flanagan was replaced with Dave Barbe and the resulting line-up recorded "Plastic Surgery" (along with seven other unreleased demos later dubbed the "Jubilee Demos" by bootleggers) and featured in the film Jubilee as the band of Adam's character Kid, until Ryan was replaced by Johnny Bivouac in October 1977.
Early recordings
The band made their radio debut on the John PeelJohn Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
show with a session recorded on 23 January 1978, including the song "Lou" featuring the group's manager Jordan guesting on lead vocals (as she would regularly do on live performance of the song from mid 1977 until May 1978 when she split from the band). The following day, the Ants re-recorded "Deutscher Girls" (and overdubbed a guitar solo onto the above mentioned version of "Plastic Surgery") for the Jubilee soundtrack album, which would be released in April – the two tracks on the album being group's vinyl debut.
Touring extensively around the UK, often with Siouxsie and the Banshees, they proved to be unpopular with much of the British music press who disliked their fetishistic lyrics and imagery. In response, the group formed a strong – at times ideological – rapport with amateur punk fanzines such as Ripped And Torn which gave them more favourable coverage. The band built up a strong cult following (the early "Antpeople") but struggled to find overground success or even a record deal (apart from the two Jubilee soundtrack songs) until 1978 when they were signed to Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
.
By this time, the Ants had been through several lineup changes before eventually settling on the stable lineup of Adam Ant (vocals and guitar), Matthew Ashman (guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Dave Barbarossa (Drums). It would be this lineup that recorded and released their first single "Young Parisians
Young Parisians (single)
Young Parisians was the debut single of Adam and the Ants, released on Decca Records, on 20 October 1978,. It was produced by the band's singer Adam Ant and session pianist Jo Julian. At this point, the other permanent members of the band were Andy Warren , Dave Barbe and Matthew Ashman...
" to confused reviews and little success, along with a total of 21 demo recordings, all bar one of which was recorded at Decca's own studio in West Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
. Many of these and other early recordings and demos would eventually surface on bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
records. They also recorded a further two John Peel Sessions in July 1978 and March 1979 and all three sessions were released in 2001 on The Complete Radio 1 Sessions.
Apparently unable to satisfactorily market the band, Decca let them go in early 1979, and the group, still with the same lineup but employing a lighter sound than previously (except for live shows), signed with independent label Do It Records
Do It Records
Do It Records was an independent record label in London. It is best known for having been an early label of Adam and the Ants, releasing their debut album Dirk Wears White Sox in November 1979 as well as singles Zerox in June 1979 and...
and recorded their second single "Zerox" and debut album Dirk Wears White Sox
Dirk Wears White Sox
Dirk Wears White Sox is Adam and the Ants' first album, released on Do It Records in 1979, before Adam went on to fame with "Kings of the Wild Frontier." Dirk Wears White Sox features a much more eclectic, sometimes brooding sound than Ant's later work...
, before Warren also left to join Square in The Monochrome Set. Ashman also temporarily left the band at this point, and Ant and Barbe recorded a set of nine demos at Solid Gold Sound Studios in London for a putative Ant solo project, using a heavily soul/funk/disco influenced sound. Do It rejected the new songs and Ashman returned to the band shortly thereafter.
Dirk Wears White Sox
Late 1979 saw the release of Dirk Wears White Sox (1979, Do It Records). The title referenced Dirk BogardeDirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor and novelist. Initially a matinee idol in such films as Doctor in the House and other Rank Organisation pictures, Bogarde later acted in art-house films such as Death in Venice...
. The album was somewhat dark, with post-punk riffs and some vestiges of glam rock
Glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock and pop music that developed in the UK in the early 1970s, which was performed by singers and musicians who wore outrageous clothes, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform-soled boots and glitter...
, as well as attempts to fuse this sound with funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
. Lyrically it attempted to address subjects such as fetishism, historical figures like Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Cleopatra as well as art history, particularly the Futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
movement. It gained a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
rather than commercial success, leading a frustrated Adam to hire Malcolm McLaren, former manager of the Sex Pistols, in the hope of gaining more widespread recognition.
On 26 January 1980, McLaren convinced the rest of the band — then comprising guitarist Matthew Ashman, bassist Leigh Gorman and drummer Dave Barbarossa — to leave the Ants and form Bow Wow Wow, fronted by Annabella Lwin
Annabella Lwin
Annabella Lwin is an Anglo-Burmese singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow.-Biography:Lwin was born to a Burmese father and an English mother in Rangoon, Burma .Medina, Maximillian Mark; ChopBlock.com Her birth name in Burmese translates to "High,...
.
Kings of the Wild Frontier
During February–April 1980, a new version of the Ants was formed with Marco Pirroni (an ex-member — for short time — of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Models, Rema Rema and Cowboys InternationalCowboys International
Cowboys International were a New Wave and synthpop band formed by vocalist and songwriter Ken Lockie that put out one album in 1979, the influential The Original Sin, and a handful of 45s before dissolving in 1980...
) (guitar), Kevin Mooney
Kevin Mooney
Kevin Mooney is an English rock bassist and guitarist who has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, and others.-Career:...
(bass guitar), and two drummers, Terry Lee Miall and Chris Hughes (ex-The Blitz Brothers
The Blitz Brothers
The Blitz Brothers were a New Wave band based in Merseyside, England, comprising Chris Hughes , Dave Bates , Steve Lovell and Hugh Jones ....
, future Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
producer), called also Merrick. Pirroni would become an influential member of the group, co-writing all of their new songs with Adam Ant.
While in the process of assembling the band, Ant and Pirroni re-recorded the Dirk Wears White Sox track "Cartrouble Pt.2" as a contract fulfilling single for Do It, together with future Culture Club
Culture Club
Culture Club are a British rock band who were part of the 1980s New Romantic movement. The original band consisted of Boy George , Mikey Craig , Roy Hay and Jon Moss...
drummer Jon Moss
Jon Moss
Jon Moss is an English drummer best known as a member of the 1980s pop group Culture Club. He has also played with other bands, including London, The Nips and The Damned.-Early life:...
and with Hughes producing. The label released the single under the shorter title "Cartrouble" in March 1980 (with Moss credited as "Terry 1+2"), and it reached #1 on the UK Independent Singles Chart. The following month, the by-then recruited full band recorded the single "Kings Of The Wild Frontier" for prospective record companies.
Without label support, the band carried out a major UK "Ants Invasion" tour, at the end of which, they signed a major label deal with CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
and began recording Kings of the Wild Frontier
Kings of the Wild Frontier
Kings of the Wild Frontier is a New Wave album by Adam and the Ants, released in 1980 . This album introduced the new Burundi drum sound. After having his previous backing band wooed away by producer Malcolm McLaren, who used them to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant recorded Kings of the Wild Frontier...
, having first rush-released the title track as a single. That album was a hit in the United Kingdom and put the band at the forefront of the New Romantic movement. The album reached #1 on the UK album charts on 24 January 1981.
There were several hit singles from this LP, including "Dog Eat Dog" (reaching #4 on the UK singles charts in October 1980), "Antmusic
Antmusic
"Antmusic" was the third single released in the UK in 1980, from the Adam and the Ants album Kings of the Wild Frontier. The first single from the album Kings of the Wild Frontier, was the title track, making number 48 . The follow-up "Dog Eat Dog" made number 4 on the UK charts...
" (#2 in January 1981), and "Kings of the Wild Frontier" (#2 in March 1981, previously #48 in August 1980). In addition, "Antmusic" made it to #1 in Australia for five weeks.
Decca and Do It Records both repromoted all of the band's previous output in order to cash in on the success of the album and its satellite singles. "Young Parisians" reached #9 in December 1980 (giving the old Ants band a posthumous UK Top 10 hit single) while the Dirk album made it to #17 in the album charts in February 1981. "Zerox" and "Cartrouble" also charted that month, making it to #33 and #45 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.
Bassist Kevin Mooney left the band in 1981, and was replaced with Gary Tibbs
Gary Tibbs
Gary Tibbs is a bass guitarist and actor, who appeared in the film Breaking Glass, alongside Hazel O'Connor....
, who joined just in time to promote the hit single "Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver (song)
"Stand and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants' most successful single. It entered the UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on their Prince Charming album...
".
Prince Charming
In November 1981, Adam & the Ants released Prince CharmingPrince Charming (album)
Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Prince Charming three-and-a-half out of five stars. He explained that it was "a markedly different record than [Kings of the Wild Frontier], intentionally so", and that "the songs just aren't there." However, he concluded by stating that it "simply has style...
. The band had two United Kingdom #1 singles: "Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver (song)
"Stand and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants' most successful single. It entered the UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on their Prince Charming album...
" was a #1 single in the UK for 5 weeks in May 1981, followed by "Prince Charming", which topped the UK charts for 4 weeks in September 1981. "Ant Rap" reached #3 in January 1982.
There would be a further round of cash-in reissues of early material in early 1982, when the two Jubilee soundtrack songs were reissued in February as a 7-inch single with "Deutscher Girls" as the A Side, reaching #13 on the UK singles chart (giving the original Ants band a second posthumous Top 15 hit), while The Antmusic EP, an EP of three unused tracks from the Dirk sessions, was released by Do It in March, reaching #46.
Break-up
In early 1982, the band received a Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for Best New Artist
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967...
.
In March 1982, feeling certain band members "lacked enthusiasm", Adam Ant disbanded the group. Newspaper articles at the time offered various explanations for the motivations behind the split. Initially Adam was quoted as saying that the split was amicable but later he was to say that "the interest just wasn't there any more. It might have been Adam and the Ants on the billboards but not on stage." In addition, it is said that Pirroni quit as he was tired of touring. A few months after the split Adam Ant launched a solo career (though he retained Marco Pirroni as co-writer), enjoying immediate success with a 3rd UK #1 hit single Goody Two Shoes. Some copies of the single are credited to Adam and the Ants, but only Ant & Pirroni from the band feature.
Merrick, meanwhile rejoined Dalek I Love You
Dalek I Love You
Dalek I Love You may refer to:* Dalek I Love You, a synthpop group* Dalek I Love You , the group's self-titled album* Dalek I Love You , an audio play broadcast on BBC Radio...
.
Post break-up activity
In 2000, Antbox a retrospective box set spanning Ant's career from the late 1970s through the 1990s, was released. The box set included 66 tracks on three CDs, and quickly sold the initial 10,000 units. In 2003 the Antbox set was re-released in a different form (with the same tracks) and sold once again with success.2004 saw the digitally remastered re-release of the albums Dirk Wears White Sox, Kings of the Wild Frontier, and Prince Charming
Prince Charming (album)
Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Prince Charming three-and-a-half out of five stars. He explained that it was "a markedly different record than [Kings of the Wild Frontier], intentionally so", and that "the songs just aren't there." However, he concluded by stating that it "simply has style...
, with bonus material in the form of previously unreleased demo songs. These were overseen by Marco Pirroni, and Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming were remastered by Chris Hughes (a.k.a Merrick in the band's line-up).
On 10 September 2008, The Daily Mail give-away for Prince Charming was released with the newspaper.
Legacy
Adam and the Ants have had a major influence on many artists that have emerged during the band's short career, including Fat Boy Slim (Norman Cook) Robbie WilliamsRobbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
, The Charlatans, Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things (band)
Dirty Pretty Things were an English band fronted by Carl Barât, a member of The Libertines. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after a dispute between Barât and Pete Doherty led to the breakup of The Libertines in 2004. Barât had worked with Vertigo Records and had...
, Republica
Republica
Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The Republica sound was described by the band as "techno-pop punk rock"...
, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, Suede
Suede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
and Elastica
Elastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
.
In early 1995, Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni joined Nine Inch Nails on stage to perform "Physical (You're So)", "Red Scab" and "Beat My Guest" three songs from Adam and the Ants early catalogue. Nine Inch Nails also covered "Physical (You're So)" on their 1992 EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Broken.
An affectionate short film, featuring Nick Moran, called Ant Muzak was made in 2002 featuring Adam and the Ants visiting a supermarket late at night at the same time as Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band created in 1982 by the former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band had three UK Top 40 hit singles, including the song "Love Missile F1-11".-Early years:...
. Gary Tibbs appeared in the film as Dirk, the supermarket Manager, and naturally he wore white socks. The film is available on DVD with two similar parodies.
On 8 May 2006 Hyper released their debut album featuring a cover of "Antmusic", with Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill
Leeroy Thornhill is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and live keyboardist of the British rave act The Prodigy. He has produced solo work under the names Longman and Flightcrank. He was born in Barking but raised in Rayne near Braintree in Essex, and grew up as a...
of the Prodigy
The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
on lead vocals.
In April 2009, No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
performed a cover of "Stand and Deliver" on an episode of the American TV show Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, and performed it at the Bamboozle
The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle is an annual rain-or-shine, three-day music festival held in New Jersey. Every year, new bands compete for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the Skate and Surf Festival.- The Characters:...
music festival, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, in May 2009, although they had no plans to release the song as a single.
Music videos
The band seized the opportunities provided by music videos on the new MTV channel to develop a theatrical, charismatic on-screen persona. With romantic costumes and heavy make-up, the band was an early example of the New Romantic movement but they still showed their punk rootsPunk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
. Lavish videos were produced for "Stand and Deliver", "Prince Charming", and "Ant Rap". All Adam and the Ants music videos were produced and storyboarded by Adam Ant. These videos helped break the band in the United States when MTV began airing them.
"Prince Charming" features a guest appearance by British screen legend Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
as the fairy Godmother
Fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies...
and "Ant Rap" features Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
pop singer Lulu
Lulu (singer)
Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE , best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day...
as the "damsel in distress".
Discography
- Dirk Wears White SoxDirk Wears White SoxDirk Wears White Sox is Adam and the Ants' first album, released on Do It Records in 1979, before Adam went on to fame with "Kings of the Wild Frontier." Dirk Wears White Sox features a much more eclectic, sometimes brooding sound than Ant's later work...
(1979) - Kings of the Wild FrontierKings of the Wild FrontierKings of the Wild Frontier is a New Wave album by Adam and the Ants, released in 1980 . This album introduced the new Burundi drum sound. After having his previous backing band wooed away by producer Malcolm McLaren, who used them to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant recorded Kings of the Wild Frontier...
(1980) - Prince CharmingPrince Charming (album)Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Prince Charming three-and-a-half out of five stars. He explained that it was "a markedly different record than [Kings of the Wild Frontier], intentionally so", and that "the songs just aren't there." However, he concluded by stating that it "simply has style...
(1981)
Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Adam and the Ants | Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... s: Best New Artist Grammy Award for Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967... |
|
| Kings of the Wild Frontier Kings of the Wild Frontier Kings of the Wild Frontier is a New Wave album by Adam and the Ants, released in 1980 . This album introduced the new Burundi drum sound. After having his previous backing band wooed away by producer Malcolm McLaren, who used them to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant recorded Kings of the Wild Frontier... |
BRIT Awards Brit Awards The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust... : Best British Album |
||
| "Stand and Deliver Stand and Deliver (song) "Stand and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants' most successful single. It entered the UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on their Prince Charming album... " |
Ivor Novello Awards: Songwriters of the Year |