''Strip'' is the second solo studio album by

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

, and counting his work with Adam and the Ants, his fifth studio album. It was released in 1983 and a stylistic departure from Ant's previous musical efforts. This record is much less rock-oriented and more grounded in pop and dance. Ant continued his songwriting collaboration with

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959, London, England) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many ...

for the album. Along with Richard James Burgess and Ant, Pirroni was one of the album’s main producers. The album did not perform as well in Ant's home country as his previous albums and performed modestly in the US. Critics generally reviewed it unfavorably.

Production

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

plays drums on "Puss 'n Boots" and "Strip", Collins also aided in production duties for the two tracks he played on, and enlisted Hugh Padgham to assist with the production and engineering of those sessions. Singer

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

, of

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

fame, also performs the female spoken part on "Strip".

Content

The cover photograph was fashioned after actress Jane Russell's famous photo from

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...

's 1943 film '' The Outlaw''.

Release

The lead single from the album in Europe and Australia was "Puss 'n Boots", which continued the pantomime themes and fashions of Ant's earlier work. The single reached number 5 on the UK chart in 1983, becoming Ant's final UK top 10 hit, although other top 20 hits would follow. The title track, "Strip" was released as a single in 1984 and reached number 41 on the UK singles chart and number 42 in the U.S. "Puss 'n Boots" was also released as a single in the U.S., but failed to chart. "Playboy" was planned to be the third single.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, Ian Birch wrote in ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' that the new songs on the album feature a "new and much fresher style" from Adam Ant, specifically noting "more thoughtful writing, more adventurous arrangements" and "sharper singing while the "obsession with sex gets a bit ridiculous but if you keep a sense of humour, it soon fades into the background."

Tour

An extensive tour of the U.S. was undertaken after the release. Ant settled on a deal with his tour manager, Michael Kleffman, that would give him a pay bonus if the album or the following album peaked within the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Neither the album nor its follow-up, Vive Le Rock, managed to do so, with the former peaking at #65 and the latter peaking at #131. Some performances of the tour can be found on YouTube. It was the biggest American tour of Ant's career, with dates in many cities, and was famous for the showmanship involved; this included a vine-covered bridge suspended above the audience, and a

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

-style immersion tank, which Ant would jump in and emerge from wearing only black shorts – after "stripping" his stage costume off during the course of the show.

Track listing

All songs written by

and Marco Pirroni. #"Strip" – 3:48 #"Baby, Let Me Scream at You" – 4:07 #"Libertine" – 4:19 #"Spanish Games" – 3:00 #"Vanity" – 4:08 #"Puss 'n Boots" – 3:52 #"Playboy" – 3:50 #"Montreal" – 4:23 #"Navel to Neck" – 3:41 #"Amazon" – 3:50 ; Additional tracks on the 2005 remaster

"Strip" (Demo Version)
"Dirty Harry" (Demo Version)
"Horse You Rode in On" (Demo Version)
"She Wins Zulus" (Demo Version)
"Puss 'n Boots" (Demo Version)
"Playboy" (Rehearsal)
"Navel to Neck" (Rehearsal)
"Strip" (Live)

Personnel

– vocals, bass guitar, production *

– guitar, production * Richard James Burgess – drums, keyboards, percussion, production *

– drums, percussion, production *

– additional vocals ; Technical * Hugh Padgham – production, recording, engineering * Anders Andersson – production assistance * Jean-Luc Fauvel – production assistance * Radu Wouk – production assistance * Mark Freegard - engineer * Michael B. Tretow – audio mixing * Allan Ballard - photography

Chart positions

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1983 albums Adam Ant albums Albums produced by Hugh Padgham Albums produced by Phil Collins Albums produced by Richard James Burgess Columbia Records albums