"Ant Rap" is a song by the British new wave band

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of ...

. Written 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

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 ...

, the song was remixed from the version on the group's 1981 album ''

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, inclu ...

''. It entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in December 1981 at number 9 before rising to a peak position of number three.

Music video

The setting for the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

Bodiam Castle Bodiam Castle () is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III, with the permission of Richard II, ostensibly to defend the area aga ...

and features Adam wearing a suit of

armour Armour (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...

in the style of the movie

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in t ...

(released the same year, and made by the same armourer,

Terry English Terry English is a British armourer, mainly designing and making arms and armour, as well as props, for film and television productions. His work is held in museums such as the UK's Royal Armouries, and in private collections. Early life and career ...

), then a blue

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

uniform with the number 57 on the front. While in his

strip, he crashes through a door, revealing Marco Pirroni sitting at a

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

dressed as

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

. Adam then does a

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines th ...

impersonation while rescuing the princess (played by

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...

) before being seen again in his armour. The video ends with Adam jumping from the top of the castle into the moat (the jump is actually performed by a

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

). He throws his sword in the moat only to see an armoured hand lift it again from the water.

Reception

While widely panned by critics, "Ant Rap" was one of the earliest rap singles to chart in the UK, reaching number 3 on the UK singles chart.

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Magazi ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' described "Ant Rap" as one of "the weirdest chart itsof all time: "Adam Ant is easily dismissed as pop pantomime, but his paeans to insects weren't just lyrically peculiar, they were examples of populist daring at its best, all yelps and Burundi beats - I'd single out his clattering Ant Rap as the weirdest of the weird, with extra points for reaching

umber 3 Umber is a natural brown earth pigment that contains iron oxide and manganese oxide. In its natural form, it is called raw umber. When Calcination, calcined, the color becomes warmer and it becomes known as burnt umber. Its name derives from '' ...

with a song with no verse, no chorus, and a refrain comprising a list of the band members: 'Marco, Merrick, Terry-Lee, Gary Tibbs and yours tru-ly'." The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of the single is a re-recording of " Friends". The band's former label, Do IT, would release an early recording of "Friends" as a single in 1982.

Lyrics

Ant boasts of his success and his ability to dance, and calls out the anarchists of the music scene, affirming he was never concerned with receiving their "credibility".

"Friends"

It was fairly common for Ant to record new versions of his pre-1980 compositions for the

s of his singles. For this single, a song from 1978 called "Friends" was used. The song had enjoyed a short spell as part of the band's live set in the summer and autumn of 1978; it was recorded for the July 1978 Peel Session and an August 1978 demo at

Decca Studios Decca Studios was a recording facility at 165 Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England, controlled by Decca Records from 1937 to 1980. The building was once West Hampstead Town Hall, and had been converted to a recording studio b ...

, and was one of three unused tracks from the ''

Dirk Wears White Sox ''Dirk Wears White Sox'' is the debut studio album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 30 November 1979 by record label Do It. It was the first number one album on the UK Independent Albums Chart when the chart debut ...

'' album sessions eventually released on ''

The B-Sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

'' EP in March 1982. In "Friends", Ant does a considerable amount of name-dropping in an attempt to be guestlisted. Among the people he claims as a friend include

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

, late

Beatle The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

Stuart Sutcliffe Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a Scottish painter and musician best known as the original bass guitarist of the English rock band the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a paint ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

, John Wayne,

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

Eric Fromm Eric Fromm (born June 27, 1958) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Tennis career Fromm's best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the fourth round of the French Open in 1983 in singles, where he lost in straight se ...

and

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry and ...

References

{{authority control 1981 singles Adam and the Ants songs Songs written by Marco Pirroni Songs written by Adam Ant 1981 songs CBS Records singles Song recordings produced by Chris Hughes (record producer) Rap rock songs