rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, 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 ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

Matthew Ashman Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995)
– accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with

, and

Leigh Gorman Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow. Early life Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guitar ...

—all of whom left the band in January 1980 at the suggestion of manager

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

to form

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

. The second version of Adam and the Ants included guitarist

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) 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 others from the la ...

and drummer-and-producer

Chris Hughes Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The ...

and was noted for its use of Burundi drums. This band existed from February 1980 to March 1982 and achieved significant commercial success in the UK. With their music videos receiving airplay on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and Ant appearing as a guest VJ on the station, they are associated in the United States with the

Second British Invasion The Second British Invasion was a sharp increase in the popularity of British synth-pop and new pop artists in the United States. It began in the summer of 1982, peaked in 1983, and continued throughout much of the 1980s. The MTV music video ...

.

History

Formation

Before forming Adam and the Ants,

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, 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 ...

(Stuart Leslie Goddard) played bass in pub rock group

Bazooka Joe Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka (chewing gum), Bazooka bubble gum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recogniza ...

, who are now mostly known for headlining the show at which the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

played their first gig on 6 November 1975 at

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

. Bazooka Joe disbanded soon afterward. While looking to form a new band, Ant befriended some influential figures in the burgeoning London

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scene, most notably

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, who worked in

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

's and

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (; 8 April 1941 – 29 December 2022) was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. In 2022, ''Sky Arts'' ranked her the ...

's

SEX Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...

boutique. In early 1977, Ant formed a new band named The Ants with

Lester Square : Lester Square (born Thomas Hardy, 17 April 1954, Canada) is an English musician, composer, artist and writer. He is the former lead guitarist for The Monochrome Set. He joined the first incarnation of Adam and the Ants as lead guitarist , (an ...

on guitar, Andy Warren on bass guitar, and Paul Flanagan on drums. Ant inducted the three sidemen into his band at an initial band meeting at the Roxy Club on 23 April 1977, the night of a gig there by

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

.''Stand And Deliver'', Adam Ant, Hodder & Stoughton 2006 pp.100-102 A month later, Square left to finish his course at

Hornsey College of Art Hornsey College of Art, also known as HCA, founded in 1880 as the Hornsey School of Arts, was an art school in Crouch End, part of Hornsey, Middlesex, England. From 1965 it was in the London Borough of Haringey. From 1955 to 1973, when it was me ...

and he later formed

The Monochrome Set The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk/ new wave band, originally formed in London in January 1978. The most recent line-up consists of Bid, Andy Warren, Athen Ayren and Stephen Gilchrist. History Original band: 1978–1985 The Mono ...

. Square was replaced by Mark Ryan, and this line-up began to play regular gigs starting with the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

cafe on 10 May 1977 and taking in support slots around London. In early June, Flanagan was replaced with Dave "Barbe" Barbarossa, and this line-up recorded the songs "Plastic Surgery" and "Beat My Guest" at Chappell Studios in London. Ant starred as Kid in the film ''

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

'' (1978) while the band appeared with the stand-in drummer Kenny Morris from Siouxie and the Banshees. During a performance of "Plastic Surgery", Ant dislocated his knee. Towards the end of the year, difficulties with management resulted in Ryan being fired and replaced with Johnny Bivouac, while the band's name was extended to Adam and the Ants. Touring extensively around the UK, often with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam and the Ants were unpopular with much of the British music press, who disliked their fetishistic lyrics and imagery. In response, the group formed a strong – and at times ideological – rapport with amateur punk fanzines such as ''Ripped and Torn'', which gave them more favourable coverage.''Ripped And Torn 1976-1979'', Tony Drayton, Exctatic Peace Library 2018, ISBN 978-1-76780-151-2, Chapter 14 "Issue 14" contains Adam Ant Interview The band built up a strong cult following but struggled to find mainstream success and sign a record deal – apart from the two ''Jubilee'' soundtrack songs – until 1978, when they were signed to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. Al Spicer described this first incarnation of the band as "a fairly standard black-leather, sour-puss punk image, with songs that had a habit of building slowly towards a full-volume ' sturm-und-drang' climax".

Early recordings

Adam and the Ants made their radio debut on

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

's

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

show when they recorded a session on 23 January 1978 that included the songs " Deutscher Girls", "It Doesn't Matter", "Puerto Rican" and "Lou" – the latter of which featured the group's manager Jordan on lead vocals, as she regularly did during live performances until 14 May 1978, when she left the band after a gig at Roundhouse. The day after the Peel Session, they re-recorded "Deutscher Girls" and overdubbed a new guitar break on the Chapells Studio version of "Plastic Surgery" at

AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

for the ''Jubilee'' soundtrack album, which was released later that year. The un-dubbed version can be heard in the film itself. On 15 May 1978, the afternoon after Jordan's final gig with Adam and the Ants, Bivouac also left the band and soon after was replaced by

Matthew Ashman Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995)
– accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with

. This line-up continued to demo new material, and on 10 July 1978, they recorded a second Peel Session that featured the songs " Zerox", "Physical", "Friends", and "Cleopatra". At the end of the month, the band signed a contract for two singles with

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. The line-up of Adam Ant (vocals and guitar), Matthew Ashman (guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar), and Dave Barbe (drums) embarked on their first tour of continental Europe. In October 1978, Decca released their first single " Young Parisians". In November 1978, the band recorded a planned second single''Stand And Deliver'', Adam Ant, Hodder & Stoughton 2006 pp.135 of "Zerox" and "Kick" at

RAK Studios RAK Studios is a recording studio complex, with residential facilities, used by Rak Records, and located near Regent's Park in central London, England. It was founded in 1976 by English record producer Mickie Most. History The RAK complex res ...

in London produced by Stephen "Snips" Parsons. but after the first single met with little success, the company abandoned plans for a second release. In January 1979, the band embarked on their Young Parisians Tour of the UK, which ran throughout January and February. Additional material was recorded at Decca's studio in

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

, and the band recorded a third Peel Session on 26 March 1979 that included "Ligotage", "Tabletalk", "Animals & Men", and "Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face)". After the Decca single's release, the band signed with the independent label

Do It Records Do It Records was a British independent record label based in London, England. It was an early label of Adam and the Ants, releasing their debut album ''Dirk Wears White Sox'' in November 1979 (which in January 1980 was the first ever number on ...

and re-recorded the second single, "Zerox", backed with "Whip In My Valise", at Roundhouse Studios. "Zerox" was released in July 1979, after which the band embarked on a 17-show Zerox Tour around Britain in support, culminating in a sell-out show at

London Lyceum The Lyceum Theatre ( ) is a West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand in central London. It has a seating capacity of 2,100. The origins of the theatre date to 1765. Managed by Samuel Arnol ...

on 5 August. At the end of August, the band started recording their debut album at Sound Development Studios in London. Ant wrote and produced the material recorded at the sessions, which were completed within weeks because the band had rehearsed most of the material on stage. After two sell-out shows at

Electric Ballroom The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock and roll, rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England. History The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballr ...

, Ant sacked Ashman and Warren, the latter of whom joined The Monochrome Set in early October. He was replaced by

Leigh Gorman Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow. Early life Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guitar ...

. Ashman soon returned and the album was scheduled for a November release. The album was titled ''

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 ...

''; it peaked at number one on the

UK Independent Albums Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the r ...

, which was launched in early January 1980. Ant asked Malcolm McLaren to take over as manager for a flat fee. Adam and the Ants played a sell-out New Year's Day gig at Electric Ballroom. At the end of January 1980, McLaren persuaded guitarist Matthew Ashman, bassist Leigh Gorman, and drummer Dave Barbe to leave Adam and the Ants and form

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

, which was fronted by

Annabella Lwin Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye, , 31 October 1966) is an English-Burmese singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead vocalist of Bow Wow Wow. Early life, family and education Lwin was born on 31 October 1966 in Rangoon, ...

.

Breakthrough

In the following months, a new version of Adam and the Ants was formed with

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) 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 others from the la ...

(guitar),

Kevin Mooney Kevin Paul Mooney (born 5 May 1962) is an English-Irish bassist and guitarist who has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, and others. Career Born in the Greenwich area of London, Mooney began his musical career in 1977 with the English-Ir ...

(bass guitar), and drummers Terry Lee Miall and Chris "Merrick" Hughes. Pirroni became an influential member of the group, regularly co-writing with Ant throughout much of his career. Falcon Stuart was engaged to manage the new band after McLaren had dropped Ant. It signalled a style change by adapting

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

-style African drumming and an image that mixed Native American make-up with pirate-style, colourful costumes. While reforming the band, Ant and Pirroni, with future

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

drummer

Jon Moss Jonathan Aubrey Moss (born 11 September 1957) 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, the Damned and Adam and the Ants. Early life ...

, re-recorded the ''Dirk Wears White Sox'' track " Cartrouble Part 2" as a contract-fulfilling single for Do It. The label hired Hughes to produce the duo at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...

in Wales, after which they asked Hughes to join. The label released the single under the title "Cartrouble" in March 1980, with Moss credited as "Terry 1+2". Ant and Pirroni signed a publishing deal with

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

, and worked with Hughes and the rest of the band on new material at Matrix Studios in London. Stuart took these to prospective record companies while the band embarked on a 14-day Ant-Invasion Tour of the UK, which culminated in a show at Empire Ballroom. In July 1980, the band signed a deal with

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

and released the single "

Kings of the Wild Frontier ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 17 September 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic Records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 19 ...

", which reached No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart. Hughes continued to produce the band's work, and they completed recording at Rockfield by the end of August. A second single, " Dog Eat Dog" was released in October; it reached the top 10 and resulted in the band's first appearance on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

's weekly music show ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''. In November 1980, the album ''

Kings of the Wild Frontier ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 17 September 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic Records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 19 ...

'' was released and became a hit in the United Kingdom, putting Adam and the Ants at the forefront of the

New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

movement, and the band completed a 32-day UK tour. The album reached number one on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

on 24 January 1981. A third single "

Antmusic "Antmusic" is the broad term Adam Ant uses to describe his music, both solo and with Adam and the Ants. It is also the name of the third single from the Adam and the Ants album ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' and a 1994 compilation album. The " ...

" was released later in November; it peaked at number two in January 1981 and at number one in Australia, where it stayed for five weeks. Both Decca and Do It Records re-released the band's previous output; "Young Parisians" reached number nine in the UK in December 1980 and ''Dirk Wears White Sox'' peaked at number 16 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1981. "Cartrouble" and "Zerox" also charted that month, peaking at numbers 33 and 45, respectively, in the UK Singles Chart. In February 1981, Adam and the Ants played at the ''Royal Variety Performance'', the band played two songs "Antmusic" and "Dog Eat Dog" but bass player Mooney refused to take the performance seriously and it was later claimed his bass strap had broken. Video of the performance clearly shows Adam Ant being very annoyed with Mooney and mouthing "what the hell was that?" followed by an obscenity and the end of their set. Mooney was subsequently sacked and replaced with

Gary Tibbs Gary Brian Tibbs (born 25 January 1958) is an English bass guitarist and actor. He was best known as a member of Adam and the Ants and for his work with Roxy Music. He appeared alongside Hazel O'Connor in the film '' Breaking Glass'' (1980) as ...

. CBS re-released the single "Kings of the Wild Frontier", which peaked at number two in March that year.

Major success

While the second album and re-released singles brought growing chart success, Hughes, together with Ant, Miall, and Pirroni, recorded the single " Stand and Deliver". The band, which now included Tibbs, filmed a video that depicts the song's "

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

highwayman A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to foo ...

" story, at

Hatfield House Hatfield House is a Grade I listed English country house, country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean architecture, Jacobean hous ...

. To support the single, the band undertook a six-date theatre tour of Great Britain in March and visited the US for a club tour in April. The single became the band's first UK number-one record, staying at the top for five weeks in May 1981. The band spent much of the summer touring continental Europe before returning to London's AIR Studios to complete their third album. The album's second single was the title track "

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character archetype 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 ...

"; it peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in September 1981. In the same month, the band embarked on the Prince Charming Revue Tour, for which they travelled to Austria and Japan. In November 1981, Adam and the Ants released the parent album ''

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character archetype 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 ...

'' which spent three weeks at number 2. A third single from the album, "

Ant Rap "Ant Rap" is a song by the British new wave band Adam and the Ants. Written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni, the song was remixed from the version on the group's 1981 album ''Prince Charming''. It entered the UK Singles Chart in December 1981 a ...

" reached No. 3 in January 1982. The band was one of the most successful single acts in the UK in 1981. All three singles from the album, as well as the previous single "Kings of the Wild Frontier" is listed on the official top 50 best-selling singles of 1981, "Stand and Deliver" and "Prince Charming" as the third and fourth best-selling single respectively. By the end of January 1982 the band had completed their touring obligations. More of the band's early material was re-released in the first half of 1982.

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

reissued the two songs for the ''Jubilee'' in February as a single with "Deutscher Girls" as the A-side; this single reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, giving the original Ants a second post-breakup hit. Do It! records released ''Antmusic EP'', a

Extended Play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) of three unused tracks from the ''Dirk'' sessions and a remix of "Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2)"; the EP peaked at number 46. In early 1982, Adam and the Ants won British Album of the Year for ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' at the BRIT Awards where they were also nominated for Best British Group and twice in the Best British Single category for "Prince Charming" and "Stand and Deliver". They were also nominated for

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

at the

24th Annual Grammy Awards The 24th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1982, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and were broadcast live on American television. The event recognized the accomplishments of musicians during the year 1981. Quincy Jones was t ...

in 1982. Ant and Pirroni also received the Songwriter of the Year Award for "Stand and Deliver" at the 27th

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

in April 1982.

Break-up and aftermath

In March 1982, Ant disbanded Adam and the Ants. Newspaper articles of the time offered different explanations for the breakup. Initially, Ant was quoted as saying the split was amicable but he later said; "the interest just wasn't there any more. It might have been Adam and the Ants on the billboards but not on stage". It was also reported that Pirroni was tired of touring and quit performing live. Ant launched a solo career a few months after the split, retaining Pirroni as co-writer. The single "

Goody Two Shoes ''The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes'' is a children's story published by John Newbery in London in 1765. The author of the book remains unclear, but Oliver Goldsmith is generally considered the most likely. The story popularized the phr ...

" peaked at number one in the UK, and Ant released more albums during the 1980s. Hughes continued to work as a record producer. To date, Ant has released six solo studio albums. Songs by both versions of Adam and the Ants have remained staples of his solo live concerts. His partnership with Pirroni continued until the two fell out in March 2010. During the late 2000s and early 2010s, Pirroni was a member of The Wolfmen with Ant's 1982-1985 bassist

Chris Constantinou Chris Constantinou is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist for Adam Ant. Childhood and early bands Constantinou was born at Charing Cross Hospital in Charing Cross Road, London and at the age of three, ...

; they released two albums together. Hughes and Tibbs formed the short-lived duo Merrick and Tibbs and released the single "Call of the Wild" in 1983. It peaked at number 95 in the UK Singles Chart in February that year. Mooney later formed the acts Wide Boy Awake with Jordan, and Max with Ashman.''Defying Gravity - Jordan's story'' - Pamela Rooke with Cathi Undsworth, Omnibus Press, 2019 Barbe's, Ashman's, and Gorman's post-Ants band

Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...

had two UK Top 10 hits. The trio later formed

Chiefs of Relief Chiefs of Relief were a British rock group with a unique electro-punk style, punctuated by the guitar work of vocalist Matthew Ashman, and also featuring drummer Paul Cook. The Chiefs fused rock with hip hop and electronic elements from the ...

and released a self-titled album on

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

, by which point only Ashman remained. The Monochrome Set, which included Warren and Square, has released fourteen albums to date. Bivouac starred as Strings in the BBC Television police comedy ''

Operation Good Guys ''Operation Good Guys'' is a British mockumentary series about an elite police unit's bid to snare one of Britain's most powerful crime lords. It was first screened on BBC Two from 29 December 1997 to 31 August 2000. It witnesses, on camera, the ...

''.

Re-releases

In 1990, a ten-track selection of the early radio sessions was released as ''Peel Sessions''. All three sessions appeared in full on the 2001 album ''The Complete Radio 1 Sessions'' with a 1995 acoustic session by Ant, Pirroni and

Boz Boorer Martin James "Boz" Boorer (born 19 May 1962 in Edgware, Middlesex, England) is an English guitarist and producer. He founded the new wave rockabilly group the Polecats, and starting in 1991 had a 30-year collaboration with singer Morrissey as c ...

. ''Antbox'', a retrospective box-set spanning Ant's career from the late 1970s to the 1990s was released in 2000. The box set included 66 tracks on three CDs and quickly sold the initial 10,000 units. In 2003, ''Antbox'' was re-released in a different form with the same tracks and was commercially successful. In 2004, the albums ''Dirk Wears White Sox'', ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'', and ''Prince Charming'' were digitally remastered and re-released with previously unreleased demo songs as bonus material. These were overseen by Pirroni, and ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' and ''Prince Charming'' were remastered by Hughes. In 2014, Ant, Barbe, and Gorman, the surviving three-quarters of the December 1979 - January 1980 lineup, reunited to perform with selected members of Ant's current band; they performed ''Dirk Wears White Sox'' in its entirety and in sequence at

Hammersmith Apollo The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

, to promote the album's reissue on Ant's Blueblack Hussar label. Ant and his regular band subsequently performed the album for four nights at

Islington Assembly Hall Islington Assembly Hall is a live music venue and events space on Upper Street, Islington, London. It forms part of the Islington Town Hall complex. It has a capacity of 890 for live events, including seating for 200 in its balcony. Events other ...

in November 2014 and on a full UK tour in Spring 2015. The Dirk-performance section, and other portions of the Hammersmith concert, were released on DVD in 2015 as ''Dirk Live At The Apollo''. In 2016, this exercise was repeated with the ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' album, which was performed on tour in the UK and the US to promote a deluxe-gold vinyl reissue by

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

, which charted in the UK Albums Chart at number 69.

Legacy

The visual aspect formed a large part of the impact of Adam and the Ants, especially at the height of their success between 1980 and early 1982. Al Spicer noted, "Adam's career is better defined by his changing image than his music". Together with their music videos and flamboyant stage presence, Adam and the Ants had significant mainstream success that was dubbed "Antmania" in the British press.

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture. Reynold ...

called Antmania a combination of "heroic imagery, sexmusic and tribalism" while highlighting the early influence of Malcom McLaren. Paul Evans of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' album guide described the band as "leering, self-mythologising ... loopy faux-teen fun" and Ant as a "the campiest figurehead of the New Romantic moment". Commentators also noted the links between Antmania and the glam-rock of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

in the 1970s. The band seized the opportunities provided by music videos on the new channel

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

to develop a theatrical, charismatic, and heroic persona. With romantic costumes and heavy make-up, the band was often seen as an early example of the New Romantic movement, though Adam Ant has always denied any connection with that movement. 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 Ant; these videos helped to establish the band in the United States when MTV began airing them in 1981. The "Prince Charming" video includes a guest appearance by British film actor

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

as the Fairy Godmother, and the video for "Ant Rap" includes Scottish pop singer

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, a C ...

as the "damsel in distress". The band is mentioned in the ''

Last of the Summer Wine ''Last of the Summer Wine'' is a British sitcom set in Yorkshire created and written by Roy Clarke and originally broadcast by the BBC from 1973 to 2010. It premiered as an episode of ''Comedy Playhouse'' on 4 January 1973, and the first seri ...

'' episode " The Waist Land". In early 1995, Ant and Pirroni joined

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

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''. On 8 May 2006,

Hyper Hyper may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hyper'' (2016 film), 2016 Indian Telugu film * ''Hyper'' (2018 film), 2018 Indian Kannada film * ''Hyper'' (magazine), an Australian video game magazine * Hyper (TV channel), a Filipino sports c ...

released their debut album '' We Control'', which includes a cover of "Antmusic" with

Leeroy Thornhill Leeroy Thornhill (born 8 October 1968) is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasional keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his uniq ...

of

The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

on lead vocals. In April 2009,

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...

performed a cover of "Stand and Deliver" on the US television show ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' episode " Valley Girls", and performed it at

The Bamboozle The Bamboozle was an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and was scheduled for a 2023 revival in Atlantic City by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event ...

music festival in May 2009. In 2011,

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

programme ''

Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpo ...

'' featured the song "

Dick Turpin Richard Turpin (bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's trade as a butcher ear ...

", which is a pastiche on Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver". A short film starring

Nick Moran Nick Moran (born 23 December 1969) is an English actor and filmmaker. His roles include Eddie the card sharp in ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' and as List of Harry Potter characters#S 2, Scabior in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...

as Ant and

Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...

as Tibbs, called ''Ant Muzak'' (2002), depicts Adam and the Ants visiting a supermarket late at night at the same time as

Sigue Sigue Sputnik Sigue Sigue Sputnik were a British new wave band formed in 1982 by former Generation X bassist Tony James. The band have had three UK top-40 hit singles, including " Love Missile F1-11" and " 21st Century Boy". The band's music, image and in ...

. Tibbs appears in the film as Dirk, the supermarket manager, and wears white socks.

Members

*

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, 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 ...

– vocals, guitar, harmonica (1977–1982), piano (1978–1981), bass (1981–1982) * Andy Warren – bass (1977–1979) * Paul Flanagan – drums (1977) *

Lester Square : Lester Square (born Thomas Hardy, 17 April 1954, Canada) is an English musician, composer, artist and writer. He is the former lead guitarist for The Monochrome Set. He joined the first incarnation of Adam and the Ants as lead guitarist , (an ...

– guitar (1977) * Mark Ryan – guitar (1977; died 2011) * Dave Barbarossa – drums (1977–1980) *

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

- vocals (1977–1978; died 2022) * Johnny Bivouac – guitar (1977–1978) *

Matthew Ashman Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995)
– accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with

– guitar (1978–1979, 1979–1980; died 1995), piano (1979) *

Leigh Gorman Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow. Early life Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guitar ...

– bass (1979–1980) * Chris "Merrick" Hughes – drums (1980–1982), acoustic guitar (1981), piano (1981–1982) * Terry Lee Miall – drums (1980–1982) *

Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) 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 others from the la ...

– guitar (1980–1982) *

Kevin Mooney Kevin Paul Mooney (born 5 May 1962) is an English-Irish bassist and guitarist who has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, and others. Career Born in the Greenwich area of London, Mooney began his musical career in 1977 with the English-Ir ...

– bass (1980–1981) *

Gary Tibbs Gary Brian Tibbs (born 25 January 1958) is an English bass guitarist and actor. He was best known as a member of Adam and the Ants and for his work with Roxy Music. He appeared alongside Hazel O'Connor in the film '' Breaking Glass'' (1980) as ...

– bass (1981–1982)

Lineups

Timeline

Discography

* ''

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 ...

'' (1979) * ''

Kings of the Wild Frontier ''Kings of the Wild Frontier'' is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 17 September 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic Records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 19 ...

'' (1980) * ''

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character archetype 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 ...

'' (1981)

Awards

References

External links

The Official Adam Ant website

Miceinfreefall.com

by James Maw 1981 (PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam and the Ants English punk rock groups English new wave musical groups English post-punk music groups English alternative rock groups Alternative rock groups from London Brit Award winners Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1982 CBS Records artists Second British Invasion artists Punk rock groups from London