Adam Ant 2011
It was Bristol, UK, 1981. I was a shy, fifteen-year old, greasy-haired school girl sitting in the lounge area of the Robin Cousins Sports Centre. This school sports outing was supposed to encourage us to use the centre's sports equipment and to play squash: but the lounge had a jukebox, so it was cool.
Some of my classmates had money to put in the jukebox. That's when I first heard the now very familiar dueling-drumsticks intro to
Ant Music by
Adam and the Ants.
For a short time,
Adam and the Ants were all over the charts. Catchy songs, with a great beat from two drummers. Frilly shirts, tight trousers, and Adam Ant's trademark white-striped face and eyeliner. He couldn't go wrong.
Ant Music was followed up with;
Goodie Two Shoes,
Prince Charming, and
Stand And Deliver. They were all huge hits but in 1982 he disbanded the group and went solo.
Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard) kept himself busy over the years with solo projects and collaborations, as well as many acting roles for TV and films. Diagnosed with bi-polar disorder at 21, he also had a long battle with its symptoms, and while medicated, spent many years out of the limelight.
However, these days he is in great shape and since March 2010 he has been very busy. He set up a new label called,
Blueblack Hussar Records and returned to his live music roots. Over 2010 and 2011 he toured around the UK to
great reviews with his band,
The Good, The Mad & The Lovely Posse.
It would seem that at 57 years old, this charismatic king of the wild frontier has still 'got it' and his live shows sound amazing. The band plays a good mix of very old songs that the crowd absolutely go bonkers for, some covers, and a new song or two. His voice and stage presence are still fantastic.
You can catch Adam Ant and
The Good, The Mad & The Lovely Posse's Australian tour at the following venues:
March 23 - Sydney, Enmore Theatre
March 27 - Perth, Metro City
March 30 - Melbourne, Palace Theatre
April 5 - Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
April 8 - Brisbane, The Tivoli
If you'd like to know more about this unique and interesting man, he has a 2006 autobiography called
Stand and Deliver.
His new album should be available in June 2012, it is awkwardly titled,
Adam Ant Is The Blueblack Hussar In Marrying The Gunners Daughter. There is also a documentary in the works titled
The Blueblack Hussar, filmed in 2011 that follows his work on the new album and his tour of the UK.