Adam & The Ants
 When
London art-school escapee Adam (Stuart Goddard) turned up with the
Ants on the awful Jubilee movie soundtrack in 1978, you'd
never have guessed he'd amount to anything. Like much of the record,
his two cuts were very ordinary punk. Nor was
the ambitious Dirk Wears White Socks all that encouraging,
despite the considerable effort Adam obviously expended on it. The
self-produced LP's word-heavy tunes examine sexual excess (Cleopatra),
bizarre visions (Day I Met God), alienation (Digital
Tenderness) and the like.
The band started off in early 1977, one of a
dozen bands trying to keep up in the wake of The Sex
Pistols. What
turned them into a top-of-the-bill band was the bondage routines - the
sadomasochist set pieces between Adam and the band's manager Jordan,
a punk ex-crony of Malcolm McLaren's and with just as much attitude.
Although the music was nothing exceptional, the stage act kept the
crowd away from the bar and landed Adam (and Jordan) parts in Derek
Jarman's film, Jubilee. In it, he played
'Kid', who sang a couple
of songs, pouted a bit and eventually got killed - all good promotion
for the first LP, Dirk Wears White Socks, released in 1979.
Adam's old Ants subsequently left for the employ
of Malcolm McLaren, transmuting into Bow Wow
Wow. In their place, Adam
teamed up with guitarist Marco Pirroni (who proved to be
a significant collaborator) and recruited drummer/producer Chris
Hughes (aka Merrick). Undeterred, Adam recruited a new band, found
himself a new image (appearing in a bizarre mix of pirate costume and
Red Indian makeup) and now fronted a drum-heavy pop band, inspired by
the African drummers of Burundi.
A re-recorded single of Car Trouble got
Adam's new era off the ground in the mid-80's. Adam found his groove
with Kings of the Wild Frontier. Goodbye heaviness and
failure, hello hit parade. Adam and his merry crew bounced through a
delightful program of modern bubblegum. Dog Eat Dog used the
pseudo-tribal drums Adam picked up from McLaren, while Antmusic
shamelessly self-promoted (as did many of Adam's early lyrics) to the
accompaniment of an irresistible stop-start melody.
Prince Charming
was a letdown, Stand and Deliver offered more percussive
entertainment (a la Dog Eat Dog) and the title track was
florid melodrama, but much of the LP seemed forced, ill-tempered and
silly. Adam hit rock bottom on Ant Rap, an embarrassing stab
at rap filled with braggadocio.
'Antmania' was briefly newsworthy and, with
the help of flamboyant promotional videos, sold a lot of records,
especially in the UK. Between 1980 and 1982 Adam released eight
singles - all hits in Britain, including three that reached the Number
1
spot.
After dumping all the Ants except for Marco, Adam went solo and
came up with Friend or Foe, an LP with plenty of energy and
variety. Adam and Marco tried a little of everything; soul,
rockabilly, his usual weightless pop, all with convincingly joyful
results. Highlights included Goody Two Shoes and The
Doors'
Hello, I Love You. Following that triumph, it was time for
another bad album, and Strip was pathetic. Adam's attempt to
grow up was recorded at ABBA's state-of-the-art studio in Stockholm
and featured two tracks produced by Phil
Collins! By taking a less
sensational approach, Adam exposed the weakness of his melodies and
the inherent silliness of his sleazoid attitudes.
Adam pulled in his horns and, with the production
suss of Tony Visconti, made a big-league pop album even a mother could
endure. Vive le Rock's spirited title track is a perfect
send-up of ELO's
Dave Edmunds phase; Rip Down likewise recalls Marc
Bolan. The
songs (Razor Keen, Miss Thing) proffered Bolanesque
lyrics but suffered from characterless backing. Apollo 9, a
wonderfully gimmicky single (also included in an acappella version),
proved that the old boy still had it, whatever it may have been. Yabba
yabba ding ding, indeed!
Monsieur Ant spent a few years concentrating his
energies on an acting career. His best role was in 1987's stylish
Slamdance, but he also appeared in Trust Me (1989) and
Nomads (1986) as well as on television and in the theatre. In
the meantime, his British label issued Hits, a compilation of
his biggest singles.
In 1990, Adam resurfaced in Los Angeles with the
confident and entertaining Manners & Physique, diving into
electronic dance music without drowning in synthesized rubbish. Marco contributed to the song writing (as did ex-Dexys
Midnight Runners leader Kevin Rowland, surprisingly enough) and played
guitar. But the thrill had really gone by now, and it all went quiet
until early 1995 when Adam brought his sexpot looks and downright
dirty voice back with Wonderful, aiming to warm another
generation of underwear.
In 2002 he was arrested when
he returned to a North London pub brawl dressed as a cowboy and
threatening to use the pistol he was carrying. he was placed under
12-month community rehabilitation and entered a psychiatric hospital.
In 2003 he was nabbed on suspicion of criminal damage for chucking
rocks through a neighbor's window.
| The
Band |
Stuart "Adam" Goddard
Vocals
Marco Pirroni
Guitar
Andy Warren
Bass
Lester Square
Guitar
|
Paul Flanagan
Drums
Mark Gaumont
Guitar
Matthew Ashman
Guitar
Dave Barbarossa
Drums
|
Leigh Gorman
Bass
Terry Lee Miall
Drums
Chris 'Merrick' Hughes
Drums
Kevin Mooney
Bass
Gary Tibbs
Bass |
|
|
