Adam and the Ants were an English new wave band led by Adam Ant. Through two iterations, they evolved from the taut post-punk of their 1979 debut Dirk Wears White Sox to the martial rock of the 1980/81 albums Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming, which spawned the UK hits “Antmusic” and “Stand and Deliver,” both video classics of MTV’s golden age.

Members: Adam Ant (vocals, guitar, piano), Andy Warren (bass, 1977-79), Paul Flannagan (drums, 1977), Lester Square (guitar, 1977), Mark Ryan (guitar, 1977), David Barbe [Dave Barbarossa] (drums, percussion, 1977-79), Johnny Bivouac [John Beckett] (guitar, 1977-78), Matthew Ashman (guitar, piano, 1978-80), Leigh Gorman (bass, 1979-80), Marco Pirroni (guitar, vocals, 1980-82), Chris Hughes (drums, 1980-82), Terry Lee Miall (drums, 1980-82), Kevin Mooney (bass, 1980-81), Gary Tibbs (bass, 1981-82)

Background

Adam and the Ants evolved from an early punk band called The B-Sides, formed in the spring of 1976 by London scenester Adam Ant.

Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard on November 3, 1954, in Marylebone, London, to chauffeur Leslie Alfred Goddard and embroiderer Betty Kathleen (née Smith), who lived in the De Walden buildings and divorced when Stuart was seven. Betty raised the boy to adolescence and worked for a time as Paul McCartney‘s domestic cleaner.

Goddard attended Barrow Hill Junior School, where he partook in sports (cricket, boxing) and gained entry into the all-boys St Marylebone Grammar School, where he excelled in history and rugby and served as a prefect (tutor of younger pupils). He then studied graphic design at Hornsey College of Art but dropped out short of his BA to enter music.

He took up bass in the retro ’50s rock n’ roll band Bazooka Joe, an unsigned live act with (future Vibrators) guitarist John Ellis and singer Dan Barson (brother of future Madness keyboardist–songwriter Mike Barson). On November 6, 1975, they headlined over the debut performance by The Sex Pistols at St. Martin’s School of the Art, where security unplugged the openers after five minutes.

Inspired by the Pistols’ shambolic set, Goddard’s interest shifted from the rockabilly revival to a newer sound on London’s underground. With mutual contacts via SEX — the King’s Road S&M clothing shop owned by Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren — Goddard appeared at shows frequented by London’s first-generation punk rockers, including Pistols colleagues London SS (with future members of The Clash, The Damned, and Generation X) and scene-makers the Bromley Contingent (which included Billy Idol and the nucleus of Siouxsie and the Banshees).

Goddard adopted the stagename Adam Ant: “Adam” as the namesake of the first male in the ‘history’ of mankind; “Ant” because the insect’s radioactive resistance makes it impervious to nuclear extinction. In mid-1976, he formed The B-Sides with guitarist Lester Square and bassist Andy Warren. With no suitable drummer, they never took the act beyond rehearsals.

The Ants

In early 1977, Adam Ant replaced the B-Sides moniker with The Ants, which featured Square, Warren, and drummer Paul Flannagan. For management, he hired McLaren sales-woman Jordan, a shock-haired punk fashionista who sometimes shared Ant’s microphone.

Mid-year, guitarist Mark Ryan and drummer Dave Barbarossa stepped in for Square and Flanagan, who later formed half of The Monochrome Set. For the second Ants show, Adam secured a May lunchtime slot at the Institute of Contemporary Art by claiming he fronted a country band. Instead, he took to the stage in a leather mask and belted out their early performance piece “Beat My Guest.”

Jubilee

The Ants spent July 1977 on the set of Jubilee, a punk dystopian film by English director Derek Jarman, who named the film in reference to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, the 25th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s coronation (lampooned in the Pistols’ June UK No. 2 hit “God Save the Queen”).

In Jubilee, Elizabeth I transports to present-day London, a dystopian ruin haunted by a girl gang composed of Amyl Nitrate (Jordan, a cabaret-punk performer), Bod (Jenny Runacre, a sex-hating murderess), Crabs (“Little Nell” Campbell, a sex-positive groupie), and Mad (Toyah Willcox, an orange-haired tomboy). Their exploits include the on-air lynching of Lounge Lizard, a singing transvestite played by New York glam-rocker Wayne County.

Jubilee marked the film debut of Toyah, who also appears in Jarman’s 1979 adaptation of William Shakespear’s The Tempest. Nell — the pen-browed, scarlet-haired Columbia in The Rocky Horror Picture Show — appeared concurrently in the ITV series Rock Follies of ’77, the sequel to the 1976 musical drama about a fictional female rock-vocal trio with songs by Roxy Music‘s Andy MacKay.

Jubilee features Ant in the roll of Kid, an aspiring punk singer who dies in police hands during a nighttime alley raid. Two Ants songs (“Deutscher Girls,” “Plastic Surgery”) appear on the Jubilee soundtrack with cuts by Brian Eno, Chelsea, Suzi Pinns (Jordan’s ghost singer), and Toyah’s fictional Maneaters, who perform “Nine to Five” (an Ant co-write) in a studio scene.

“Deutscher Girls” (2:29)
“Plastic Surgery” ()

In October 1977, Ryan cleared for guitarist Johnny Bivouac and the band became Adam and the Ants.

1978

By 1978, Adam and the Ants drew audience swarms on London’s club circuit along with fellow unsigned new wavers Siouxsie and the Banshees, who shared multiple Ants bills. The lineup now featured Ant, Warren, Bivouac, and drummer Dave Barbe.

On January 23, Adam and the Ants dropped by the BBC’s at Maida Vale studio where they cut their first session for Radio One DJ John Peel, whose 1/30 broadcast aired “Deutscher Girls” and the rarities “Lou,” “Puerto-Rican,” and “It Doesn’t Matter.”

“Lou”
“Puerto-Rican”
“It Doesn’t Matter”

In June, Bivouac cleared for guitarist Mathew Ashman. The Ants returned to Maida Vale on July 10 for a second Peel session comprised of four songs (“Zerox,” “Friends,” “You’re So Physical,” “Cleopatra”) later re-cut for their first album.

Decca Records signed the band. On October 27, 1978, Adam and the Ants released their debut single: “Young Parisians” backed with “Lady,” both Adam originals.

A. “Young Parisians” (3:01)
B. “Lady” (2:03)

Adam co-produced both sides with studio pianist Jo Julian, a later soundman for John Foxx and Berlin. The credits list Barbarossa as ‘Dave Family-Man Barbe’ and identify Sore Throat saxophonist Greg Mason as a musical guest. Adam sketch-rendered the cover imagery based on photos of the Ants (front) and a dominatrix (back) by one Julie Stone, whose photoshoot involved hair stylist Derek Dunbat. The first 5000 copies appeared in a glossy cardboard picture sleeve. Alternate sleeves show a monochrome Ants performance pic (Decca Portugal) and a giant key-slot around the Eiffel Tower (Decca Italy).

Peel aired “Young Parisians” four times (and “Lady” once) on his October/November broadcasts amid current singles and album tracks by Flying Lizards (“‘Summertime Blues’), Penetration (“Freemoney”), Public Image Ltd. (“Public Image”), Rory Gallagher (“Shin Kicker”), Ultravox (“Maximum Acceleration”), and XTC (“Meccanik Dancing”).

1979

On March 26, 1979, the Ants cut their third Peel session for the DJ’s 4/2 broadcast, which aired rough cuts of three further songs earmarked for their album (“Table Talk,” “Animals and Men,” “Never Trust a Man (With Egg On His Face)”) and the rarity “Liggotage.”

Adam and the Ants linked with musician/soundman Snips (ex-Sharks) for their proposed second Decca single: “I’m a Xerox Machine” / “Kick.” However, early into the new year, the bewildered label dropped the band. A re-recorded, retitled “Zerox” appeared instead in July 1979 on Do It Records, an indie recently co-founded by McLaren’s college friend, Robin Scott (aka M).

A. “Zerox” (3:45)
B. “Whip In My Valise” (3:58)

An early miss-press lists “Whip In My Valise” but plays “(You’re So) Physical.” Two years after its release, Do It reissued “Zerox” to capitalize on the band’s newfound fame.

Dirk Wears White Sox

Adam and the Ants released their debut album, Dirk Wears White Sox, on November 30, 1979, on Do It Records. The title refers to Fifties British film star Dirk Bogarde.

The album features eleven Adam Ant originals, including “Cartrouble,” “Digital Tenderness,” “Nine Plan Failed,” “The Idea,” and the Peel-previewed “Tabletalk,” “Cleopatra,” “Animals and Men,” and “Never Trust a Man (With Egg On His Face).”

Matthew Ashman plays guitar and piano on Dirk, doubled on select passages by Adam himself.

A1. “Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2)” (6:32)
A2. “Digital Tenderness” (2:57)
A3. “Nine Plan Failed” (5:00)
A4. “Day I Met God” (2:50)
A5. “Tabletalk” (5:20)

B1. “Cleopatra” (3:10)
B2. “Catholic Day” (3:00)
B3. “Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)” (3:08)
B4. “Animals and Men” (3:10)
B5. “Family of Noise” (2:30)
B6. “The Idea” (3:17)

Sessions took place in mid-August 1979 at Sound Development Studios, a Primrose Hill facility used recently by Eater, Motörhead, and comedian Douglas Adams. Ant self-produced Dirk, which early Stranglers soundman Benny King engineered amid titles by the Olympic Runners and erstwhile Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor.

On the week of January 19, 1980, Dirk Wears White Sox reached No. 1 on the inaugural UK Indie Albums Chart.

The Ants cut three additional songs — “Kick” and the Peel-previewed “Friends” and “Physical (You’re So)” — omitted from the original tracklist. In 1982, the second two recordings and a remade “Kick” appeared with “Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2)” on the EPs B-Sides (7”) and Antmusic (12”), issued by Do It to capitalize on Adam’s newfound fame.

A1. “Friends” (1:34)
A2. “Kick” (2:08)
B2. “Physical” (3:58)

Once sessions wrapped, Andrew Warren joined ex-B-Sides bandmates Paul Flannagan and Lester Square in the Monochrome Set, which readied its debut album Strange Boutique.

In 1983, Epic Records issued Dirk Wears White Sox in the US as a revised 12-track album that substitutes two songs (“Catholic Day,” “Day I Met God”) with both sides of the “Zerox” / “Whip In My Valise” single. The Epic version also adds post-Ashman/Barbe re-recordings of “Kick” and “Cartrouble” (in lieu of the original two-part song).

Burundi Beat

On the recommendation of Vibrators frontman Knox, Adam hired bassist Leigh Gorman, a recent member of the unrecorded 57 Men with Sheffield singer Glenn Gregory (future Heaven 17) and the nucleus of Wang Chung, Jack Hues and Nick Feldman. Gorman played one show with the Ants while Adam approached Malcolm McLaren, who had just finished The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, a Pistols mockumentary.

Adam sought career advice from McLaren, a mentor since the days of the SEX boutique. McLaren made Adam a 17-track cassette compilation of inspiration songs, including “Burundi Black (1° Partie),” a 1971 single by Burundi Steiphenson Black (Mike Steiphenson), whose recording added guitar and piano to a 1967 field recording of an African tribal rhythm played by 25 drummers.

Of all the rehearsed songs on McLaren’s comp (which also included Hank Williams, Gary Glitter, and Andolan rock) the Ants nailed “Burundi Black” with two members on up-right snare drums. They ditched their S&M/punk image for an 18th-century pirate look drawn from Vivienne Westwood’s new designs.

However, McLaren decided he liked the Ants, but not their singer. He lured Ashman, Gorman, and Dave Barbarossa into a new band with teenage singer Annabella Lwin. As Bow Wow Wow, they made two EPs and two albums between 1980 and 1983 and scored hits with “Go Wild In the Country,” “I Want Candy,” and “Baby Oh No.”

1980

In February 1980, Adam Ant teamed with guitarist Marco Pirroni (b. Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni; April 27, 1959), an Italian-British native of Camden Town who (along with Sid Vicious) played in the makeshift Banshees lineup that performed a 20-minute version of “The Lord’s Prayer” at the 100 Club Punk Special in September 1976.

Pirroni then formed a punk band, The Models, with bassist Michael Allen and drummer Terry ‘Day’ Lee Miall. The cut one single, “Freeze” (b/w “Man of the Year”), in June 1977 for Miles Copeland’s Step Forward label. Allen and Pirroni next formed Rema-Rema, a post-punk band with singer Max Prior (aka Dorothy). Their one EP, Wheel in the Roses, became the inaugural release on 4AD records in April 1980, two months after Pirroni’s exit dissolved the band (which morphed into Mass, the springboard of Wolfgang Press).

On March 7, 1980, a makeshift Adam and the Ants released re-recorded versions of “Cartrouble” and “Kick!” as a contract-fulfillment single on Do It. Adam and Marco recorded both sides with Edge drummer Jon Moss (under the pseudonym Terry 1 & 2) at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, where producer Christopher Merrick Hughes worked concurrently on Compass kum’pəs, an electro-psych album by Dalek I.

Under the Merrick mononym, Hughes joined the new Ants as one of two drummers along with Pirroni’s ex-Models bandmate, Terry Lee Miall. Adam completed the new five-piece with teenage bassist Kevin Mooney (b. May 1962), formerly of Greenwich punks The European Cowards.

On July 25, 1980, the new Adam and the Ants debuted with “Kings of the Wild Frontier,” an Adam/Marco co-write backed with Ant’s “Press Darlings.” The single established their trademark use of the Burundi beat.

A. “Kings of the Wild Frontier” (3:53)
B. “Press Darlings” (4:12)

Hughes produced both sides in April 1980 at Matrix Studios, London. In the “Kings of the Wild Frontier” video, the Ants perform in a cramped, shadowy studio, filmed with heavy saturation and low color intensity.

“Kings of the Wild Frontier” initially peaked at No. 48 on the UK Singles Chart. In February 1981, after the breakout success of their next two singles, the re-released “Kings” became their third consecutive Top 4 hit (No. 2).

Kings of the Wild Frontier

Adam and the Ants released their second album, Kings of the Wild Frontier, on November 7, 1980, on CBS (UK) and Epic (abroad).

Kings features twelve Adam/Marco originals, including the pre-released title track and the subsequent singles “Dog East Dog” and “Antmusic.” Select songs make thematic quotes of classic cinema, such as Lawrence of Arabia (“Feed Me to the Lions”), The Magnificent Seven (“The Magnificent Five”), and Them! (“Ants Invasion”).

Adam Ant plays acoustic guitar, piano, and harmonica on Kings, the first of two albums with the Burundi double-drumming of Merrick and Terry Lee Miall and the only album with bassist Kevin Mooney.

A1. “Dog Eat Dog” (3:11)
A2. “Antmusic” (3:37)
A3. “Feed Me to the Lions” (3:03)
A4. “Los Rancheros” (3:30)
A5. “Ants Invasion” (3:19)
A6. “Killer in the Home” (4:22)

B1. “Kings of the Wild Frontier” (3:56) is the pluralized colloquial nickname of American frontiersman Davy Crocket (1786–1836), a Representative for the state of Tennessee who, upon losing his Congressional seat, fought in the Texas Revolution and died at the Battle of the Alamo.
B2. “The Magnificent Five” (3:07)
B3. “Don’t Be Square (Be There)” (3:32)
B4. “Jolly Roger” (2:11)
B5. “Making History” (2:59)
B6. “The Human Beings” (4:32)

Apart from the pre-recorded title track, sessions took place in August 1980 at Rockfield, where Merrick produced Kings of the Wild Frontier in the presence of Hugh Jones, a noted Seventies soundman (Lesley Duncan, Mother Superior, Return to Forever) with concurrent credits behind The Damned, Echo & The Bunnymen, Simple Minds, and Teardrop Explodes.

The cover features graphics by Julian Balme (The Clash, The Korgis, Madness, New Musik) with screen stills from the “Kings of the Wild Frontier” video.

On October 3, 1980, Adam and the Ants released “Dog Eat Dog” as a second advance single, backed with “Physical (You’re So),” a re-recorded Ashman-era track.

B. “Physical (You’re So)” (4:26)

Adam and the Ants mimed “Dog Eat Dog” for the October 16 and 30 broadcasts of the BBC music program Top of the Pops, which also featured in-studio numbers by Bad Manners (“Special Brew”) and Madness (“Baggy Trousers”). Adam appeared with his Napoleonic hussars jacket and white Indian face stripe. The song’s video comes from the first appearance.

“Dog Eat Dog” reached No. 11 in Ireland and No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart.

On November 28, 1980, “Antmusic” became the third single, backed with the non-album “Fall-In,” a B-Sides-era co-write with Lester Square.

B. “Fall-In” (2:07)

Adam and the Ants mimed “Antmusic” for the December 11 broadcast of TotP, which aired the song four times amid winter hits by The Beat (“Too Nice to Talk To”), Sad Café (“I’m In Love Again”), Spandau Ballet (“The Freeze”), and XTC (“Sgt Rock (Is Going To Help Me)”).

The “Antmusic” video opens in an alleyway, where the Ants make tentative steps to a disco, where Adam takes command on the color-wheel floor as denizens stand around in awe. Terry Lee and Merrick unplug giant power-cords while Marco takes the instrumental spotlight against a mountainous backdrop. The Ants point in unison to the jukebox for the song’s clarion call. When Ant busts moves for the climax, multiple women step onto the floor, including his then-girlfriend Amanda Donohoe, an aspiring actress (then 18). Irish filmmaker Steve Barron directed “Antmusic” after multiple clips for The Jam (Setting Sons era).

“Antmusic” reached No. 2 for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart, where it was held off top spot by “Imagine,” the 1971 single by John Lennon, re-released in light of his murder. In Australia, “Antmusic” reached No. 1 on the Kent Music Report (March 23, 1981), where it overtook “Counting the Beat” by the Swingers and held the top spot for five weeks, then bowed to “9 to 5 (Morning Train)” by Sheena Easton. “Antmusic” also went Top 10 in South Africa (No. 2), Ireland (No. 4), and New Zealand (No. 6).

Kings of the Wild Frontier reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 2 in Australia. The album peaked at No. 4 in Sweden, No. 7 in New Zealand, and No. 11 in the Netherlands and Germany.

In North America, the album appeared in January 1981 with the UK b-side “Press Darlings” added to Side A and “Making History” substituted with “Physical (You’re So)” on Side B.

Kings of the Wild Frontier reached No. 21 in Canada and No. 44 on the Billboard 200 in the US, where Adam and the Ants performed “Antmusic” and “Dog Eat Dog” for the May 7 broadcast of the ABC music program American Bandstand.

1981

As Antmania gripped the UK, Decca re-released the 1978 debut Ants single “Young Parisians,” which reached No. 11 while “Antmusic” was in the Top 3. Meanwhile, the fifteen-month-old Dirk Wears White Sox climbed to No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart.

In February 1981, Adam and the Ants performed “Antmusic” and “Dog Eat Dog” on the Royal Variety Performance, an annual variety show for royal charity. Mooney shirked his parts to the annoyance of Adam, who hired ex-Vibrators bassist Gary Tibbs, a recent Roxy Music member who cut a 1980 album with the American trio Code Blue. Tibbs had a non-overlapping stint in Adam’s prefame band, Bazooka Joe.

In March, the re-released “King of the Wild Frontier” became the second straight No. 2 Ants single on the UK Singles Chart, where it was held off the top by the Roxy Music cover of Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.”

On May 4, 1981, Adam and the Ants released their seventh single: “Stand and Deliver,” an Adam/Marco anthem backed with “Beat My Guest,” a notorious live number from the Jordan era.

A. “Stand and Deliver”
B. “Beat My Guest”

The sleeve features images by Damned photographer Allan Ballard from the set of the “Stand and Deliver” video, where Adam plays a gun-toting masked marauder (“the dandy highwayman”) who descends on a carriage with a posh Edwardian couple (Donahoe and her beau). As per the lyrics, he assails their “stereo” (walkman) and record collection. At night, he taunts the couple and does his pirate dance as they stand motionless and unaffected. Inside a castle, the Ants gather with new romantics for a feast, where Adam bursts in through a palace-arch window onto the table. The beau orders his hanging, which commences outside before stone-face onlookers. Just before the garrot drops, Tibbs breaks the rope and Adam and the Ants run free.

Adam storyboarded the video for Supersonic producer Mike Mansfield, who directed six subsequent Ant videos. He based the highwayman character on Richard Turpin (1705–1739), an English poacher, burglar, deer thief, and killer who was executed in York for horse theft.

On the week of May 9, 1981, “Stand and Deliver” debuted at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, where it ousted “Making Your Mind Up” by Bucks Fizz and held the summit for five weeks. The song prevailed over “You Drive Me Crazy” by Shakin’ Stevens (No. 2 for four weeks) and bowed on June 13 to “Being With You” by Smokey Robinson.

Abroad, “Stand and Deliver” reached No. 2 in Ireland and also went Top 10 in the Netherlands (No. 4), Belgium (No. 7), and Germany (No. 8).

Prince Charming

Adam and the Ants released their third album, Prince Charming, on November 6, 1981, on CBS.

Prince Charming contains their two No. 1 singles, “Stand and Deliver” and the title track, plus “Ant Rap” and the deep cuts “Picasso Vista el Planeta de los Simios,” “Scorpios,” “That Voodoo,” and “Mowhok,” which blends into “S.E.X.”

A1. “Scorpios” (2:46)
A2. “Picasso Visita el Planeta de los Simios” (3:28)
A3. “Prince Charming” (3:18) bears similarities to “War Canoe,” a 1965 song by Australian comic folkster Rolf Harris. Features Merrick on acoustic guitar.
A4. “Five Guns West” (5:02)
A5. “That Voodoo!” (4:18)

B1. “Stand and Deliver” (3:35)
B2. “Mile High Club” (2:42)
B3. “Ant Rap” (3:26)
B4. “Mowhok” (3:28)
B5. “S.E.X.” (3:50)
B6. “The Lost Hawaiians” (1:05) an unlisted reprise of the Kings track “Los Rancheros.”

Sessions occurred in mid-1981 at Air Studios in Oxford Circus, where Merrick produced the album in sequence with singles by Dalek I, Martian Dance, and Susan Fassbender. The engineer, Ross Cullum, had credits on mid-Seventies titles by Krazy Kat, Nektar, Quantum Jump, Stray, and Roxy Music’s Siren.

Adam conceived the Ballard-photographed Prince Charming gatefold cover, where he (front) and the Ants (back) sport costumes by designer Yvonne Swinden and major domo Charles David Whiteing with makeup by Paula Owen. The inner-gates show the band superimposed on a checker-tiled museum hallway, as illustrated by one Ian Fogden.

The title track first appeared on September 4 as the second advance single, backed with the non-album “Christian D’Or,” an Adam solo composition.

B. “Christian D’Or” (4:12)

In the “Prince Charming” video, Adam toils in a dungeon as gaudy gluttons snack nearby. His bandmates (just above him in the castle ranks) include Marco the harpist. As they gift him a cat, a delivery girl presents an invitation: “Come to the Ball and dance the Prince Charming.” A light appears that ushers a faerie godmother (Fifties bombshell Diana Dors), who descends from a cloud to grant Adam the perfect Regency wardrobe (seen on the cover) and car for the ball.

Adam arrives before stunned onlookers and swings from the balcony via chandelier. Across the checkered palace floor, he leads a new romantic line dance: the Prince Charming, an overhead arm-cross that represents pride, courage, humor, and flair. He ascends a foggy staircase and takes a hammer to a mirror, which shows multiple guises through the shattered glass: the Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood’s Dollars trilogy antihero), Alice Cooper, Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan (Rudolph Valentino in 1921’s The Sheik), and Adam’s “dandy highwayman” from the “Stand and Deliver” video.

On the week of September 19, “Prince Charming” reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, where it overtook “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell and held the summit for four weeks, then bowed to “It’s My Party,” a synthpop cover of the Leslie Gore classic by Canterbury veterans Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin. “Prince Charming” also hit No. 1 in Ireland, No. 4 in Australia, and No. 8 in Benelux. In the US, the video received high rotation on MTV, the just-launched cable network that also prioritized “Antmusic” and “Stand and Deliver” during its first year of broadcast.

In December, Adam lifted “Ant Rap” as a third single, backed with the Dirk-era “Friends.”

The “Ant Rap” video takes place on the grounds of Bodiam Castle, a National Trust property near Robertsbridge built in the 14th century as an anti-French fortress during the Hundred Years War. Adam plays a medieval knight-errant who battles numerous odds to rescue a princess (played by Scottish pop singer Lulu).

He encounters Lady Liberty (Swedish model Mary Stävin, Miss World 1977) and morphs through multiple guises — an NFL offensive guard (57), Bruce Lee — then defeats the dark knight and its modern-day equivalent (a record company executive) and frees the princess. After they kiss, he jumps the battlement into the moat. As he exits the Bodiam grounds, he throws his sword into the moat, where it rises again from an armored hand.

“Ant Rap” entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 9 and peaked at No. 3 in January 1982 under “Don’t You Want Me” by the Human League and “Daddy’s Home” by Cliff Richard.

Prince Charming reached No. 7 in Australia, No. 5 in the Netherlands, and No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart.

1982–1983

In March 1982, Adam dissolved the Ants but retained Marco Pirroni as a co-writer.

On May 7, Adam Ant debuted as a solo artist with “Goody Two Shoes,” an Adam/Marco tune co-produced with Chris Hughes, who played reverberated drums on the song. The b-side, “Red Scab,” is a re-recorded song from the ’77 Jordan/Barbe era.

A. “Goody Two Shoes” (3:15)
B. “Red Scab” (4:06)

In the “Goody Two Shoes” video, Adam awakes and buckles his belt while his butler (Graham Stark) walks the long hallway. Adam (passing Marco) enters a studio, where three mulatto women at the vanity sport Ant’s prior images (one highway dandy; two Prince Charmings) to the “only the makeup” line. Adam sits with the trio for a press conference, where he trades second glances with a sexy reporter (Caroline Munro). Amid paparazzi swarms, he entices Caroline through stages of undress. She finally lets loose and they sashay to his bedroom, where they embrace as Stark spies through the keyhole.

“Goody Two Shoes” became Adam’s seventh straight Top 4 hit and his third No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, where it ousted “House of Fun” by Madness on June 12 and held the summit for a fortnight. In Australia, “Goody Two Shoes” ousted “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls on the Kent Music Report, where it crested for two weeks and bowed to “The Other Woman” by Raydio frontman Ray Parker Jr.

Elsewhere, “Goody Two Shoes” peaked at No. 2 in Ireland, No. 4 in Canada, No. 5 in Germany, and No. 8 in the Netherlands. In the US, MTV exposure helped propel the song to No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, then on the brink of the Second British Invasion.

Friend of Foe

Adam Ant released his debut solo album, Friend of Foe, on October 11, 1982, on CBS–Epic. It features eleven Ant–Pirroni originals, including the singles “Goody Two Shoes,” “Friend or Foe,” and the title track. Side One contains a cover of the 1968 Doors classic “Hello, I Love You.”

Adam plays bass on Friend of Foe, recorded as a trio with Pirroni and Fingerprintz drummer Bogdan Wiczling, a recent Bill Nelson auxiliary. Nine tracks feature trumpeter Martin Drover and saxophonist Jeff Daly, both sessionists on Seventies titles by Bloodstone, Bryan Ferry, and Gordon Giltrap.

A1. “Friend or Foe” (3:22)
A2. “Something Girls” (3:52)
A3. “Place in the Country” (2:50)
A4. “Desperate But Not Serious” (4:14)
A5. “Here Comes the Grump” (3:35)
A6. “Hello, I Love You” (2:37) features backing vocals by veteran New London Chorale singer Vicki Brown and her daughter Sam Brown, a future solo artist.

B1. “Goody Two Shoes” (3:28)
B2. “Crackpot History and the Right to Lie” (2:44)
B3. “Made of Money” (3:28)
B4. “Cajun Twisters” (2:56)
B5. “Try This for Sighs” (3:03)
B6. “Man Called Marco” (3:27) Pirroni on vocals

Adam and Marco co-produced the album in London at The Townhouse, where Alan Douglas engineered Friend of Foe in sequence with titles by Doll By Doll, Gil Scott-Heron, and the UK Players.

Allan Ballard – front cover photography

On September 17, Ant dropped the title track as a second advance single, backed with “Juanito the Bandito,” a re-recorded tune from the B-Sides era. “Friend of Foe” peaked at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart.

B. “Juanito the Bandito” (4:27)

In the “Friend of Foe” video, Adam gets ousted from an orchestra for playing his trumpet out of sync. He makes a deal with the devil for pop stardom, but his act draws jeers from an audience that includes a precocious orphan Annie. A series of period vignettes — third-wheel in a gladiator match for Cleopatra; sailor’s dance with an anthropomorphic bull; tap dance with Forties servicewomen — fail to woo the homecoming queen, who passes Adam for Mr. Universe. He resolves to be a conductor.

On November 19, “Desperate But Not Serious” became the third single, backed with an unused oldie titled “Why Do Girls Love Horses?”

B. “Why Do Girls Love Horses?” (2:34) is a song first demoed in July 1978 and re-recorded during the 1982 sessions.

Adam’s extended backing band opens the “Desperate But Not Serious” video, where scenes of Adam’s boxing prep intercut with back-alley moments with his elusive flame. After flirting with the cheerleader and leading his band, he gets pounded in the ring. He takes solace in his back-alley lover, who gives him a vampire bite. His band takes a bow and walks off.

Friend of Foe reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart, No. 14 in Canada, and No. 16 on the US Billboard 200.

Ant and Pirroni embarked on a transatlantic tour with four ex-members of Paul Young‘s Q-Tips: drummer Barry “Baz” Watts, trumpeter Tony Hughes, and saxophonists Steve Farr (baritone) and Oscar Stuart Blandamer (alto).

On March 25, 1983, Ant sang a synthpop arrangement of the Supremes classic “Where Did Our Love Go,” complete with an awkward dance routine for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, broadcast on May 16 on NBC. Ants fan Michael Jackson arranged Adam’s segment, which featured a non-singing cameo by Diana Ross. Filmed after a knee operation, Adam’s Jackson-based song-and-dance delivery was further compromised by his awe of the legendary diva.

Strip

Adam Ant released his second solo album, Strip, on November 7, 1983, on CBS–Epic. It features ten Adam/Marco originals, including “Spanish Games,” “Amazon,” “Montreal,” and “Vanity.”

Phil Collins produced and played drums on the two singles: “Puss ‘n Boots” and the title track, which features spoken bits by former ABBA singer Frida Lyngstad.

Spandau Ballet soundman (and former Landscape mastermind) Richard James Burgess produced the album’s balance and plays keyboards, drums, and percussion. ABBA auxiliary Rutger Gunnarsson provided brass and string arrangements. Ant himself plays bass and occasional guitar (“Baby, Let Me Scream at You”) and percussion (Navel to Neck”).

A1. “Strip” (3:48)
A2. “Baby, Let Me Scream at You” (4:07)
A3. “Libertine” (4:19)
A4. “Spanish Games” (3:00)
A5. “Vanity” (4:08)

B1. “Puss ‘n Boots” (3:52)
B2. “Playboy” (3:50)
B3. “Montreal” (4:23)
B4. “Navel to Neck” (3:41)
B5. “Amazon” (3:50)

Sessions took place in the Summer of 1983 at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where Collins produced the two singles in sequence with Something’s Going On, Frida’s English-language solo debut. He co-produced both projects with Hugh Padgham, a soundman on Collins’ 1982 solo album Hello, I Must Be Going! and the 1981–83 Genesis albums Abacab and Genesis.

Ant and Pirroni co-produced the rest with James Burgess, who worked on Strip in sequence with the two singles by Landscape III, the three-piece offshoot of his former band. Polar staffer Paris Edvinsson engineered Strip and Something’s Going On amid work with Swedish new wavers Lustans Lakejer.

Allan Ballard photographed Adam for the cover and corresponding single sleeves. The back cover shows a photographic outtake from the “Puss ‘n Boots” video with Adam and actress Karen Landau in a lover’s embrace (repeated in the “Strip” video with Mary Stävin). Adam’s front cover poser was modeled after Jane Russell on the movie poster for The Outlaw, a 1943 Western film directed by Howard Hughes.

“Puss ‘n Boots” appeared in October 1983 as an advance single, backed with the non-album “Kiss the Drummer,” a self-produced Adam/Marco number with Edvinsson on drums and Pirroni on keyboards. The single appeared in standard 7″ and extended 12″ formats (5:00).

B. “Kiss the Drummer” (3:35 / 5:12)

In the “Puss ‘n Boots” video, two indentured servants of nobility — Adam and a new romantic lady in knee-high boots (Karen Landau) — take a cartoon trail to London while the king sends his mouse gang on their tail. The mice lure them to a hay barn but fail to hold them captive. The king entices Karen with a crown but she goes to see Adam in the barn, where they collapse in each other’s presence. Marco appears in the cartoon Big Ben.

In December, Adam lifted the title track as the second single, backed with “Yours, Yours, Yours,” another Adam/Marco/Paris number. “Strip” appeared in standard 7″ and extended 12″ formats (4:32).

B. “Yours, Yours, Yours” (3:06 / 4:38)

In the “Strip” video, Adam arrives on horseback at an antebellum estate, where he partially disrobes in the guest room while the Southern belle (Mary Stävin) doffs a gown in front of her tailor (Marco). After a sequence of fantasy scenarios — Arabic dance, saloon burlesque, secretarial break (Frida’s part) — Adam cozies up to the belle on an outside bench. Flirtation ensues that leads to the bedroom, where the camera freezes on a couple’s embrace almost identical to the album’s back cover. Stavin also appeared in the 1983–85 James Bond films Octopussy and A View to a Kill.

Band albums: