Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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ANT, Adam

(b Stuart Leslie Goddard, 3 Nov. '54, London) Punk rock/new wave star of early '80s, an art student/semi-pro bassist inspired by '76 punk explosion to form band the Ants. Small part in Derek Jarman's Jubilee movie '78 but remained little-known; supposed Nazi references in lyrics and six different lineups between April '77--Oct. '79 didn't help. (The working-class ejaculation 'Oi!' was considered politically suspect in those days, an attitude which was probably itself politically suspect: 'Oi!' means approximately the same as the American 'Hey!') LP Dirk Wears White Sox (on Do It, '79) made the UK indie chart, but a bigger break came with the appointment of Malcolm McLaren as 'consultant', who poached the Ants (Dave Barbe, drums; Matthew Ashman, guitar; Lee Gorman, bass) to back prot‚g‚e Annabella Lwin in Bow Wow Wow but left Adam his 'noble savage' image of facepaint and frills. Updating Gary Glitter's double-drum kit sound with a dash of Burundi rhythms, Adam and writing partner Marco Pirroni (ex-Models) hit a chord with the sated punk audience and the whole UK soon followed suit: seven top ten hits '80--81 incl. 'Prince Charming' and 'Stand And Deliver' at no. 1. With CBS marketing muscle Kings Of The Wild Frontier '80 was a no. 1 LP; Prince Charming made no. 2. Inventive videos directed by Mike Mansfield (later by Adam himself) depicted him as highwayman, pirate, armoured knight, and captured even more fans. He sacked his band spring '82 (final lineup was Gary Tibbs, bass; Chris 'Merrick' Hughes and Terry Lee Miall, drums), retained guitarist Pirroni for solo LP Friend Or Foe '82; though rockabilly-infl. single 'Goody Two Shoes' made no. 1 the next one flopped; with the advent of new teen idols his LP Strip '83 only made no. 20 (but single and video had been banned by the BBC). He spent the next year in the USA, where his videos had belated success on MTV. Despite a one- off single hit 'Apollo Nine' late '84, his star was on the wane; the album was Vive Le Rock '85 but a tour was cancelled, some say because Ant could not get insured. The music was described by Stereo Review in the USA as 'profoundly defiant drivel', but the dropout design student was a millionaire at 30. Appeared at Live Aid '85; went into acting. Peel Sessions broadcasts issued '91 on Strange Fruit.