Blue Plate Special: Adam Ant
Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor who rose to prominence as the lead singer of the new wave group Adam and the Ants and later achieved success as a solo artist. He scored 10 UK top ten hits from 1980 to 1983, including three UK No. 1 singles. Ant began his musical journey playing bass in Bazooka Joe before forming Adam and the Ants in 1977. The band’s debut album, Dirk Wears White Sox (1979), topped the UK Independent Albums Chart. Despite a setback when producer Malcolm McLaren took his backing band to form Bow Wow Wow, Ant regrouped with new members, including guitarist Marco Pirroni. Their second album, Kings of the Wild Frontier (1980), achieved immense success, becoming the UK’s number-one-selling album in 1981 and winning Best British Album at the 1982 Brit Awards. Their third album, Prince Charming (1981), featured two UK number-one singles and was where I began listening. As I started to develop my own music tastes in 1980 and 81, Adam Ant was one of the first artists to stand out to me, and when the album ‘Friend or Foe’ was released in 1982, I was a fan.
In 1982, Adam Ant embarked on a solo career, with his debut solo album Friend or Foe (1982) producing the hit single “Goody Two Shoes,” which reached number one in the UK and Australia. His subsequent solo albums, Strip (1983) and Vive Le Rock (1985), were less commercially successful, leading him to focus more on acting during the 1980s and 1990s. He returned to music with Manners & Physique (1990), which featured the US Top-20 single “Room at the Top,” and Wonderful (1995), which included the US Top-40 hit single “Wonderful.” Since 2010, Ant has continued his music career with the release of Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter (2013) and ongoing tours across the UK, US, and Australia. His legacy is marked by a blend of innovative music and a vibrant persona that has left a lasting impact on the new wave and post-punk scenes.
Some of my favorites from his catalog:
Friend or Foe – from the album Friend or Foe (1982)
Prince Charming – from the album Prince Charming (1981)
Wonderful – from the album Wonderful (1995)
Apollo 9 – from the album Vive Le Rock (1985)
Goody Two Shoes – from the album Friend or Foe (1982)
Zerox – from the album Dirk Wears White Sox (1979)
Puss ‘n Boots – from the album Strip (1983)
Desperate But Not Serious – from the album Friend or Foe (1982)
