Adam Ant, one of the defining musicians of new wave, brings his ANTMUSIC tour to North America in 2024, extending a legacy that stretches back to the heady days of post-punk.
A native of central London, Adam Ant became obsessed with music as a kid, hearing all types of rock n roll and pop on the radio. When he was 12, he learned to play bass, adding guitar to his repertoire by the time he formed Adam & The Ants.
Emerging during the chaotic clamor of British punk, Adam Ant drew inspiration from the Sex Pistols but pursued his own distinctive path with his band Adam & The Ants. Dirk Wears White Sox, the group's 1979 debut, channeled the sexy swagger of glam through the provocations of punk, creating a dark, sexy and vital sound that would later influence the likes of Nine Inch Nails, who would later cover Adam & The Ants' B-side "You're So Physical."
Teaming with Malcolm McLaren, the manager who helped make the Sex Pistols notorious, Adam Ant developed the sound and sights that made him an international star. Sporting warrior makeup, Adam & The Ants now sang clever, snappy pop backed by thunderous rhythms, a combination showcased on "Antmusic," a number two UK single that kicked off Antmania in Great Britain.
Adam & The Ants stayed on the top of the British charts with "Stand and Deliver" and "Prince Charming," a pair of hits that earned him the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year; additionally, the organization named "Stand and Deliver" Best Selling Single in 1982. Adam Ant went solo in 1982 with Friend or Foe, an album that gave him his American breakthrough with the jaunty "Goody Two Shoes." That year, Adam Ant earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
For the next few years, Adam Ant was a fixture in pop culture. Kings of the Wild Frontier won Adam & The Ants the first ever BRIT Award in 1981, MTV named Adam Ant the Sexiest Man Alive and, at one point, Adam Ant had eight simultaneous singles in the UK Top 40, a feat that not even the Beatles could match.
Adam Ant continued to place high in the charts through "Room at the Top" in 1990, when he chose to take a hiatus from music to pursue acting. Over the next decade, he balanced these two interests, scoring another hit in 1995 with the shimmering love song "Wonderful."
Adam began reclaiming his musical legacy in the 2000s, earning a Q Music Icon Award in 2008. After releasing Adam Ant Is The Blueblack Hussar In Marrying the Gunner's Daughter, his first album of new material in 18 years, in 2013, he returned to the road, shining the spotlight at different eras in his career by performing Dirk Wears White Sox, Kings of the Wild Frontier and Friend or Foe in their entirety. The ANTMUSIC tour follows in this tradition, pulling from all aspects of his deep catalog.
