Hot Press meets Adam Ant

Ask legendary pop icon Adam Ant – passport name: Stuart Goddard – what’s the biggest lesson he’s learnt in his music career, and the 58-year-old Londoner doesn’t hesitate in replying: “Don’t sign a contract unless you’ve got a very, very good lawyer – which 99% of bands don’t have. Also demand gaps between albums. You know, ‘There’s the album and don’t expect another one for two, three or even four years’. When you come back, there it is, and it was worth waiting for. I think U2 are the best example of that. They do it and then you don’t hear from them for a while. Then they do it again. That pacing has led to their longevity.”

Like many a musician, Ant has learnt his lessons the harsh way. His new solo album is his first in 17 years, and comes with the rather unwieldy title Adam Ant Is The Blueback Hussar In Marrying The Gunner’s Daughter. ‘Marrying the gunner’s daughter’ is old British Navy slang for being tied over a cannon and flogged, which the singer employs as a metaphor for how he was treated by the music industry.
Back in the days of Antmania (as it was known), the flamboyant art school dropout with the white stripe across his nose was one of the biggest names in pop. He started out in the punk era and was once briefly managed by the late Malcolm McLaren.
“Yeah, I do miss Malcolm,” he sighs. “Obviously there was a bit of a mutiny when he nicked three of my band members for Bow Wow Wow. I was certainly heartbroken at the time, though it turned out better for both them and me. I always had a great deal of affection for Malcolm and he was certainly a mentor to me in the short time I worked with him. He put out this image of a kind of anarchic character that didn’t really value or care about music. In fact the opposite was true. He knew more about music than anybody I’ve ever met.”
Following Adam & The Ants’ breakthrough album, 1980’s Kings Of The Wild Frontier, he scored 22 chart hits between then and 1985. Unfortunately, his hectic workload led to a series of bipolar meltdowns (which Hot Press has been sternly warned not to ask about), occasional stays in mental institutions, and an ultimately lengthy break from the industry.
Although Ant’s charmingly shambolic comeback album has only recently been released, he’s actually been gigging constantly for the last year-and-a-half.
“It’s been a bit of an unusual approach,” he explains. “There’s no major label behind it so the buck stops with me. I decided to start by concentrating on the live circuit rather than just coming out with a new album and then saying, ‘Okay, I’m back!’”
Over the last 18 months, he has toured the UK twice, played festivals in the US and Australia, and gigged sporadically all around Europe.
“During that time, I’ve hopefully built up an audience so a lot more people will buy the album than if I’d just reappeared out of the blue.”
He was pleased to discover that he’s not just drawing the nostalgia set.
“I played a lot of festivals and the good thing about that is you get quite a younger crowd. You get mixed crowds because obviously you’re not the only band on. You’d get some of the original fans who now have kids and they bring them out. Then you get people that have not had the opportunity to see you live, but might have heard about you over the years. Some of the younger bands – people like Suede – have name-checked me or mentioned my work. So it’s a broad cross-section. I had no preconceived notion of what my crowd would be, or even if anyone would come. It’s been going at quite a nice rate now.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing live,” he continues. “That’s the difference between me and a lot of groups. Some bands who’ve had enormous sales don’t like playing live. Or else they play well in the studio and aren’t so great live. So there’s that element of it. To me, it’s part of the work. I’ve always loved the work. I enjoy playing my older stuff as much as I did when I first started out. I’m always trying to make the songs better. Also I’ve a new band and there’s a certain energy you get from having new people around you.”
While the industry and culture has changed radically since his Antmania heyday, Ant is still a committed fan of older musical delivery formats.
“The digital download thing is really just the way of the world,” he shrugs. “But I think there’s an element of it that’s in danger of getting lost, which is the tactile quality of a record. Having my own label has meant that I can put out a 7” vinyl single and a double vinyl gatefold album. And that’s selling really well. We put a lot of energy into making it and I think it makes a great gift. So there’s still room for the traditional. I like to keep one foot in the past as well as one in the future.”
Is it true he’s also released the new album on cassette?
“Nah!” he laughs. “I considered it, but realised that would have been pushing it too far!”

Adam Ant plays Vicar St., Dublin on May 5.