1981: The Year of Adam & The Ants (“Kings Of The Wild Frontier”) | New British Canon
Few 80s popstars were as eye-catching as Adam Ant. The dazzling calvary jacket, the eyeliner framing ice-blue eyes, the white warrior stripe applied just north of his nose. It’s an image that defined MTV as much as Duran Duran’s yacht, A-Ha’s pencil outlines or Dire Straits’ blocky capitalists. But unlike their music television brethren, Adam Ant survived punk batterings, bandmate betrayal and press indifference to realise the marketing power of adding vibrant vision to his band’s pummelling pop sound. This is New British Canon, and this is the story of “Kings of The Wild Frontier”.
#adamant #80spop #MusicDocumentary
Fact-checking by Chad Van Wagner.
00:00 Introduction
00:41 The Early Days of Adam & The Ants
06:27 Enter Malcolm McLaren
11:49 Creating “Kings of the Wild Frontier”
20:42 The Unreal Ascent of Adam & The Ants
28:23 The Inevitable Decline & Lasting Impact
Soundtrack
Luar – Citrine (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
Jesse Gallagher – The Golden Present
Luar – Anchor (https://soundcloud.com/luarbeats)
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Stand and Deliver: My Autobiography by Adam Ant, 2006, Pan
1000 UK Number One Hits by Jon Kutner & Spencer Leigh, 2005, Omnibus Press
Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s by Lori Majewski & Jonathan Bernstein, 2014, Abrams Image
Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics by Dylan Jones, 2020, Faber
“Whip In My Valise: Adam and the Ants” Vivien Goldman, Sounds, Dec 1977
“Ants Out Of Bondage” Paolo Hewitt, Melody Maker, Jan 1980
“Anti-Hero” Steve Taylor, Smash Hits, Oct 1980
“Adam & The Ants: The Ants Are Coming” Paul Gambaccini, Rolling Stone, Apr 1981
“Sound and Vision: The Making of Adam Ant” Chris Salewicz, The Face, Apr 1981
“The Sun Kings” Mark Ellen, Smash Hits, Jun 1981
“Optimism… And Lots of Drums” Mark Ellen, Smash Hits, Jun 1981
“Adam Ant stands and delivers” Maureen Cleave, The Observer, Jan 1982
“Adam Ant: True Confessions: Brando, De Niro and Bruce Lee. Lennon-McCartney And Yours Truly” Paul Morley, NME, Jan 1982
“Malcolm McLaren: Innovation Or Exploitation?” Roy Trakin, Musician, Feb 1982
“Adam Ant: Sex Person Without A Cause” John Mendelsohn, Creem, May 1984
“Adam Ant: “When everybody likes you, you’re in real trouble… And I got in real trouble” Tom Hibbert, Smash Hits, Sep 1984
“Adam Ant: Metamorphosis of a Narc” Mat Snow, NME, Jul 1985
“Adam Ant: White Line Nightmare” Phil Sutcliffe, Q Magazine, Dec 2000
“’Anyone over 30 belongs to me – bisexual, male, female, gay, whatever’“ Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, Jan 2002
“Adam Ant: Adam And The Fall” Paul Lester, Daily Telegraph, Apr 2005
“The Rebel The Rebel The Rebel” Pat Gilbert, Mojo Magazine, Feb 2008
“Adam And the Ants: The Making Of ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’” Nick Hasted, Uncut, May 2010
“Adam Ant on fame, depression and infamy” Matt Everit, BBC Radio 6 Music, 2011
“Adam Ant: The Mojo Interview” Andrew Perry, Mojo Magazine, Mar 2013
“Adam Ant Interview” Classic Pop, Feb 2014
“‘Heroic, sexy and a warrior bravado’: how Adam and the Ants redefined pop” Alexis Petridis, The Guardian, Oct 2016
”Adam Ant interview: “I’m proud of the fact that we actually got a record like Kings Of The Wild Frontier”” Eileen Shapiro, Classic Pop, 2017
“Adam Ant Interview: ‘You need the time away from the spotlight as well as the time when you’re involved with it.’” John Earls, Classic Pop, Oct 2019
“Adam and the Ants: how the wild tribe revealed pop’s theatre of dreams” Alexis Petridis, The Guardian, Feb 2021
“Adam And The Ants: Inside The Court Of Prince Charming” John Earls, Classic Pop, Jul 2021
@TrashTheory
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Every now and then I get people asking for a playlist of every song mentioned in my videos: Well here's a Spotify link for this one:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ohSl4NkT5PBMrjqmcpkl8?si=7885192d9ca64a22
and the YouTube Music one:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooaZ33lSalf0pq-FjONUrI4-a1gQgvbK&si=WvFSNb6fCJCde-MW
@Dansdialogue
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I remember it as him and a producer or manager getting prosecuted for supplying somebody with a young rent boy in hotel. The gun and breakdown came on the back of this
@Mike-eo5jk
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
WOW! Thank you so much! I was 13 years old in 1982 when Friend or Foe came out and it was my favorite cassette 🙂 Then I heard his other great hits. I saw him a few years back when he was performing Friend or Foe in concert and unfortunately, I was squirming in my chair a little. Many of the album's effects are hard to replicate on stage, and he was kind of a shadow of himself. I always wanted to dress up like him for Halloween but alas, I don't have the cheekbones! hahaa I'm going to check out his biography and try to find his comic! This was great.
@goofusmaximusII
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Press Darlings…my fav..
@mathilde1212
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
i remember the looks of this time , loved the pirates trend ! I went to London at this time , fail in love for his music and his look.
@oxouk
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Adam and the Ants was my first musical obsession. I had posters of them all over my walls and bought every magazine with him on the front. I'm not sure what the fascination was, the music or the imagery, but I liked it. I was 8 years old and 42 years later, I have toured with some of the biggest acts in the world. I'd like to say that Adam and the Ants was the catalyst to the lifelong musician I became.
@splifsend
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
1981 the year when every kid in school drummed out that beat on their desks
@LannieLord
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
NYC 1981. I was not really into them until the next year. Had a friend that saw them at the RITZ when they hit NYC on a SEA of HYPE ! Malcom did some job creating hype ! My friend said JOHHNY RAMONE was in the audience ! That surprised me ! LOL. Later I saw Anabella and Bow Wow Wow at the same club. Got her autograph at the sound check. Too bad the Prince Charming LP only had 2 or 3 OK songs on it. That KOTWF album makes me feel like I'm in 1981 again ! I love it !
@12cm32
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
91 weeks in a single year ???
I told you a million times not to exaggerate…
@nickh2519
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Thanks for clearing up a lot of the lyrics! Great memories, especially of my 14yo sister going to a tour concert at Manchester Apollo with her white stripe across her nose. All the best
@LaceandArmour
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
He was just such a sexy devil! 🥰
@vandolmatzis8146
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
great stuff trash theory.
@mandofan2616
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
great doc
@sammy97070
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
80-free?
@drewbocop
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Adam & the Ants fuckin slapped
@LostwaveObsession
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Oh the Prince Charming album! I knew I was getting it that Christmas from mum and dad and I could not sleep! Played it to death, still play it now. It's fantastic.
@motherofplants7186
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I had an Adam Ant pencil, ruler, sharpener and rubber set when I was at infant school. I was 5, he was my first crush and laid the foundations for my future musical tastes.
Please do a video on the British music scene before Britpop, eg PWEI, Carter, Senseless Things, Mega City 4, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Wonderstuff et al. They are overlooked now but back then were sharing massive festival bills with the big American Grunge bands.
@jonathanhague5932
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
you have to love adam. wow. amazing. so original.. punk music was the best. kings road london was wild then with punks everywhere. i was 16. malcom was a god in muisc.
@derin111
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Saw them live in early 1978 supporting Xray Spex. I had only just turned 15 at the time. 😅
@e.emerald3224
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Was an Ant fan at the time…. fav reformed, refined, ee imagined punk band. Blondie of course.. long before the others did it…
@hayleycross3520
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
My is name Hayley I am big Adam the ant 🐜💟😂😂😂😂 thanks you sharing this ❤️😀❤️😀❤️ love you darling 💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💋💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
@scottw.3258
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I had just turned 7 when i sat down to watch Top of the Pops, and on came 'Ant Music', the video. I was instantly hooked. That 'crack' of the sticks on the drum rim, the pounding beats, the way Adam and the band looked. I was mesmerised, instantly.
I remember my Dad driving me into Edinburgh, to the old HMV at the St James Centre so i could buy 'Kings of the Wild Frontier'. I'll always remember taking the Cassette up to the counter(i'm sure it cost something like £2.99), and the guy serving me saying that he'd just bought it, that he loved the album, and he knew i would too. It was a magical feeling. I still have that cassette tucked away.
I loved the Ants(i have to admit to losing interest in his solo stuff. It just didn't hold that same appeal), and still now, when i listen to them, i get those shivers down my spine, and the hairs on my neck stand on end. They were my first band, my first musical love. I'll always love the Ants, 44 years and counting.
@thomas.bobby.g2918
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Great play Mate!
@jbette
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
14:25 … Bit off-topic: … Goodness – Kevin Mooney looked hot in this vid … Unfortunately – a good quality (vid) cannot be found – (seemingly) anywhere.
@mikaelpyka7702
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I actually traded the two first AC/DC-albums for Adam & the Ants album "Prince Charming". Even though it was a great album and the band had a lot of "panache", I really regretted the trade 😅
@kensanders6241
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I loved peak Adam Ant in 1981-1982 when I started highschool. Desparate But Not Serious being a personal favorite.
I took my brother to see him during the Blue Hussar tour in 2013. Damn he rocked!🤘🏻
@Deekm69
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
This was my time, I started high school and remember dancing to Adam, I only wish I could do a backward D I remember all the lyrics
@BUDBLOOOD
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Loved Young Parisians.
@BUDBLOOOD
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I'd had enough of them by Stand and Deliver. Then Prince Charming was a no no.
@hela2000
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
He's snuck into the subconscious very well.
@alecjohnson5269
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
ADAM AND THE ANTS DID FEW CATCHY POP SONGS WERE HUGE FOR A SHORT TIME
@danielwong648
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Great time , the 80s was the best of british music….Adam and the Antz was the best..still playing them in my car ❤
@bucknakedA
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
And in my book he is the most beautiful man that ever was. (I'm a woman of 58 and saw him for the first time live on stage at age 46 and felt like 16 again)
@marxman00
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Wrong , Adamant is a famous British urinal manufacturer whose products were in every pub i can remember at that time …..Genius band name !
@raycathode
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
They were a great pop band for a short time, most people stopped listening after Prince Charming.
@drjono1970
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Loved Adam Ant still go and watch him now (Cambridge later this year)- after Adam Ant I moved on to Sigue Sigue Sputnik must be something with groups with two drummers that seems to just click with me
@lmc4964
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
1st LP I bought 11 or 12 years of age (prince Charming) , I can hear the drums now all these years later, I can see they had their limits kinda boxed in , sorta kamp pop, not hard enough for rock, not cool enough for all the new wave stuff
@andrewhinds6560
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
In 1980, Kings of the Wild frontier was well ahead of its time and still sounds brilliant today. The guitar was heavier than many heavy metal bands of the time.
@markjones4457
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I was 7 when Stand and deliver burst into the charts. It changed my life. Even as a 17 year old, i was a glam rocker. Loved that pirate image Adam invented back then. Found that a bit of foundation, eye liner and pink shimmer lippy made me very popular with the girls.
Time of my life!!!
@agfagaevart
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Adam & The Ants was okay, but…For others like me, 1981 was the year of great BRITISH FUNK groups like LINX, LEVEL 42, BEGGAR & C0., BRITISH SKA from BAD MANNERS, THE SPECIALS, and some really good US Disco and Funk from QUINCY JONES / KOOL & THE GANG / TS MONK / TOM BROWNE, et al.
@kittycat6195
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I saw him in 1983. Inxs opened for him. INXS was the hidden gift. 😳. The were just starting. Smaller venue. I was about 15 feet from Michael. ❤
@kittycat6195
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
It sounded like BowWowWow. Sorry.
@AndrewAHayes
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
They were a good band before all the Prince Charming stuff, Dirk Wears White Sox was the best album IMO, I remember buying the 7" of Xerox in 1979 and then about 3 months later watching them live in Doncaster with just a couple of hundred people there, if that. I remember it being a good gig, the majority of people there were the Doncaster and Sheffield crowd, I didn't plan on going but was talked into it by this girl I fancied, Im so glad I did, in more ways than one!
@2wm
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
RFTC 🙂
@6AlphaMikeCharlie9
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
What's with Startermotors?
A tosser threw one through my mother's pub window once 😂
@leestockton9367
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
So I misheard the lyrics of "Stand & Deliver" and went about school singing "Stan and his liver"; no wonder I was bullied
@RexMundi_UTC
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Adam Ants music is up there with the worst retro music I've heard. How the hell was this bozo popular?
@johnhynds941
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
Ant Music & Prince Charming are amongst my favourite songs ever, 1981 was my favourite year.
@sholaebofin6090
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
It makes me proud 🦚
So proud of you,
when i see innocence shining 🌟 through..
@edvincent
September 28, 2024 at 2:11 am
I saw Adam live a few months ago. He put on a great show! He played literally everything I wanted to hear including Killer in the Home and Beat My Guest. I couldn't get over how small he was though. He looks like he could wear child size clothes no problem 😂