Kings of the Vinyl Frontier

To celebrate the remastered reissues of their work, FREEK KINKELAAR presents a collector’s guide to Adam And The Ants

The world of pop music is a fickle one; superstar one day, laughing stock the next. Adam And The Ants were often ridiculed, but 25 years ago they were most popular band worldwide. This article tells the story of the rise and fall of one of the most striking bands ever, from their earliest leather punk days to the glamour of the plush costumes. Antmusic for Sexpeople!

Adam Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard on 3 November 1954 as an only child. At the age of seven his parents split up: Adam himself describes his youth as a happy but lonely one. His first brush with fame came when Paul McCartney gave Adam’s mother (who was McCartney’s cleaning lady) a signed copy of Revolver for the young Beatles fan. In his youth Adam developed a passion for history, historical characters, music and the arts.

He enrolled at the Hornsey School of Arts where he became fascinated with the Italian 1920s Futurist movement. So much so that part of the futurists’ manifesto would later become the lyrics to Animals And Men on the Dirk Wears White Sox album. At art school he developed a liking for erotic art (especially the work of Allen Jones). His main subject was graphic art, resulting in Adam being responsible for nearly all the band’s artwork. In 1975 he joined his first band, pub rockers …

by Freek Kinkelaar
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