Singer, musician and actor Adam Ant was a leading artist during Britain’s new wave movement of the 1970s and 1980s, and is today a pop cultural icon. Through his time both with Adam and the Ants and as a solo artist, his music has traversed punk, rock and roll, glam pop, and dance music, and he was won a Brit Award, an Ivor Novello Award, and been nominated for a Grammy Award.
Born Stuart Goddard, Adam Ant was the bassist for rock band Bazooka Joe, before rising to fame as the lead singer of the group Adam and the Ants. The band emerged out of London’s punk rock scene in the 1970s, and their debut album, Dirk Wears White Sox, hit No. 1 in the Independent Albums Chart. After a line-up change, they released their sophomore album Kings of the New Frontier, which topped the UK Album Charts and received critical praise. The record established them as pioneers of the UK’s new wave movement, and they went on to have several international hit singles including Stand and Deliver, Prince Charming and Antmusic. Today, the band are widely regarded as one of the most influential of their era.
In 1982, Adam Ant launched what would become a long-lasting and immensely successful solo career. His first solo album, Friend or Foe, reached the Top 5 in the UK Album Charts, while its single Goody Two Shoes hit the top spot in the UK and Australia. He has since released a further six studio albums, and has toured extensively across the UK, North America and beyond. On screen, Adam Ant made his debut in 1977 punk film Jubilee, and has since acted in films including Nomads, Out of Time and Cyber Bandits, and on stage in plays including Greek and Entertaining Mr. Sloane.
