London, UK · new wave · post-punk

Adam Ant

2 upcoming festivals

Burundi drums, pirate costumes, and glam swagger — 'Stand and Deliver', 'Prince Charming', and the rest of a hits catalog that defined new wave's dress-up era at its most gleefully theatrical.

Adam Ant is the stage name of Stuart Goddard, the London singer who emerged from the city's late-1970s punk scene as frontman of Adam and the Ants. With guitarist Marco Pirroni and a twin-drummer setup borrowed from Burundi drumming records, the group moved from art-punk toward a percussive, hook-driven pop that dominated British charts in the early 1980s.

The Ants' run of singles included 'Antmusic', 'Stand and Deliver' and 'Prince Charming', paired with highwayman and pirate imagery that made the band a fixture of early MTV and British television. Adam Ant went solo in 1982, scoring hits such as 'Goody Two Shoes', and has continued to tour, often performing the classic albums in full. He also acted in film and television during the later 1980s.

new wavepost-punk