Adam and the Ants

[Mackenzie]

Saw them at the Btn centre circa december 1981. Awesome

I was there(both nights)...aged 8!

 

[NMH]

The Monochrome Set's guitarist Lester Square was also in the original Adam and the Ants.

He had the good sense to leave after one gig.

The Monochrome Set were a tremendous live band - He's Frank is still one of my all-time favourite songs.

MS were indeed good live, I saw them on a 4-band bill at Camden's Electric Ballroom (might have been with Joy Div, or Wire). "Strange Boutique" was another good single, the flip's good too.

Adam fronted the band that became Bow Wow Wow, then Malcolm McLaren gave him the elbow.... but he retained the Ants name and recruited the new band that was to gain stardom and put him on the map.
Before recording, The Sex Pistols once were lower on the bill to 'Adam's band 'Bazooka Joe'.
I believe he never forgot McLaren's earlier snub and reminded him of that with a jibe at the end of 'Vive La Rock' with the exclaimed "look Ma, I'm on top of the World".

 

[NMH]

(just a quick add for Monochrome Set's wonderful 45 mentioned above...)

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[Gordon the Gopher]

as the man says. the ants rocked before adam sold out and your two songs are just as commercial as Antmusic.
and as for the atmosphere at the early gigs-they made Rocky Sharpe And The Razors gigs feel like a day out at the aquarium.Without the excitement of the dolphins.

His early gigs were a bit mental. Heavy duty punks used to follow them around and you didn't mess with them. I remember thinking it was a scary gig until I saw Sham 69 at the Roundhouse and had to run the guantlet of a couple of hundred mad skinheads!

 

[Gordon the Gopher]

Totally agree...my favourite album. "Never trust a man with egg on his face" is pure class.

I enjoyed his "kings of the wild frontier" album because i'm a drummer and of course, his music was centred around the two drummers. They played a bloody good set on the old grey whistle test just as they were getting famous.

I loved that drum sound at the time. I was well into Bow Wow Wow too. That style was ripped off Burundi beat or some sort of African band at the time. You should check out a bit of Theatre of Hate for a similar style and to a lesser extent early Southern Death Cult!

 

[csider]

saw both concerts at brighton center, used to love the ants!

i would have been about 10/11....

he went proper loopy though didnt he, pulling guns out and all sorts of weird shit.

 

[Jesus Gul]

That was my first concert...8 years old and loved every minute of it!

mine too aged 10, obligatory white stripe on face

Marco, Merrick, Terry Lee, Gary Tibs and yours truly