Adam Ant

A few months after the split Ant launched a solo career (though he retained Marco Pirroni as guitarist and co-songwriter). Merrick returned to the band Dalek I Love You and subsequently produced many hits for Tears for Fears.

After the split, Ant went solo, taking his song writing partner Pirroni with him. Merrick also briefly stayed aboard as drummer/producer for the UK edition of the first solo single "Goody Two Shoes" and demos for the upcoming Friend or Foe album before moving on to other production work, while Miall and Tibbs' contracts were left to expire. Read Less

With the old Ants all gone except Pirroni, and even he unwilling to perform live any more for the time being, Ant recruited a new band for touring, consisting of new dual drummers Bogdan Wiczling (ex-Fingerprintz) and Barry Watts (ex-Q-Tips), plus guitarist Cha Burns (also ex-Fingerprintz), bassist Chris Constantinou and the former Q-Tips brass section of trumpeter Tony Hughes and twin saxophonists Stewart van Blandamer and Steve Farr. Wiczling had already served as session drummer for the Friend or Foe album and had even re-recorded the drum part for Goody Two Shoes to fit the album sound - it was this reworked version of the song that achieved US success. The album sessions had also featured session brass players Jeff Daly and Martin Drover. Read Less

Originally intended as a benefit record for the endangered mountain gorilla, it was never released, due to copyright and licensing issues relating to the title track. One track from the EP, Jungle Rock, was eventually released on Boorer's 2008 solo LP Miss Pearl. Read Less

He was working on some "very personal" songs for it. Asked in retrospect about the project in a 2007 interview, Ant claimed that Fist In The Skull was the title of a song-idea, not an album title.

Another project in the pipeline was a concert planned for 25 September 2003 at the 100 Club. Like the planned album and Save The Gorillas, this was postponed indefinitely and fell by the wayside (before any tickets went on sale) once Adam had been sectioned. One project from this period, however, which did go all the way to release was a guest appearance on an EP, Mike's Bikes by former Ants bassist Kevin Mooney's new band, the Lavender Pill Mob, on Mooney's own label Le Coq Musique. Ant provided lead vocals for Black Pirates, a reworking of the song Chicken Outlaw by Mooney's earlier band Wide Boy Awake, which was inspired by Mooney's departure from the Ants. Read Less

In 2004 and 2005, six remastered compact discs were released, spanning the years 1979 (Dirk) through to 1985 (Vive Le Rock). The CDs include previously unreleased demos and material from the "Ant vault". The project was overseen by Marco Pirroni, and includes a written message from Adam Ant. A limited edition box-set, 'Adam Ant Remasters', was made to hold all 6 of the albums and Redux. This product was re-released with all 7 albums in 2006. Read Less

In an official statement, Ant expressed an intention to perform further gigs later in the year once his hospitalisation had ended.

It remained to be seen, however, whether or not a medicated and stabilised Ant would wish to continue the direction his unmedicated self had taken. Although he gave at least one live performance in the immediate aftermath of his release (a jam at a Chelsea bar at some point during the weekend of 19–20 June 2010), which appeared consistent with his previously stated intentions, he otherwise kept a mostly low profile for the rest of his supervised outpatient period. Ant was subsequently reported to have been rehearsing in East London, with a band retaining Landesman but otherwise featuring a new all-female lineup including former Babyshambles drummer Gemma Clarke and Suffrajets frontwoman Claire Wakeman on guitar. A possible concert on 12 August 2010 at the Electric Ballroom, featuring songs from the lost Persuasion album, was mooted but did not materialize. Some smaller guerilla gigs were performed that Autumn which received no advance billing whatsoever, including a solo show at the Dark Mills festival at London's Colour House Theatre on 4 September 2010, the launch party of the Illamasqua store on 16 September (at which Boy George served as DJ), and a guest spot at the Monster Raving Loony Party's annual conference in Fleet, Hampshire, on 25 September. Read Less

The support act was Scottish funkster Jesse Rae. Read Less

Although not Ant's first radio appearance in 15 years (contrary to the claim made in programme pre-publicity materials) it was nonetheless his first radio music session in that same timeframe as he and Crewdson gave an acoustic rendition of his punk-era (and later CBS B-side) song Juanito The Bandito. In the preceding interview, among other topics Ant revealed that the Blueblack Hussar album had now been rerecorded on a laptop studio belonging to Boorer and would consist of twelve songs, six co-written with Boorer, the other six co-written with McCormack (but made no mention of the previously intended collaborations with Baillee, Pirroni or Bell).

Ant headlined at the Scala again on 18 November (in a concert billed as the second date of his "THE GOOD, THE MAD AND THE LOVELY WORLD TOUR OF LONDON 2010/11" and featuring support from Birmingham-based electro artist Johhny Normal, Rae again and Edward Tudor-Pole) and three days later, topped the bill at a tribute concert for former Ant Matthew Ashman on 21 November at the same venue, in a show also featuring later Ashman bands Bow Wow Wow, Chiefs Of Relief and Agent Provocateur). Boorer, a schoolfriend of Ashman's, again provided guitar for Ant's set The concert on 18 November received highly positive reviews from the Daily Telegraph and former Guns 'N Roses guitarist Duff McKagan in his column for the Seattle Weekly. Read Less

The mini tour - and Ant - received some unexpected publicity three days before the opening date when a 36 year old Japanese female was detained in a raid on Ant's home by the UK Border Agency pending deportation due to an expired visa

An exhibition of photographs of Ant - entitled Adam Ant - Dandy In The Underworld is currently running from 7 March 2011 to 29 April 2011 at Proud Camden in London, featuring images of Ant throughout his career, including the work of Chris Duffy, Gerard McNamara, Jill Furmanovsky, Denis O’Regan, Chris Cuffaro, Hannah Domagala, Robert Matheu, David Corio and Janette Beckman. To promote this exhibition, Ant performed a solo charity concert at the gallery on 6 March with the same two band members as the Ronnie Scotts concert from the previous December. The concert was well received, although plagued by disruption from an inebriated Chrissie Hynde who was in attendance. While this exhibition was on, Ant took his band on tour to Australia with an inital five date schedule spread over a two week period from 23 March to 8 April, taking in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Read Less

Although poor ticket sales forced the cancellation of the Adelaide gig, the remaining four concerts all went ahead. The Sydney Morning Herald gave a reservedly positive review of the opening Sydney date on 23 March (which it rated three stars out of five), noting "In a set plus two encores (the first cheered for; the second not really but played anyway) comprising 30 songs, it was kind of the equivalent of throwing a lot of make-up at the mirror and seeing what stuck. There were more excursions than expected into the patchy punk-rock of late-1970s Adam and the Ants and, with only guitars to provide melody, the early-1980s, solo-era Goody Two Shoes didn't work as well as it should have - even sampled brass would have helped there. But when things came together you could see why Ant still inspires such dedication in the faithful. The likes of Ants Invasion, with its piercing, menacing lead-guitar line, and the sleazy, swaggering glam of Physical showed that there were enduring gems among the album tracks and B-sides, while hits such as Stand and Deliver, Antmusic (sweetly dedicated to Molly Meldrum) and Prince Charming reminded you what a deliciously odd pop star he truly was." Ant also made further Australian TV appearances including a return to Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight recorded on 26 March for transmission on 28 March, including live performances of Stand and Deliver and new album track Vince Taylor with his full band. Read Less

The rest of the summer saw Ant mix festivals such as the Summer Sundae Weekender on 18 August, Solfest on 24 August and the Isle of Wight Bestival with dates in such locations as Swindon, Southend-on-Sea, Warrington and Croydon.

Later in the year, Ant's postponed US tour finally went ahead, commencing 13 September in Los Angeles and finishing on 20 October in nearby Anaheim. A third UK tour, the Blueblack Hussar Tour, is scheduled to follow from 1 November in Glasgow to 30 November at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

In 2009, it was announced that Ant was planning on putting a new record out, with "sources" telling The Sun that labels were involved in a bidding war over the new material. Adam also expressed interest in working with The Kaiser Chiefs.

In an April 2010 interview for the NME, Ant announced he was also working a new album, with the title Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter. This was planned to feature collaborations with former 3 Colours Red guitarist Chris McCormack, Ant's long-time songwriting partner Marco Pirroni, a member of Oasis (later identified as Andy Bell) and Morrissey's writing partner Boz Boorer. According to Ant, the album is a "live record that lends itself to performance" and will feature a "kind of concept. It's a very old fashioned, old school, step-by-step album". In addition, Ant rerecorded a song in tribute to the late Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, who died earlier that month, and who also once managed Adam & The Ants. Read Less

I’m in partnership with a guy called Rob Lucas, who does military fashion. The stuff that I’ve been wearing onstage is actually stuff that I designed with him. We’re hoping to bring out a unisex line next year 2013. A lot of women actually ask about the clothes, and I think they would be attracted to a unisex range. That would be quite something. We are going to take our time but it’s going to be very good quality stuff." Read Less

The tone of Ant's debut solo album, Friend or Foe, was defined as glitzy glam pop with "tongue-in-cheek tunes, delivered with an excess of flair and good humour". It was also described as being "one of Ant's best records and one of the best new wave albums".

In a review for Strip, the songs were considered to contain a "mixture of driving, danceable rock with humour".

The music on Vive Le Rock has been said to be a "50s-style rock & roll sound".

The fourth studio album, Manners and Physique was said to be a combination of "contemporary dance tracks" and Ant's "old flair for mockery". Ant himself later claimed that the album was styled after the bass heavy Minneapolis sound of which Cymone, in Ant's words, was "one of the architects". Read Less