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Here's your pass to join the insect nation: Sony Music's U.K. arm is releasing a new compilation devoted to post-punk heroes Adam and The Ants.
The simply-titled Singles, available October 31 in the U.K. and a week later in America, collects 20 tracks on CD or two LPs (pressed on red and white vinyl) that served as A-sides for the '80s iconoclast. Split about evenly between the classic Ants lineup and Adam's solo material, it features all the classics you'd expect, from "Kings of the Wild Frontier," "Antmusic," "Prince Charming" and "Stand and Deliver" to "Goody Two Shoes," "Puss 'N Boots," "Strip" and "Room At the Top" - along with the rare-on-CD debut single "Young Parisians." The set does not appear to feature new liner notes.
Despite the seeming simplicity to this package, there was nothing basic about the man born Stuart Leslie Goddard, a charismatic art student intrigued by the Sex Pistols enough to make his way into the U.K. punk scene. After the first line-up of Adam and The Ants was pilfered by former Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow, Adam bounced back with a unique line-up that included guitarist Marco Pirroni, bassist Kevin Mooney (later replaced by Gary Tibbs) and two drummers, Terry Miall and Chris "Merrick" Hughes (who'd later produce Tears for Fears' Songs from the Big Chair). The Ants' nervy energy and heart-quickening percussive attack (inspired by the drummers of the East African republic of Burundi) were complemented by Adam Ant's striking image, clad in vintage military coats, high boots and a white stripe of makeup across his face. This combination of style and substance proved irresistible to the British record-buying public, who launched seven of these singles into the Top 10 (including chart-toppers "Prince Charming" and "Stand and Deliver").
Ant's restless spirit resulted in him going solo on 1982's Friend or Foe (retaining Pirroni as primary co-writer); the album was a success not only in England but also crossed over in America, with U.K. No. 1 "Goody Two Shoes" just missing the Top 10 in the States. After collaborations with Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham on 1983's Strip and Tony Visconti on 1985's Vive Le Rock, Ant pivoted to acting for much of the rest of the '80s. 1990 saw the release of Manners & Physique (produced by former Prince bandmate Andre Cymone), while the acoustic-driven title track to 1995's Wonderful was his last Top 40 hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Despite struggles with bipolar disorder in the ensuing years, Adam Ant self-released a successful album in 2013 and continues to be a solid live performer - and Singles will surely be a sight for fans of all stripes at the merch table. You can pre-order it below; as an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Singles (Sony Music (U.K.), 2025)
CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
- Young Parisians - Adam and The Ants
- Zerox - Adam and The Ants
- Cartrouble - Adam and The Ants
- Kings of the Wild Frontier - Adam and The Ants
- Dog Eat Dog - Adam and The Ants
- Antmusic - Adam and The Ants
- Stand and Deliver - Adam and The Ants
- Prince Charming - Adam and The Ants
- Ant Rap - Adam and The Ants
- Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant
- Friend or Foe - Adam Ant
- Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant
- Puss 'N Boots - Adam Ant
- Strip - Adam Ant
- Apollo 9 - Adam Ant
- Vive Le Rock - Adam Ant
- Room At the Top - Adam Ant
- Rough Stuff - Adam Ant
- Can't Set Rules About Love - Adam Ant
- Wonderful - Adam Ant
Track 1 released on Decca U.K. single F 13803, 1978
Track 2 released on Do It U.K. single DUN 8, 1979
Track 3 released on Do It U.K. single DUN 10, 1980
Tracks 4-6 released on Kings of the Wild Frontier - CBS 84549 (U.K.), 1980
Tracks 7-9 released on Prince Charming - CBS 85268 (U.K.), 1981
Tracks 10-12 released on Friend or Foe - CBS 25040 (U.K.), 1982
Tracks 13-14 released on Strip - CBS 25705 (U.K.), 1983
Tracks 15-16 released on Vive Le Rock - CBS 26583 (U.K.), 1985
Tracks 17-19 released on Manners & Physique - MCA Records 6315, 1990
Track 20 released on Wonderful - EMI 72438 30335 2 2, 1995
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They left off Deutscher Girls. Why? I hate it when they leave singles off a singles compilation, especially good ones. There's nothing new to see here.
Ditto "Can't Set Rules About Love," a standout from 'Manners & Physique.' A *much* cooler set would be a single or double-disc overview just of The Ants' complete A- and B-sides - something I know has been proposed before, but nothing came of it, for reasons unknown.
Can't Set Rules About Love is track 19. Did you mean the follow-up single Gotta Be A Sin? The single edit is missing from this compilation.
Yes, that's the one I'm thinking of! I guess there's only so many they would license.
Deutscher Girls/plastic surgery was never meant to be a single. It was released without any input from Adam when he got famous.
He told us when we went to see him in concert one time.
Maybe that's why.
That's all I know.
Apart from Plastic Surgery bring one of my favourite Songs!!
In that case the album should have had 22 tracks including Gotta Be a Sin (single edit) and Cool Zombie. Maybe licencing prevents Cool Zombie being included, but there's no reason to leave out Gotta Be a Sin.