ADAM AND THE ANTS...JOHN PEEL SESSION 1978

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Adam and the Ants were an English pop band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982.[1] The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were called the Ants until November of that year. They later changed their style from punk rock to post-punk and new wave and released one album. The final line-up of this version consisted of Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, and Leigh Gorman—all of whom left the band in January 1980 at the suggestion of manager Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow.[2][3]

The second version of Adam and the Ants included guitarist Marco Pirroni and drummer-and-producer Chris Hughes and was noted for its use of Burundi drums. This band existed from February 1980 to March 1982 and achieved significant commercial success in the UK.[4] With their music videos receiving airplay on MTV and Ant appearing as a guest VJ on the station, they are associated in the United States with the Second British Invasion.[5]

History
Formation
Before forming Adam and the Ants, Adam Ant (Stuart Leslie Goddard) played bass in pub rock group Bazooka Joe, who are now mostly known for headlining the show at which the Sex Pistols played their first gig on 6 November 1975 at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.[6] Bazooka Joe disbanded soon afterward. While looking to form a new band, Ant befriended some influential figures in the burgeoning London punk scene, most notably Jordan, who worked in Malcolm McLaren's and Vivienne Westwood's SEX boutique.[7] In early 1977, Ant formed a new band named The Ants with Lester Square on guitar, Andy Warren on bass guitar, and Paul Flanagan on drums.[2] Ant inducted the three sidemen into his band at an initial band meeting at the Roxy Club on 23 April 1977, the night of a gig there by Siouxsie and the Banshees.[8] A month later, Square left to finish his course at Hornsey College of Art and he later formed The Monochrome Set.

Square was replaced by Mark Ryan, and this line-up began to play regular gigs starting with the Institute of Contemporary Arts cafe on 10 May 1977[8] and taking in support slots around London. In early June, Flanagan was replaced with Dave "Barbe" Barbarossa, and this line-up recorded the songs "Plastic Surgery" and "Beat My Guest" at Chappell Studios in London.[2] Ant starred as Kid in the film Jubilee (1978) while the band appeared with the stand-in drummer Kenny Morris from Siouxie and the Banshees.[2] During a performance of "Plastic Surgery", Ant dislocated his knee.[9] Towards the end of the year, difficulties with management resulted in Ryan being fired and replaced with Johnny Bivouac,[10] while the band's name was extended to Adam and the Ants.

Touring extensively around the UK, often with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam and the Ants were unpopular with much of the British music press, who disliked their fetishistic lyrics and imagery.[11] In response, the group formed a strong – and at times ideological – rapport with amateur punk fanzines such as Ripped and Torn, which gave them more favourable coverage.[12][13] The band built up a strong cult following[14] but struggled to find mainstream success and sign a record deal – apart from the two Jubilee soundtrack songs – until 1978, when they were signed to Decca Records.[2] Al Spicer described this first incarnation of the band as "a fairly standard black-leather, sour-puss punk image, with songs that had a habit of building slowly towards a full-volume 'sturm-und-drang' climax"