Posts Tagged ‘Adam Ant’

Boz Boorer talks to TAPEtoTAPE ahead of his new solo album

Having founded British rockabilly outfit The Polecats in 1977, Boz Boorer has worked with many great artists over the years including Kirsty MacColl and Adam Ant but he is probably best known for his work with Morrissey.  Joining Morrissey in 1991 as part of his touring band for the Kill Uncle album, Boz has since become ‘musical director’ for Morrissey and has co-written a number of his classic tracks including “That’s How People Grow Up”, “You’re the One For Me, Fatty” and “The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get”.

Boz is now preparing to release his new solo album “Some Of The Parts” (due 31st August) and this is proceeded by the single “Slippery Forces” which is out now (video is below).

We sent him a little Q&A and quick as a flash, he sent it back!

1. With the upcoming release of your new solo album, how does the build-up differ compared to a collaborative release?

I only ever do press normally for a solo release!

2. The new single Slippery Forces has more of an indie, even Beatles-esque feel to it rather than rockabilly, was this a conscious decision or just how the song evolved?

I write using many different influences, it just happens that all my solo output has been rockabilly up till now!

3. Do you have a different approach to song writing when you are working on solo material?

Only that normally I don’t write lyrics, even with the song ‘Slippery Forces‘ Louie Laurent sent me some of his lyrics and I found a tune for them

4. With Adam Ant back on the road and preparing a new album, did you get asked to be involved?

Yes, I wrote some songs with Adam as he was getting his band together and played a few of the early shows

5. Over the years you have worked with some amazing artists, who do you think you learnt the most from?

I think a great artist draws great playing from you and I have been fortunate enough to work with a few people like that, I think for sheer length of time it must be Morrissey, but I have picked up bits and pieces off everyone along the way!

6. And are there any that you regret working with?

Life’s too short for regrets, there have been people I haven’t quite clicked with, sure, but you move on quickly enough

7. Having worked on so many projects over the years, are there any obscure things you have done that people may not know about?

Loads, I was a recording engineer at Chrysalis for 6 years so there were lots of things there.  A session with Leo Sayer, or Sinead O’Connor for example

8. Where is the strangest place you have ever heard one of your songs?

Some of the songs I have produced at my studio in Portugal get played on the national radio over there, so that’s always a surprise.  I heard ‘Spring Heeled Jim‘ over the PA at the Kentish Town Forum after a Dave Matthews gig once

9. Do you have any pre-gig rituals?

Not one specific, all the shows are do are so different

10. What is the best heckle you have ever received?

My favourites are when we played with Ronnie Dawson, my wife played an electric double bass and as we were also the opening act in the middle of which someone shouted ‘We payed 3 and a half quid, we want a whole bass’ after that it became known as the half bass. More recently in South America whilst dressed in drag, I was being introduced and some joke was made alluring to the fact that Boz couldn’t appear tonight and a high pitched South American voice was heard to shout ‘But he’s a lady’

11. What was the last song you heard that you wish you had written?

Always ‘Happy Birthday‘ or the Nokia ring tone!  Of all the Morrissey songs, I’d say Ambitious Outsiders.  There’s not a lot of songs I have heard recently that I wish I had written.

12. The album you produced for Shoot The Image is due out in August, what drew you to work with the band?

We met on line and I saw Simeon Ross perform solo in London, I was impressed by his songs and vocal technique, he was impressed by my ability to drink huge amounts of tea and we went from there

13. You have produced on and off over the last 20 years or so, is this an area you would like to develop further in the future or is song writing/performing always going to be your main focus?

I like to chop and change it, variety is the spice of life, I tend to enjoy the recording side more as I get older, couldn’t stand it when I was a kid

14. If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

I would say teaching but I don’t have an awful lot of patience, I think I’d like to run a restaurant or bar.

As told to Jules

For more information on Boz Boorer and his upcoming album, visit his website HERE.

The first tour Adam Ant embarked on earlier in the year was a bold step back into the limelight for the once troubled star.  There was no doubt that the showman Ant of old was back, but there was just the hint of the fragile figure beneath, you could occasionally glimpse the confidence was still delicate.  However that was then and this is now, the current Winter tour ahead of next year’s new studio album sees Adam match fit and cutting a dashing highwayman once more.  

Opening with the now customary ‘Plastic Surgery’, Adam prowls the stage with a heady mix of confidence and arrogance, right from the start he is clearly revelling in his position back on stage.

I raved about it last time and I’ll do it again, the double drum assault is nothing short of spectacular.  For any doubters, second track in is ‘Dog Eat Dog’ and far from the pop sounds of the original single, live it is blistering, a call to arms for all of the Ant People.

Surprisingly, nestled amongst the Dirk and Kings classics, Adam introduces one song as ‘about my favourite thing, pussy’ as the band break into a sleazy rock version of the previously overtly camp ‘Puss n Boots’.  The sweet 80s production of the original is stripped away to reveal a slutty little number underneath.  ‘Ants Invasion’ also gets a very welcome run through, the throbbing bass and eerie guitar line are even more sinister than on record.

Perhaps the clearest indication of Adam’s growing confidence was the introduction of a brand new track.  Ahead of the new album next year, we are treated to ‘Vince Taylor’ and if this is representative of what is to come, then the comeback will be more than fleeting.  Pitched somewhere between the spiky new wave of ‘Dirk Wears White Sox’ and the tribal pop of ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’ it is a full blooded Adam Ant track,  greeted with warm approval, Adam wryly mocks us with ‘you may not like it now but you will’, playfully quoting his own lyrics.

Clearly not a fan of the X-Factor and shows of their ilk, ‘Whip In My Valise’ is bookended with barbs aimed at Cowell and co. and in a passing imitation of the high trousered one he snarls ‘I’m sorry Adam, you’re just not what we’re looking for’ to which the crowd cheer.  Presumably in support rather than agreement.

Wearing his own influences on his sleeve, the encore includes back to back covers of T-Rex’s ‘Get It On’ and ‘20^th Century Boy’ and few can argue that Adam cuts a convincing Bolan-esque dandy.

‘Physical (You’re So)’ brings a triumphant night to a close and as the final notes ring out, Adam slinks off the stage without a word, in true Ant fashion.

Earlier in the year Adam went out on the road to reclaim his mantle as King Of The Wild Frontier, I think you can consider this tour his coronation. Vive La Rock.

Jules

Following on from the critical and commercial success of his recent ‘The Good The Mad & The Lovely Posse‘ in May/June of this year, Adam Ant will be heading out on tour once more later in the year. 

We were there for the Portsmouth show (review still online) and can confirm that it was an amazing night with the Ant on top form!  Building up to a brand new studio set due next year Adam Ant will be playing at The Troxy in London on Sunday 20th November.

This is no doubt going to be another sell out show and given the setting plus Adam’s love of theatrics, it will be one hell of a spectacle!!

Get your tickets now!

For more details visit the Adam Ant website HERE.

Or to buy tickets visit The Troxy website HERE.

The Eighties are always a source of endless musical debate, lauded by some, vilified by others.  My Duran Duran obsession is no secret and no shame, my brief Spandau Ballet leanings are on the other hand my only embarrassing ‘hands up I was wrong’ moment.

So what of one of my other childhood heroes, the dandy highway man himself, Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard.. not showing off, this becomes relevant later).  

There is no super-injunction out hiding his well-documented mental health problems and over the last few years, whilst Charlie Sheen’s ‘Bi-Winning’ has somehow made him a new slacker hero, the Ant’s decline was greeted with less acclaim. 

So a sold out  Wedgewood Rooms waits and fifteen minutes after he was due on stage the band (for this is not ‘The Ants’) plays and Adam Ant saunters on dressed as the true heir to the Captain Jack crown, looking strikingly fit for a 56 year old and clearly not here to fulfil some nostalgia trip.

From the start it is clear that this is not a ‘Greatest Hits’ cash in, starting with ‘Plastic Surgery’ the B-side to 1978 single ‘Deutscher Girls’ (also played) the message is clear, his heart belongs to his punk rock roots and that is where he is going back to.

In fact, you need only look at the line up to see his intent, the iconic two drummer set up is back and this provides the tribal backbone to a near faultless set, 99% of which can be traced to the Dirk Wears White Sox and Kings Of The Wild Frontier long players.

There are still acknowledgements to his ‘pop star’ years with the likes of ‘Stand And Deliver’ and ‘Prince Charming’ getting a welcome airing, along with the slightly more surprising inclusion of ‘Goody Two Shoes’ and his only entry from post 1985 being the beautiful ‘Wonderful’.

This is a show for the hardcore and you feel for Adam himself, the myth that all B-sides were merely vinyl filler is dispelled with panache as early flip-sides are dispatched and indeed received, with sweaty abandon.

‘Beat My Guest’ (B-side of Stand And Deliver), ‘Kick’ and ‘Lady’ (from Car Trouble and Young Parisians respectively) stand shoulder to shoulder with any of the chart conquering A-sides they accompanied.

Of course there are signs that Adam Ant is still walking a thin line between genius and madness. Some unheard comment from the crowd is greeted with the response; ‘You know what I do if someone fucks up my gig? I fuck them up’ and at this point you wonder whether the equilibrium is about to shatter.  So when this is followed by the cries of ‘STUART! STUART!’ from one intoxicated punter I start to worry this could be it…. However the heckler is shot down with ‘only my Mum and the police call me Stuart… so fuck that!’ and all fears of an onstage breakdown vanish as it seems the Ant is still fully in control of his sense of humour.

Then begins the slightly surreal first encore… ever thought ‘Y.M.C.A’ was about as camp and in your face as it could get? Au contraire!  Cunningly retitled ‘A.N.T.S’ and almost certainly having lyrics about ‘coming in your pants’ it makes the Village People’s version seem, well, still pretty fruity but you get the point.

Finally bowing out to a raucous rip through T-Rex’s ‘Get It On’ followed swiftly by ‘Physical (You’re So)’, striding off before the song ends and never looking back, Adam Ant has done what we all hoped he would, put on a fantastic show.

Whatever nerves he may have had, these were put to one side as we were treated to a full two hour set and at no point was it any less than exhilarating.  With the promise of a new album next year, you can only hope that the tour continues to go from strength to strength and that Adam Ant can really reclaim his mantle as the King Of The Wild Frontier.

Jules

With a little over a week until I will be heading to see Adam Ant at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth, excitement is building!  There is more than a little nervous anticipation of just what will happen, spectacular return or…. something else.  Looking fighting fit and boasting the classic double drum set up, not to mention former 3 Colours Red man Chris McCormack on guitar, Adam Ant & The Good The Mad & The Lovely Posse is certainly going to be a night to remember!  I’ll post a full run down of the night next week.

In the meantime, check out a vintage slice of classic Ant Music…

Why not check out the official Adam Ant website for more news and all the tour dates.