with Special Guest The English Beat

Adam Ant, one of the defining musicians of new wave, brings his ANTMUSIC tour to North America in 2024, extending a legacy that stretches back to the heady days of post-punk.

Emerging during the chaotic clamor of British punk, Adam Ant drew initial inspiration from the Sex Pistols but pursued his own distinctive path with his band Adam & The Ants. Dirk Wears White Sox, the group’s 1979 debut, channeled the sexy swagger of glam through the provocations of punk, creating a dark, sexy and vital sound that would later influence the likes of Nine Inch Nails, who would later cover Adam & The Ants’ B-side “Beat My Guest.”

Teaming with Malcolm McLaren, the manager who helped make the Sex Pistols notorious, Adam Ant developed the sound and sights that made him an international star. Sporting pirate outfits and warrior makeup, Adam & The Ants now sang clever, snappy pop backed by thunderous rhythms, a combination showcased on “Antmusic,” a number two UK single that kicked off Antmania in Great Britain.

Adam & the Ants stayed on the top of the British charts with “Stand and Deliver” and “Prince Charming” before Adam Ant went solo in 1982 with Friend or Foe, an album that gave him his American breakthrough with the jaunty “Goody Two Shoes.”

For the next few years, Adam Ant was a fixture in pop culture. Kings of the Wild Frontier won Adam & The Ants the first ever BRIT award in 1982, MTV named Adam Ant the Sexiest Man Alive and, at one point, Adam Ant had eight simultaneous singles in the UK Top 40, a feat that not even the Beatles could match.

Adam Ant continued to place high in the charts through “Room at the Top” in 1990, when he chose to take a hiatus from music to pursue acting. Over the next decade, he balanced these two interests, scoring another hit in 1995 with the shimmering love song “Wonderful.”