Adam Ant

Adam Ant (born Stuart Leslie Goddard, 3.11.1954)
Adam Ant is an English musician best known as the lead singer of new romantic group Adam and the Ants.

Childhood: Adam Ant was born in Marylebone, London. His parents were Leslie Goddard, a chauffeur, and Betty Kathleen Smith, a cleaner. They divorced when he was seven. He attended Robinsfield Infants School and was forced to be placed under supervision by a teacher called Joanna Saloman after throwing a brick through the head's office window twice. She helped him develop his artistic skills. He later attended St Marylebone Grammar School and became a school prefect, before enrolling at Hornsey College of Art to study graphic design. He later dropped out.

Music career: Adam Ant's first band was Bazooka Joe, which famously headlined when the Sex Pistols played their first gig. He then briefly joined the band B-Sides before changing his name. The name Adam Ant came from 'Adam' being the first man and him seeing ants as being resilient creatures. He put together Adam and the Ants in 1977 with former B-Sides members Lester Square and Andy Warren, as well as drummer Paul Flanagan. His first songs were 'Deutscher Girls' and 'Plastic Surgery' which featured on the soundtrack to the cult punk film 'Jubilee' in which he starred. In 1979, the band released debut album 'Dirk Wears White Sox' with Matthew Ashman, Leigh Gorman and Dave Barbarossa. By 1980, they'd signed with CBS Records and recorded second album 'Kings of the Wild Frontier' with the line-up Marco Pirroni, Kevin Mooney, Terry Lee Miall and Chris Hughes. The album became a UK number 1 hit. They were also successful with third album 'Prince Charming' in 1981, which featured former Roxy Music bassist Gary Tibbs as a replacement to Mooney. It featured number one singles 'Stand and Deliver' and title track 'Prince Charming'. In 1982, he disbanded the group and embarked on a solo career releasing debut solo record 'Friend or Foe' in 1982. He continued to work with writing partner Marco Pirroni. He then embarked on a US tour during which several dates were cancelled due to Adam suffering a knee injury relapse. The following year he released the album 'Strip' through Columbia Records though it did not do as well in the charts as his previous records. In 1985, he appeared at the Live Aid concert playing just one song: the title track to his 'Vive le Rock' album. He later claimed to regret playing the gig. He then took a break from music and pursued an acting career appearing in films such as 1986's 'Nomads' with Pierce Brosnan, 'Slam Dance' in 1987 with Virginia Madsen and 1988's 'Out of Time' alongside Bruce Abbott. In 1990, he came back with a new album entitled 'Manners & Physique', featuring top 20 UK single 'Room At The Top', on which he collaborated with Andre Cymone. He followed that album up with 'Wonderful' in 1995 and embarked on a tour which was later cut short due to his developing glandular fever. The following year, he recorded the songs 'Lame' and 'Inseminator' for the film 'Drop Dead Rock' which Adam starred in alongside Blondie's Debbie Harry. He then demo'd various other songs including 'Tough Blokes', 'Justine', 'Picasso Meets Gary Cooper' and 'Call Me Sausage' to feature on his new Blend Records label. In 2001, he recorded the charity single of Neil Diamond's 'America' and his own 'Big Trouble' following the 9/11 attacks in New York. In 2002, he made a guest appearance on 'Mike's Bikes' EP by Kevin Mooney's new band, the Lavender Pill Mob. The following year he appeared in the 2003 documentary 'The Madness of Prince Charming' detailing Adam's career and mental illness. In 2006, he published his autobiography 'Stand & Deliver'. In 2010, he made a return to live shows with several low-key performances and launched his new label Blue Black Hussar Ltd. In 2011, he continued with intimated performances during a 'World Tour Of London' string of shows and even went to Paris for his first show abroad in nearly 16 years. He also did a BBC Radio 4 interview discussing his bipolar disorder, and later announced a new tour at a press conference that became a massive success. In 2012, he was subject of an art exhibition in London entitled 'Adam Ant - Dandy In The Underworld' featuring works from Chris Duffy, Gerard McNamara, Jill Furmanovsky and Denis O'Regan. Adam played a charity concert at the gallery. That year he and his band took to Australia for a 2-week tour. He also made several Australian TV appearances including on 'Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight' on which he played a new track 'Vince Taylor'. He also did a summer festival run starting with May's Bearded Theory festival in the UK. He appeared on a US tour that had been postponed for several months before embarking on his UK Blueblack Hussar Tour and releasing 'Cool Zombie' - the first single from his new album. In 2013, he released his first album since 1995 'Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter' which reached number 25 on the UK Albums Chart. He also recorded a track called 'Who's A Goofy Bunny Then?' as a tribute to late Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren.

Personal life: Adam Ant was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 21. He took sodium valproate for some years which gave him insomnia, reduced libido, lack of concentration, hair loss and weight gain. In 2002, he was arrested after throwing a car alternator through the window of the Prince Of Wales pub in Camden and threatening security with an old starting pistol. He was fined £500 and forced to undergo further psychiatric treatment. The following year, he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act after attempting to smash a neighbour's door in and attempting to sleep half-naked in a café basement. He was hospitalised again in 2010. In 1975, he married Carol Mills and lived with her and her parents. During that time he developed anorexia and later tried to kill himself with an overdose of pills after which he got sent to a mental hospital. He renamed himself Adam Ant on his release, with Carol dubbing herself Eve. They were later divorced. He had a relationship with Amanda Donohoe from 1977 to 1981, Jamie Lee Curtis in 1983 and Heather Graham in the nineties. In 1997, he married Lorraine Gibson in Tennessee and had a daughter called Lily. They later separated. He doesn't watch TV but enjoys reading and has tattoos of Lord Nelson's prayer, his grandfather and an Oscar Wilde quote.