The Strange Wonder Of Pre-Pop Adam Ant

THE NEWS THAT BI-POLAR pop pirate Adam Ant has recruited original Adam & The Ants drummer Dave Barbarossa and bass player Leigh Gorman to revisit material from the group’s post-punk classic, Dirk Wears White Sox, has got MOJO all excited. Joining Adam’s current band – er, The Ministers Of New Super Heavy Funk Punk – the pair are to help recreate the group’s London Electric Ballroom show of December 31, 1979 that preceded punk svengali Malcolm McLaren’s notorious poaching of Barbarossa and Gorman for Bow Wow Wow.

Ant’s April 19 show at the Hammersmith Apollo – at which he’ll play Dirk Wears White Sox in its entirety – coincides with Record Store Day, which sees the release of the 1979 album as a 5,000 limited edition (3,000 white vinyl) mastered by Adam and including a special bonus insert package containing publicity items from Adam’s personal archive. An apt rebirth for the album that topped the very first UK Independent Albums Chart when it debuted in Record Week in 1980.

Here’s Tabletalk, Dirk’s creepy centrepiece, with a peculiar Stephanie Gluck promo film from October 1979. It exemplifies everything strange and wonderful about the original Ants.

Dirk songs will also feature in other shows on Ant’s current tour. Full dates follow.

April

1 Manchester HMV Ritz 3 Edinburgh Liquid Rooms 4 Newcastle O2 Academy 11 Cheltenham Town Hall 12 Yeovil Westlands 19 London Hammersmith Eventim Apollo