Ant’s ready to Stand and Deliver
DANDY highwayman Adam Ant will record a first in his 40-year career when the pop star hits the road this year for a new tour.
The 80s star, famous for such hits as Prince Charming, Stand and Deliver, and Antmusic, has announced a stop-off at Sage Gateshead on his new tour, in which he will perform landmark solo album Friend or Foe live in its entirety for the first time.
The 1982 best-seller – which included number one hit Goody Two-Shoes and reached gold album status on both sides of the Atlantic – kick-started the 64-year-old’s solo path after the break-up of band Adam and the Ants.
The group’s split came less than two years after Kings of the Wild Frontier became the best-selling album of 1980, topping the charts for 12 weeks in the process.
Part-highwayman, part-pirate, Adam Ant was a key figure of the 80s music scene with his flamboyant costumes, swashbuckling dance moves and dramatic white stripe across his face.
But the singer, actor and musician has stayed the course and has continued touring in the years since his new-wave heyday.
Now his North East fans can catch up with the man who triggered ‘Antmania’ when his Friend or Foe tour, which will will begin on November 7, arrives at the Sage just two days later on November 9, with a date to follow at The Town Hall in Middlesbrough on November 24.
As well as being a chance to hear his Friend or Foe album – which includes the self-titled hit single, as well as Desperate But Not Serious – all the way through, audiences will also be treated to classic hits, plus rarities and his own personal favourites.
And there are plenty to choose from over a career which takes in his early punk days in London to global stardom, during which he clocked up Ivor Novello and Brit Awards; nine albums and 22 chart-topping singles worldwide, including, at one point, eight singles in the UK top 40 in one week.
His last tour was a worldwide one, taking in sell-out venues throughout the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Tickets for the new tour, which will take in a total of 26 UK-wide dates before it wraps up on December 12, will go on sale at 10am on Friday, March 8.