Kings of the Wild Frontier (Adam and the Ants song)

Last updated

"Kings of the Wild Frontier"
KingsoftheWildFrontier.jpg
Single by Adam and the Ants
from the album Kings of the Wild Frontier
B-side "Press Darlings"
Released25 July 1980
Genre
Length3:53
Label CBS
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Chris Hughes
Adam and the Ants singles chronology
"Cartrouble"
(1980)
"Kings of the Wild Frontier"
(1980)
"Dog Eat Dog"
(1980)
Music video
"Kings of the Wild Frontier" by Adam and the Ants on YouTube

"Kings of the Wild Frontier" is a 1980 song by the British new wave group Adam and the Ants. Written by Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni, it was the title track of the band's second second album and was also their first release for CBS Records after leaving the small independent label Do It Records. [1]

Contents

Although it was not the first pop song to do so, this was the first time the band employed the use of the two-drummer Burundi beat which then became one of their stylistic hallmarks.

Originally released on July 25th 1980, and backed by the non-album title "Press Darlings", the single peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart. Following the breakthrough success of "Dog Eat Dog" (UK #4) and 'Antmusic' (UK #2), the single was re-released in February 1981, peaking at number 2 in the UK singles chart. [2]

"The extent of its success surprised us," Pirroni recalled. "We'd written the music as a soundtrack to the visuals – very Eighties. I took that cowboy guitar twang from Ennio Morricone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack. I was trying to get everything I liked into that record. And it worked." [3]

Adam's ever-changing line-up of Ants included, on this song, Perroni on guitar, Kevin Mooney on bass guitar and, on drums, both Chris Hughes (under the pseudonym "Merrick") and Terry Lee Maill.

The song was included on the album of the same name released on 3rd November 1980. When the album was released in the US, the track "Making History" was dropped in favour of "Press Darlings" and "Physical (You're So)." [4]

Reception

The Guardian said the song was "one of history's flat-out weirdest bids for screamy teen stardom: the lyrics beckon new fans in – "a wild nobility, we are the family" – set to a cacophony of thunderous drums, shouting, whooping, feedback and Duane Eddy-style guitar. It is unbelievably exciting." [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Kings of the Wild Frontier</i> 1980 studio album by Adam and the Ants

Kings of the Wild Frontier is the second album by English new wave band Adam and the Ants. It was released on 7 November 1980 by CBS Records in the UK and Epic records internationally. The album was the UK number 1 selling album in 1981 and won Best British Album at the 1982 Brit Awards.

Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the late 1970s to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stand and Deliver (Adam and the Ants song)</span>

"Stand and Deliver" is a song by British new wave band Adam and the Ants, released as the lead single from their third studio album, Prince Charming (1981). It was the band's first No. 1 hit in the UK. The phrase "stand and deliver — your money or your life", used in the lyrics, is commonly associated with highwaymen in 18th century England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goody Two Shoes (song)</span> 1982 single by Adam Ant

"Goody Two Shoes" is the debut solo single by Adam Ant, released on 7 May 1982. It became Ant's third overall number one in the UK and his highest charting song in the US, where it peaked at number 12.

<i>Prince Charming</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Adam and the Ants

Prince Charming is the third and final album by Adam and the Ants, released in November 1981. This album features bass player Gary Tibbs in place of Kevin Mooney, the bassist on Kings of the Wild Frontier. The album included the band's two number one UK hit singles "Stand and Deliver" and "Prince Charming" as well as "Ant Rap".

<i>Friend or Foe</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Adam Ant

Friend or Foe is the debut solo album by English singer and musician Adam Ant, released in October 1982 by Epic Records in the United States and CBS Records elsewhere. The album peaked at number 5 in the UK, Adam Ant's highest charting solo album.

Adam Ant is a British post-punk, new wave artist. He was the lead singer of Adam & the Ants until their split in early 1982, by which time they had recorded three studio albums. Ant, however, would go solo, and release an additional five studio albums throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. After a gap of nearly 18 years, his sixth released solo studio album came out in early 2013. A planned follow-up album recorded the following year currently officially remains at developmental stage.

<i>Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant</i> 1993 greatest hits album by Adam Ant

Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant is a greatest hits compilation album from Adam Ant that covers his early work with Adam and the Ants as well as his solo work.

<i>B-Side Babies</i> 1994 compilation album by Adam Ant

B-Side Babies is a compilation album by English new wave musician Adam Ant, released by Epic Records in 1994. It is not to be confused with The B-Sides, a 7-inch EP of "Friends" b/w "Kick"/"Physical", released by Do It Records in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam and the Ants</span> English rock band

Adam and the Ants were an English rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both of which were fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were called the Ants until November of that year. They later changed their style from punk rock to post-punk and new wave, and released one album. The final line-up of this version consisted of Dave Barbarossa, Matthew Ashman, and Leigh Gorman—all of whom left the band in January 1980 at the suggestion of manager Malcolm McLaren to form Bow Wow Wow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ant Rap</span> 1981 single by Adam and the Ants

"Ant Rap" is a song by the British new wave band Adam and the Ants. Written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni, the song was remixed from the version on the group's 1981 album Prince Charming. It entered the UK Singles Chart in December 1981 at number 9 before rising to a peak position of number three.

<i>Antics in the Forbidden Zone</i> 1990 greatest hits album by Adam Ant

Antics in the Forbidden Zone is a Greatest Hits compilation and accompanying video by the English new wave musician Adam Ant, released 23 October 1990 by Epic Records. The collection spans the years 1979 to 1985, including Ant's time as frontman of Adam and the Ants with selections from Dirk Wears White Sox (1979), Kings of the Wild Frontier (1980), and Prince Charming (1981), as well as his first three solo albums, Friend or Foe (1982), Strip (1983) and Vive Le Rock (1985). The collection does not include "Ants Invasion," from which the title Antics in the Forbidden Zone was taken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutscher Girls</span> 1982 single by Adam and the Ants

"Deutscher Girls" is a song by Adam and the Ants. Included in the 1978 Derek Jarman film Jubilee, in which Adam Ant appears as "The Kid", it was not released as a single until 12 February 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zerox (song)</span>

"Zerox" is an Adam and the Ants' stand-alone single written by Adam Ant. It was later included on the 1983 CBS reissue of the band's debut album Dirk Wears White Sox and as part of the bonus material on the 2004 Columbia Records Remaster. The line-up on this track include Dave Barbarossa on drums, Matthew Ashman on guitar & Andy Warren on bass guitar. The track has been included on the compilations Antics in the Forbidden Zone, Antmusic: The Very Best of Adam Ant, The Very Best Of Adam And The Ants, Antbox, The Essential Adam Ant & Stand & Deliver: The Very Best of Adam & the Ants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartrouble</span> 1980 single by Adam and the Ants

"Cartrouble" is a song by Adam and the Ants, released as a single in March 1980 on Do It Records. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. Though usually stylised as one word, the title has also appeared as two separate words.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog Eat Dog (Adam and the Ants song)</span> 1980 single by Adam and the Ants

"Dog Eat Dog" is the opening track on the Adam and the Ants album Kings of the Wild Frontier. It was written by Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni, and features the two-drummer Burundi beat for which Adam and the Ants would become famous. Released as a 7" single on 3 October 1980, it was their first top ten hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friend or Foe (Adam Ant song)</span> 1982 single by Adam Ant

"Friend or Foe" was the title track, and second single from Adam Ant's first solo album. It was released 11 September 1982, exactly one month before the album was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desperate But Not Serious (song)</span> 1982 single by Adam Ant

"Desperate But Not Serious" is a song by Adam Ant, released on 19 November 1982 as the third single from his first solo album, Friend or Foe. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Ant performed "Desperate but Not Serious" and "Goody Two Shoes" on the very first American Bandstand episode of 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Room at the Top (Adam Ant song)</span> 1990 single by Adam Ant

"Room at the Top" is a song by Adam Ant, and the lead track on his fourth solo album, Manners & Physique. It was released as a single on 5 February 1990, a month prior to the album's release. It would prove to be Ant's final top 20 single in the US.

<i>The B-Sides</i> (EP) 1982 EP by Adam and the Ants

"Friends" b/w "Kick"/"Physical", also known as The B-Sides, is an extended play and the final single from Adam and the Ants. All three songs were written by Adam Ant, and were early fan favourites among 'Antpeople'. "Friends" and "Physical" were performed at a John Peel session on 10 July 1978. All three tracks had previously been recorded in 1978 for the Ants' first label Decca Records. "Kick" at RAK Studios in Chalbert Street, London, produced by Snips, "Friends" and "Physical" at Decca's own studio at Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, produced by Ant himself.

References

  1. Adam Ant & Marco Perroni (25 July 1980). "Kings of the Wild Frontier". Adam-Ant.net. EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
  2. "Adam and the Ants Top Songs/Chart Singles Discography". Music VF.com.
  3. Mojo , 2007
  4. Adam and the Ants (3 November 1980). "Kings of the Wild Frontier". Discogs®. EMI Music Publishing Ltd.
  5. Alexis Petridis. "The 70 greatest No 2 singles – ranked!". The Guardian.