BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980
“Antmusic” is a song by Adam and the Ants, released as the third single in the UK in 1980 from the album Kings of the Wild Frontier (released 3 November 1980).
“Antmusic” peaked at No. 2 in the UK in January 1981, being held off the top by the re-release of John Lennon’s “Imagine” after his murder in New York City on 8 December 1980.
The music video to “Antmusic” featured the group playing in a discothèque with a giant juke box, and persuading the young audience to turn away from disco music and dance to the new-styled ‘Ant-Music’. The music video was directed by Steve Barron.
The single spent five weeks at No. 1 in Australia, and earned the band platinum certification for sales of over 100,000. Adam and the Ants toured Australia in 1981 and appeared on influential TV pop show Countdown.
Although some overseas singles include the 3:36 album version, the original UK vinyl 7″ single is 3:15. This short version has never appeared on CD to date.
SIDE A:
Antmusic 3:17
Written-By – Adam Ant And Marco Pirroni*
SIDE B:
Fall-In 2:08
Written-By – Adam Ant, Lester Square
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: CBS – S CBS 9352, CBS – 9352
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 28 Nov 1980
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: New Wave
CREDITS:
Other [Clothes By] – Eve
Other [Make Up] – Jayne Vincent
Other [Styled By] – Jordan
Performer [Made By] – Adam Ant, Kevin Mooney, Marco*, Merrick, Terry Lee Miall
Producer – Chris Hughes
Words By, Music By – Ant/Marco*
NOTES:
B-side is listed as “Fall In” on the cover.
“Unplug the jukebox
and do us all a favour
that music’s lost its taste
so try another flavour
-ANTMUSIC!”
“Antmusic” from LP
“Kings Of The Wild Frontier”
Find the 7″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
are you the same Dirk who “wears white sox”? 🙂
(sorry i couldn’t avoid that ant reference)
“Antmusic” was always a top party song in Long Beach back in the day.
Also “Fall-In” (with the hook ‘fall out’ all thru it) was also one that would cause punkers to perform “the worm” on an unsuspecting disco dance floor!
Thanks for this. Finally get to see him live in ten days time, this is a nice warm-up.
Hope you catch him in a better mood than I did a couple of years back on the Dirk anniversary tour. Been a lifelong fan but he nearly lost me that night…
But seeing Dave Barbe and Leigh Gorman, who did appear to appreciate the fans, helped me thru! I didn’t know who Tom Edwards was until that night…sad he has now gone.
Great group and great song. Thanks for sharing
Ai – 1980..(millenials can put their o.m.g.’s right… here, as that’s where I would..), I really am from the last century. Catchy track, this one back then. But boy, am I glad I did never dressed like pop idols.
Can you see it, in 1980 I played this, Blondie, Roxy music, disco, Nina Hagen, the Grease soundtrack, still, and 78 rpm’s of old movie scores from a fleamarket. What hairstyle to choose when steppin’out..?
Thanks sooooooooo much for this Paul. A Ant disciple who calls himself ‘Cartrouble’ (or ‘Carty’ for short’) made himself a version of this edit from the longer version on the remastered album issued in 2004 and sent me a 320k of it. I was never satisfied that that it really filled the gap in my digital Ant collection because 1) is it possible it is not 100% authentic to the original 7″ mix and edit and 2) it wasn’t in flac. I have the 7″ in my vinyl collection and always planned to do a digital conversion myself to address… Read more »
My pleasure Ian I had fun ripping it. 🙂
Thanks for the name-check Ian! :))
And Paul…you have no idea how happy this makes me! Top job once again sir!
Carty! Good to hear from you. I tried e-mailing you a year or so back but think you have changed e-mail addresses. Funnily enough I was asking you if I could get your reconstructed edit in flac. Tried all the e-mail links on lightbluecar. Have you retired? lol
Just need one of you guys to rip (or recreate) the special cartrouble/kick mix from WANT1 and the long version of Friend Or Foe from the japanese promo QY-3P-90053…of which Carty there is more than one known copy as I have one too.
Hi Ian, My emails are all still working, but I have slipped into a kind of retirement from all things Ant. I guess your emails must have slipped through my net…apologies for missing them. Unlike Paul, I don’t have the means to rip vinyl to his wonderfully high standards. The best that I can do is try to recreate the “Cartrouble/Kick!” promo and that “Friend Of Foe” extended version in flac, from the remastered versions. And yes, I am overjoyed to hear there is another copy out there. There has to be many more as it had a glossy printed… Read more »
Yes I shipped mine copy over from Japan. Cost a bit but I had to have it!
Carty are you the author of “Cassette only – EMI [WOW 1] (a Light Blue Recreation)” that i have just downloaded from soulseek? If it is yours you have omitted the short unlisted instrumental between sexy effiel and giant sized.
Great post! Thanks for including 7″ singles on your site. Do you have the Flexipop disc of A.N.T.S.?
Keep the early 80s coming!
It’s on Antbox.
A favorite of mine as well Paul! Such an earworm too because the first time I heard the song, it was stuck in my brain for hours on end. And that beginning sounds like an ant invasion, whatever an ant invasion is supposed to sound like. Oh happiness!! Great to have this short version too. Ah, I feel like having a picnic!!
Jeff
I know what you mean Jeff this song has been stuck in my head all day. I never thought of it but the intro does sound like an ant invasion 🙂
Which, of course, is another track on the album! Apparently there are a few versions of AntMusic about. Early versions of the album had a less polished version on them that was later changed and there was a Now compilation that had a longer version on without the fade at the end.
Exciting, just looked that Now version up – it’s the Smash Hits Magazine’s Now compilation, released in 1987. What a curio.
Did you lnow Robbie Williams did a cover of Antmusic as a b-side?
It’s completely dreadful, obviously. 😀
It wasn’t a b-side. The single was issued as a double-A but all TV and radio stations choose to ignore the other A. It’s not completely dreadful but no not Robbie’s greatest work. As a lifelong Adam Ant fan I was initially pleased at the exposure to a new audience…but really only those who actually bought the single got to hear it and now it gets called a ‘b-side’. I shout from the roof tops…No Regrets was a double A!!
Thanks Paul.
You’re welcome Omar 🙂
Such a favourite, Paul, and I had no idea that the 7″ version is so exclusive.
Adam & The Ants were so many of my friend’s ‘first records’. Was he big in the US? (I’m not talking about his acting career! ;-))
They were well known in the US because MTV had their videos in heavy rotation. They had several singles that charted on the Billboard dance chart and Adam had a handful of solo charting singles.