Antics In The Forbidden Zone: Adam Ant On VHS!

By Less Lee Moore

The Four Rules Of Loving Adam Ant:

• 1. Love Adam.

• 2. Love Adam some more.

• 3. Love Adam as much as you can.

4. Marry Adam.

As composed by me and my sister in the early ’90s.

Adam Ant’s Friend Or Foe tour provided my very first concert experience. I was completely besotted with him at that time, even bringing my tape cases into classes so I could stare at them as they sat perched on the side of my desk. I didn’t get a VCR until 1984 so I was at MTV’s mercy, forced to wait until his videos would come on to see them. My love for him faded somewhat as I got older, but when Antics In The Forbidden Zone came out on VHS in 1990, my simmering adoration burst into flames once again. Many, many hours were spent listening to his albums and watching his videos with my sister Summer, as we squealed and laughed a stupendously embarrassing amount.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

On October 6 of this year, Adam Ant received the (well-deserved) Q Magazine Icon Award. So to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his first album release, I have provided a brief, yet ridiculously fangirlish, commentary on each selection on the tape.

1. “Kings Of The Wild Frontier”
There are many styles clashing here: 1950s icons like Elvis, James Dean, and Marlon Brando; Native American warriors; English romantic poets; French sailors; pirates; and even a nod to S&M with the handcuffs chained to a guitar. I saw one of those embroidered jackets in Aaardvark’s Odd Ark in the ’90s and I desperately wanted it, but it was too expensive. In retrospect, fifty bucks seems like nothing. Adam Ant knew how to make his cheekbones look even more prominent with those drawn on, insanely-pointed, fake sideburns. The double drumming in this song owns, but that bridge gives me chills even to this day. Political correctness be damned.

2. “Dog Eat Dog”
This is a fantastic live version of an already-fantastic tune and the reconfigured ending is glorious. There are so many feathers and scarves flying around you’d think Aersomith might’ve played the venue the night before. I know that post-production can work wonders but Adam’s voice sounds amazing, even with all the jumping and flailing. The best part is when the cut to the kids in the crowd shows them grinning from ear to ear. And Marco’s jacket! I can’t believe no one has tried to copy it for the Hot Topic crowd yet.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

3. “Antmusic”
This was the Adam Ant video that MTV played more than ANY other in the ’80s. Every time they’d announce, “Coming up this hour: Adam Ant” I’d hold my breath hoping it would be “Prince Charming” or “Stand and Deliver” but no, it was always “Antmusic.” Not that I was REALLY complaining, mind. Oh, look it’s Amanda Donohoe sitting in a booth! I didn’t know she was Adam’s teenaged girlfriend of that time until years later when I saw Lair Of The White Worm. The giant plug prop is SO “eighties video” while the ribbon-trimmed knife in the jukebox is a nice touch. I want Adam and the Ants to come into some stupid club and mix it up like they have in this video. And then, his work here is done. . . and he disappears into the alley.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

4. “Stand And Deliver”
It’s another Amanda Donohoe appearance! And Adam’s brandishing a firearm. “Why Mister Goddard, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” The juxtaposition of 18th century with headphones and vinyl records is genius. The change in Adam’s facial expression from amused to horrified and then back again when he looks into the hand mirror is hilariously awesome. I used to rewind that part over and over again. And ditto for the “even though you fool your soul” close-up shots, when he rolls his eyes and pouts like a queen. If memory serves, that bit where he crashes through the window was used in an old MTV commercial. I swear that Limahl from Kajagoogoo is in this! You can see him around the 1:44 mark as one of the guests at the banquet table. The full screen image of Adam’s face screaming, “STAAAAAAND” is a crack-up. I love every video that uses that weird pastel colored background lighting. The flirty faces at the end and the slow-mo head tilt as he stares into the mirror: more rewind faves.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

5. “Prince Charming”
Yay, a video that tells a story! Adam’s so cute in his work clothes and dirt smudges. He looks genuinely sad when they take away the stuffed cat. I had no clue who Diana Dors was until I heard her name-dropped in “Scorpios” and saw this video. What a coup to have her appear here! And the shirtless, oiled manservants are over the top. The transformation from dud to stud is fab. Check out the new Prince Charming surveying his subjects. The image at 1:49 is breathtaking. Someone please make the Prince Charming Revue available on DVD! So I know I’m not the only nerd who memorized the dance and did it at slumber parties, right? And I’d like a list of all the other eighties videos which also utilized the “slow motion mirror smash” shot. The end of this video is the best: Adam does Clint Eastwood, Alice Cooper, Rudy Valentino, and of course, himself.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

6. “Ant Rap”
As if all the other references weren’t enough, now we’ve got Arthurian legends! The Prince Charming hair is really out-of-this-world cool. It’s definitely my favorite, with the Dirk Wears White Sox and Vive Le Rock short cuts a close second. I always thought the Statue Of Liberty model looked like a less-stoned Farrah Fawcett. And there’s continuity with the previous video, as Prince Charming kisses his Maid Marion. Hehe, I love the sneered, “I have the mouth” at about one minute in. Also, I’m blinded by the sparkle effect from the suit of armor. Why do the bad guys look like the Blues Brothers? I was always embarrassed by the football uniform and the subsequent leap over the crowd, but later came to appreciate how, besides having awesome music and being really really ridiculously good-looking, Adam Ant was also goofy as hell. Marco as Liberace! Adam as Bruce Lee! Giant can openers! Satin underwear with hearts! Summer and I used to rewind and fast forward the part where he jumps into the moat over and over so it looked like he was flying backwards and forwards. Okay, in reality, she would steal the remote and do it about five times until I told her to stop and then she’d say, “Okay” but then do it five more times until I would hit her with something.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

7. “Goody Two Shoes”
So this was the second-most-frequently-played-on-MTV Adam Ant video in the ’80s. I love how he checks himself out in the mirror, like, “Yeah, lookin’ good!” The three female Ants are marvelous. If I had those outfits I would wear them ALL the time. (Yes, even now.) The reporter’s hair always reminded me of this doll I had as a kid named Tuesday Taylor: she had weird, blonde streaks in her hair, too. Aw, Adam’s so adorable with his skinny, non-gym-rat exposed stomach. He has the best facial expressions of all time.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

8. “Friend or Foe”
This is a stupendous single and it should’ve been much bigger than “Goody Two Shoes,” in my opinion. Once again, Adam plays multiple roles. The creepy Orphan Annie-looking woman scares me. Why are Marco and his pals eating chicken? Adam shows off his hip shake and fancy footwork and we’re less than a minute into the video! And then he does a time step! I love the brief interlude that’s an ode to Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in Anchors Aweigh! Using the double drumming and switch noises as a way to weave USO tap dancers into the video is a stroke of brilliance.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

9. “Desperate But Not Serious“
To be fair, MTV did play this video A LOT in the ’80s, too. The guy with the seedy handlebar moustache is named Cha Burns. (I think.) Okay, this is mildly embarrassing but seriously, Adam Ant is really hot in this video. I love the way he licks his lip after he says, “How would that be?” And again with the fabulous facial expressions. My friend and fellow Ant lover had to explain the “if you don’t stop, you will go blind” line to me. I was that naïve. The way he touches the redhead’s chin before he kisses her is sweet.

10. “Puss ‘N Boots”
Confession time: Strip is totally not my favorite album, but this song and the title track are amazing. There is probably more mugging in this video than in all the other videos combined. The mouse gangster dancing around the giant blocks of cheese? The mouse gang in satin baseball jackets? The king gobbling fake cheese? Yep, it’s all here, folks. The actress who plays Puss is especially lovely. Plus, choreographed dances!

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

11. “Strip”
This is such an awesome video and an awesome song. It helps that the actress is totally gorgeous and seems to have wonderful chemistry with Adam. I think at this point in his fashion career he had a tailor who made the same outfits over and over in different fabrics (a la Prince). And this is like, the millionth appearance of that repeated-movement-on-a-cut effect that he has in every video! (Whatever that is called; fellow film nerds help me out here.) Why does he bite his lip and make such a funny face when he pulls his shirt down over his collarbone? At any rate, it’s endearing. The harem scene is especially hysterical because of the three dudes in the wicker baskets. Summer and I would frequently kill ourselves laughing because once she asked, “Why does that one guy have an ice pack on his head?” (Oh, I am laughing so much just typing this out!) The cancan sequence is yet another superb visual accompaniment to the music of the song. And the bridge! Definitely in the top five of all Adam Ant bridges. I like how Adam gets so carried away with his dancing that he mimes a square shape in the air with his fingers. And the clothes that take off themselves to reveal those famous black Adidas shorts, which he’d been stripping down to for years in his live shows. My my. He was so sexy. The shower scene is my favorite scene in any video ever.

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

12. “Apollo 9”
I’d actually never even heard this song until I got the Antics In The Forbidden Zone tape. I had seen the “Vive Le Rock” video but at that point I had become a doom and gloom teenager who listened to Bauhaus and The Smiths and found Adam Ant’s shtick a bit silly. (I’m the first to admit that was stupid on my part.) This is one of the catchiest songs of all time, with harmonies that combine all the greatness of the tunes on the Friend Or Foe album into one beautiful three-and-a-half minute package. Who knew that a guy who wore lipstick on his cheeks could look so handsome in an olive drab NASA jumpsuit? Or flared jeans and a silver lamé space jacket? The press conference with the cowboy hat! Jeepers! I don’t think anyone except James Dean himself has ever captured the essence of James Dean so well. This may be the happiest and most exuberant Adam Ant has ever looked in any of his videos. (Which makes the later years even more heartbreaking.)

Screencap from The Czech Adam Ant Fansite

13. “Vive Le Rock”
Here is yet another stellar song and video from a terribly-underrated album. Methinks a soon-to-be-hugely famous Morrissey secretly liked this. The motorcycle jacket and jeans look is working! And even the red plastic pants and mesh top. When he sings, “You’re scratching records but you won’t be scratching mine,” he really looks like he means it. And even though Adam wrote most of his songs on bass guitar (and played bass on most, if not all, of his albums) we rarely see him with a guitar. So that magnificent white Gretsch is a sweet surprise. Look Ma! I’m on top of the world!

Additional Resources:

Adam Ant’s biography, Stand and Deliver, was published in paperback at the end of 2007 and the two-DVD set (The Very Best of Adam & the Ants: Stand and Deliver) is also available for purchase. For more information please check out the Official Adam Ant Website.