Ahead of his Long Island show, Adam Ant talks MTV, 'Goody Two Shoes,' more

Adam Ant has never gotten squashed. At age 69, the New Wave icon always stood his ground despite changing music fads. Always the romantic pirate king, Ant, whose real name is Stuart Goddard, dresses like he’s from the 18th century and performs with a sassy attitude and a wink.

When releasing “Dirk Wears White Sox” in late 1979 with his band, the Ants, he broke new ground by projecting a stylish post-punk funk sound. Landmark albums “Kings of the Wild Frontier” (1980) and “Prince Charming” (1981) made even more noise before Ant went solo, becoming an MTV darling with his hit single “Goody Two Shoes” in 1982 cementing his legendary status.

Prior to his upcoming gig at Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on April 5, Ant spoke with Newsday’s David J. Criblez about the transition from the Ants to his solo career, the origin of using two drummers and being an MTV pioneer.

How do you feel your time in Adam and the Ants shaped your solo career?

It was an incredibly important training ground playing in clubs and small pubs. You learn about camaraderie and doing the gig under any circumstances, some which were pretty awful. But we loved doing it.

You have always been a fashion icon. Where did your designs come from?

Growing up I was a fan of history, which was one of my favorite subjects. The way men dressed in the 18th century was bold and grand, therefore I sort of picked up on that. Little did I know that I’d take that to art school when I studied graphic design in London. When I put my music together, I had a backlog of ideas from college to present to the audience. I introduced it in some of the early Ants videos like “Stand & Deliver” and “Antmusic,” then all of sudden it started to click. The post-punk era got very gray and dreary, quite ugly really. This was adding a touch of color.

Where did the idea come about to use two drummers?

It came from going to see James Brown at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. He had two drummers up there pumping away — one doing the basic four-to-the-floor stuff and the other doing more percussive playing. I thought it was a great idea. Later on when I was able to get Adam and the Ants Mach II together, I thought it would be great to follow suit and have two drummers.

What was the transition like going from the group to being a solo artist?

That was immense. You think it’s going to be pretty smooth and nothing changes but truth is, you miss everybody. But it needed to be done because things weren’t going in the right direction. I wanted to get on with the work. Everybody went in different directions. Some wanted to do a bit more touring; some wanted to get married and start a family. When I didn’t have 100% commitment. The wisest thing for me to do was to keep going by pursuing a solo career.

Did you feel like it was a big gamble?

Yeah it was. Introducing a brass section was quite a big gamble. I had never been involved with any brass instruments before. On “Goody Two Shoes,” the solo could have been a guitar solo, but I thought let’s try some brass with that. It sounded so terrific that we adapted brass sections into the other tracks and took a brass section out on the road with us. It was definitely a good punch.

You were one of the early MTV success stories. How comfortable were you with the video medium?

Nobody really knew what that was going to be. I got a phone call one day and asked me to come down to the studio, pick up a telephone and say, “I want my MTV!” Nobody knew what that was going to mean. Then I found out Mick Jagger had been down an hour before and I thought, “Hmm, this might be something quite important!” I was their first guest VJ, introducing some of the videos that I liked. Little did we know that it was going to be an explosive revolution that caused people to watch music as well as listen to it.

What do you think made 'Goody Two Shoes' such a hit?

It just seemed to hit a certain button with the U.S. audience. The video was produced like a mini movie. It was one of the first instances of the promotional video being taken a bit more seriously. We never stopped for one second in that video. Americans reacted to the energy of it and then we duplicated that on stage, which was a challenge.

You left the music scene in the late '90s and then came back in 2011. What was your road to return?

I had been touring solid since 1976 and I needed a bit of a break. I had my daughter and wanted to be there for her. I got to go to California and do some acting. It was time well spent but in the bottom of my heart I did miss music. I slowly stepped back into it and eventually got back into touring again because I love doing it.

What is your current tour focused on?

It’s a celebration of my catalog featuring hits and tracks I haven’t played many times. I’m looking forward to getting out there and doing it 100% live again. Every show is unique and different from the one before. I’m always trying to push the envelope a bit. I get pleasure from doing that.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.