Adam Ant stood...and delivered!

The hardback, the audio book, the CD, the DVD, the TV doc, the eBook, the paperback and finally, the event.

It was billed as an "Intimate Evening with Adam Ant" and had sold out in less than a week after breaking the news here on cartrouble.nl. The Bloomsbury Theatre in London witnessed what many had longed for. The healthy return of Adam Ant. An evening filled with music, readings, laughter and countless applause can never be replicated in print alone. However, here's just one man's view on what happened during that magical night in London, September 24th, 2007.

When I stumbled upon news of the Adam Ant evening on the Bloomsbury Theatre's web site, my immediate response was to publish it on my site, post a link on the Ant Rap forum, book my tickets and then send SMS texts to all my fellow Ant chums. Some texts came back to me with replies such as, "who is this?", "is this some sort of a joke?" and "how the hell do you know this?". Once people had visited the theatre's site and booked their own tickets, it soon sank in and word spread quicker foot & mouth on an UK dairy farm.

Five days later, the event had sold out. Solely on the strength of word of mouth by online Ant fans. I'll refrain from using that as an opportunity to express how powerful the Internet is and has been as a medium for flying the Jolly Roger. (Too late).

The gig listings entry in the London Paper

Speculation was mounting, as many fans referred to the planned event as a "gig". We were reminded that this was to publicise the paperback release of Adam Ant's 2006 autobiography, Stand & Deliver, and that there would be readings from Adam with around 6 to 8 songs performed with acoustic accompanyment from Dave Pash, Adam's old school friend. It was hinted at that there may be some cover versions and even some new songs performed. As speculation continued to grow, it was announced a few days before the event that Adam would only be on stage for 75 minutes. That taught a few (including myself) not to let myself get too carried away with what 'could' happen without really knowing all the facts.

It must be said that there was an initial concern amongst a small number of my close Ant chums (myself included) as to whether this was too big a step for Adam to be taking. Of course we had no clue how he had been in the last 12 months, but seeing a very different Adam back in September 2006 at the UK book signings only made us a little cautious. That was all put to bed after reading the brand new epilogue in the newly released paperback edition of his book, released on September 7th 2007. It was beginning to sound as though Adam Ant was about to pop around for some tea and Jammie Dodgers at last.

The gig listings entry in the London Lite

Ant Fever was fast setting in. And still without a single bit of advertising, promoting or announcement, although we were fed a diet of updates from Justin Swan from the official site at adam-ant.net. The Ant night had now turned into an Ant weekend with hotels in King's Cross (e.g. The Howard Winchester) ending up fully booked. Fans had planned to gather at the Euston Flyer (pub) on the Saturday, The Gate (another pub) on the Sunday, and again at the Flyer just before the gig. The atmospheric buzz experienced at that time was exciting, highly emotional, and full of overwhelming respect for what was to come. Most Ant peeps had taken the trouble to dress up in their best 'bib and tucker' and that only added to the sheer importance that this event meant to them.

The event as listed in the Bloomsbury Theatre's Autumn/Winter Season brouchure.

The event was billed as "Stand & Deliver" in the gig listings of the numerous free London newspapers for that day. It had also appeared in the Bloomsbury Theatre's Autumn/Winter Season's brochure. Having seen the faces of those who had collected their tickets, it became apparent this was one Ant project that was really going to happen.

Adam had pre-signed 400 books which were sold to theatre go-ers as they entered (although I have since been told that figure was 500, yet to be confirmed though). But with many picking up at least three copies, either that figure was grossly under-estimated or there were some very dissappointed people at the back of the queue.

The doors to the auditorium opened at just before 7:45pm, and the crowd trickled in like ants into a picnic basket. I'd bumped into Kevin Mooney who Adam had invited. We chatted a little about AntFest and how smart he looked in his jacket, shirt and tie. He seemed truly honoured to be there. As we all were.

The stage lights dipped. Out strolled a bespectacled silouhette with a guitar. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered. Wow. Then a second, trilby hatted, shadowy figure made his way to the podium side of the stage. The crowd seemed to stand even higher and the cheers made the hairs on the back of neck rise. Ah heck!

The Happy Highwayman (photo: Ant DJ)

Adam looked fantasic. His physique had caused the women to drool with desire and the guys to...well, do the same I guess. He looked fit. More importantly, he looked well. Bloody well. This was not the same Adam I'd met at the booksignings 12 months earlier. He seemed composed, in control and I could feel him soaking up every decibel of appreciating eminating from the audience. He was feeding off the enthusiasm generating from the colony of sexpeople who gathered from all over the globe to show their support and display their gratitude to the man who was about to blow them away.

Adam told us some stories from his childhood. Some from his book. Some not. He was funny. Really funny. It was natural. His timing was perfect. His ad libbing was captivating. The rapport between him and Dave Pash released more chemistry than was apparent in the TV documentary. No-one really knew what to expect from Mr. Pash. We were in for a shock. Dave's a classicly trained guitarist and told us he had to drill a hole in his rather expensive classical guitar for this event. Watching him play the whole Ants band members' contributuions on one instrument was truly amazing. I'm sure had Adam not even bothered to show up Dave could have covered it with those fingers and that handy work. So what of the music?

Dave Pash & Adam (photo: Ant DJ)

Adam announced that they'd be playing songs chronologically. Adam and Dave had planned a set list of a dozen songs (as opposed to the feeble six or eight expected) which are listed below. Most received standing ovations. All received raptuous applause, so much so that Jude Taylor, who was sat on the front row, had a huge blister on her right hand. She wouldn't let me touch it. After song number 12, they left the stage. As if we were going to let that happen. The chanting was rewarded with a swift return to the boards. A 13th song (not on the set list) was performed. The crowd rose as the two masters of their craft made their exit. We wanted more. It came, as did Adam and Dave. Back onto the stage, I mean.

However Adam announced that they hadn't rehearsed anymore songs and if we didn't mind, they'd play one from earlier in the set list. The passion Adam Ant put into every song sent out a clear signal that he enjoyed every damn second of that performance, as did the 500 or so in the same room as him. The 14 performances were interlaced with readings, stories, humour, a little friendly heckling (from me a few times, and others) and applause galore. It really was "The Jukebox - Unplugged". They played:

Young Parisians
Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face)
Cleopatra
Catch A Falling Star
Cartrouble
Softly As I Leave You
'Antmusic'
Dog Eat Dog
Stand & Deliver
Desperate But Not Serious
Vive Le Rock
Wonderful

(Encore #1)
Goody Two Shoes

(Encore #2)
Never Trust A Man (With Egg On His Face)

Ladies and gentlemen, Adam Ant has re-entered the building.