Back in 1981, the UK charts were dominated by Adam And The Ants. At least, that’s how it seemed to me. I was ten-years-old. It might have been Prince Charming and Stand & Deliver that got me hooked, but it was the Kings Of The Wild Frontier album that I kept going back and listening to. It would take me decades to appreciate the role Adam And The Ants played in transitioning the British music scene effortlessly from punk to pop to the modern romantic era. It’s fair to suggest that they also transitioned me from a passive listener of my parent’s music, to someone who started to take an active interest in music.
Then, as a typically disloyal young music fan, I left Adam Ant and his solo career behind.
Years later, somewhere in my late teens, I made a friend called Will. We both played guitar, but only one of us would stick with it. We would often hang out on Friday nights and watch movies on his tiny portable TV. These movie nights introduced me to many future classics, like The Terminator, and even as I rewatch them now in hi-def surround sound on my huge TV, I often think about how I really learned to love them in crappy mono VHS on a 14 inch portable.
Then, life happened, as it does, and Will and I drifted our separate ways.
Will ended up carving out an awesome career in music, with too many credits to list here. However, where these two seemingly unrelated strands of my life come together is where he ends up being lead guitarist for none other than Adam Ant. Honestly, this still blows me away. We may not have been in touch for many years, but it still makes me incredibly happy and excited to see an old friend doing something that would have seemed an unfathomably unachievable dream job back in those long gone teenage days.
Tonight Adam Ant, with Will on guitar, brought his Kings Of The Wild Frontier tour to Perth (and Will was awesome enough to sort me out with tickets). Not only did I get to see my old friend on stage, but I got to see Adam Ant performing live for the first time (back when I was ten, going to an Adam And The Ants concert was not really a thing that was ever going to happen).
I’m not going to review the concert, except to say that Will was an absolute star and professional throughout, and Adam possibly has even more swagger and attitude now than he ever did. It was a joy and privilege to be part of the audience. It’s one of those occasions you never expect to be part of because you never truly expect certain things to come around a second time.
And now I just need to go and sort out this ringing in my ears …