Adam Ant

SOON TO BE RELEASED - ANT DVD (Definitive Video History 1977 - 1993). As of 2004 she is reported to working on an album of new material. Antvideo - Compilation - released 2001. Arena completed her contract with Sony Music in early 2004, with a "Greatest Hits" album to be released marking the end of her association with them. Live in Tokyo - Concert video - released 1994. The song was one of the year's longest running hits on the Billboard Magazine Club Charts where it reached number one. Antics in the Forbidden Zone - Compilation - released 1990. In 2003 she was recruited by techno DJ Ray Roc to sing on his single "Never (Past Tense)".

Prince Charming Revue - Concert video - released 1981. Later that year she received a lifetime achievement ARIA Award for her career achievement, with the award also specifically recognising her success in France. A television special entitled "The Madness of Prince Charming" was aired in the UK in 2003 documenting Adam's career highlights, as well as his struggle with mental illness. Also in 2000, she performed to the largest audience of her career at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Since the 2002 incident, Adam has occasionally been featured in news stories surrounding potential projects, his medical condition, as well as tribute bands devoted to celebrating his career. In 2000, Arena was invited to perform the role of Esmerelda in the West End production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in London. The plans were derailed when an altercation in a pub in England led to a brush with the law, and the revelation that Adam suffered from bipolar disorder, the mental illness commonly known as "manic depression" - to which some attibute his extraordinary creativity. Her 1999 album Just Me was a moderate success and included such hit singles as "Soul Mate #9", "Dare You To Be Happy" and "Symphony of Life".

Adam was poised to join an 80s focused tribute tour in early 2002. A repackaged version of the In Deep album including the new French versions, and a cover version of the Edith Piaf song "Les Trois Cloches" was a major hit throughout Europe and reached number 3 in France. The box set included 66 tracks on three CDs, and quickly sold through the initial 10,000 units. During this period her greatest successes were these French recordings and they were major hits in France. "Antbox," a retrospective box set spanning Adam's career from the late 1970s through the 1990s, was released in late 2001. This song was highly successful in Europe, and Arena embraced European culture, recording several songs in French and relocating temporarily to France. A new generation of Ant-influenced artists covered Adam and the Ants' hits during the 90s, including Elastica, Sugar Ray, Trent Reznor, and Robbie Williams. During this time she recorded the theme song for the film The Mask of Zorro, a duet with Marc Anthony titled "I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You".

While Adam and his group (which included longtime partner Marco Pirroni) played in smaller venues than they had played in the 1980s, the houses were often packed with enthusiastic fans. In Deep was the highest selling Australian album of the year. in support of the album. Her next album In Deep (1997), produced by Foreigner's Mick Jones contained a cover version of their hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" (with backing vocals by the song's original vocalist Lou Gramm) and another major hit single "Burn". The mid-1990s was a time of reinvention for Adam, as he re-entered the pop music world with the album "Wonderful." The title track was a success, as was a tour of the U.S. After more than twenty years she was finally accepted as a credible performer by both the record buying public and the Australian music industry. He had also acquired a stalker which placed him under great stress and as Graham's career took off the relationship faltered. The album won Arena five ARIA Awards for "Album of the Year", "Song of the Year" ("Chains"), "Pop Release of the Year" ("Chains") and "Best Female Vocalist", as well as a special award for "Highest Selling Female Artist in Australian History".

By this time Ant had relocated to Los Angeles and had a long term relationship with Heather Graham. Other hits followed in Australia and Europe, including "Heaven Help My Heart", "Wasn't It Good" and "Sorrento Moon". The album was another moderate success, and featured the hit single "Room at the Top." In 1993, Adam toured in support of a planned album called "Persuasion." For reasons known only to Adam, his entourage, and MCA Records, the album is still unreleased to this day. Arena's career was said to be a priority of record executive Tommy Mottola who envisioned her achieving the level of success of Céline Dion or Mariah Carey, but the album failed to sell well in the US, and Mottola moved on to other projects. The turn of the decade, 1990, saw Adam Ant re-entering the pop music world with the album "Manners and Physique," a collaboration with Andre Cymone, a solo artist and an early member of Prince's band. The song also reached the Top 10 in the United Kingdom and Top 40 in the United States. In 1985 Ant stlll had enough appeal to secure a spot at the "Live Aid" concert but rather than perform a crowd pleasing set of old hits (as Queen did to revive their career) he did songs from the latest album and as a result his sales continued to decline. As the 80s wore on, Adam's attention turned toward acting, with an emphasis on TV and movie roles. It became one of the highest selling albums of the year in Australia and provided her with her first substantial hit single "Chains".

Adam's greatest solo success was during the "Friend or Foe" album era, which included the hit single "Goody Two Shoes." Other hits during this early 1980s timeframe were "Desperate but not Serious" and "Hello, I Love You." Later in the 1980s, Adam worked with producers including Phil Collins (on the "Strip" album), and veteran Tony Visconti ("Vive Le Rock"), achieving varying degrees of success on the charts. After signing a contract with Sony Music, Arena released the album Don't Ask in 1994. Adam's colorful, charismatic onscreen persona was perfect for the new medium. Despite the success of the further singles, "The Machine's Breaking Down" and the Diane Warren title track, the album failed to establish her as a major act, and she relocated to the United States. Similar to contemporaries Duran Duran, Adam became one of the first pop video stars. The contrast between her adult image and that of the seven year old child she had been when she first became famous attracted considerable publicity in Australia, but some elements of the media insisted that she was little more than a novelty act. In the first two or three years of the decade, Adam and the Ants had several chart topping hits, including "Stand and Deliver," "Dog Eat Dog," "Prince Charming," and "AntRap." The early days of MTV provided Adam with another vehicle to get his image and message to the masses - the promotional video. Her album Strong as Steel, released in 1990, contained one major hit single, the uptempo dance track, "I Need Your Body", whose accompanying video demonstrated Arena as a sexy and confident adult.

Unquestionably, the high point of Adam Ant's career happened in the very early 1980s. Arena persevered, playing nightclubs in Melbourne and in several stage musicals, before finally being offered a contract. One of the tracks from the Jubilee soundtrack 'Deutscher Girls' was released as a single once the Ants had chart success in 1981. She was invited to support Lionel Richie on his Australian tour, but despite this success and the profile it gave her, record companies were unwilling to offer her a recording contract. His first major outing as an actor was in 1978 in the Derek Jarman film "Jubilee" both as a character actor and performing songs. Like most of the children who left the show, Arena carried with her a stigma that made it difficult to be taken seriously as an adult vocalist, and for a short time she contemplated ending her career, and found employment with an insurance company. Ant was representative of the 'Art School Punk' contingent that were followers of the original punk groups and can be seen in the audience in film of early Sex Pistols gigs. As one of the show's youngest performers, Arena's nine year stint was also one of the show's longest.

Similar to David Bowie, Madonna, and other famous shapeshifters in popular music, Adam was notorious for reinventing his image with each subsequent album release. The show's policy was to promote talented children, and at the age of sixteen team members would leave, ostensibly to follow an adult career. Though he started out playing jagged punk rock music, he gradually altered his image, evolving to a more mainstream pop star. Often billed as "Tiny Tina Arena", she was seen on weekly television singing and dancing the current pop hits. Adam Ant is the stage name of Stuart Leslie Goddard (born November 3, 1954, London, England), who was the lead singer of the highly successful 1980s pop group Adam and the Ants. As a child Arena attracted attention for the power of her voice, which was considered remarkable for such a young child. Antbox - box set - released 2001. Her career began at the age of seven when she was selected as a regular performer for the music television program Young Talent Time.

Antmusic EP - extended play - released 1980. Tina Arena (born Filippina Lydia Arena on November 1, 1967, in Melbourne, Australia) is a pop singer. Zerox / Whip in my Valise - single - released 1979. Greatest Hits 1994-2004 (2004). Deutscher Girls / Plastic Surgery - single - released 1979. Vous Etes Toujours La (2002). Young Parisians / Lady - single - released 1978. If I Was a River (2002).

Wonderful - released 1995. Just Me (2001). B-Side Babies - released 1994. Souvenirs 2000. Persuasion - unreleased 1993. Tiny Tina and Little John (1998). Manners and Physique - released 1990. In Deep (1997).

Vive Le Rock - released 1985. Don't Ask (1994). Strip - released 1983. Strong as Steel (1990, re-issued in 1996). Friend or Foe - released 1982. Summer was sufficiently pleased by the result that it was included on her live album. Prince Charming - released 1981, re-issued with bonus tracks 2004. Years after performing Donna Summer's "MacArthur Park" for Young Talent Time as an eleven year old, Arena was approached by Summer to perform a live duet with her of "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)".

Kings of the Wild Frontier - released 1980, re-issued with bonus tracks 2004. Arena has frequently collaborated with fellow Australian singer/songwriter Rick Price and has co-written songs with him. She provided backing vocals on several of his recordings - he provided backing vocals on several of hers. Dirk Wears White Sox - released 1979, re-issued with bonus tracks 2004. Arena's duet album with fellow Young Talent Time member John Bowles, titled Tiny Tina and Little Johnny and originally released in the mid 1970s, was reissued on CD in 1998 to capitalise on her success. "Heaven Help My Heart" was a hit for Wynonna Judd, "Unsung Hero" for Terri Clark, and Jo Dee Messina's version of "Burn" reached number two on the US Country Chart. Several of Arena's songs have become country hits in the United States when recorded by other artists.

In 2003, three former "Young Talent Time" performers were simultaneously in the United States Billboard Magazine Dance Top 10 - Arena with "Never (Past Tense)", Dannii Minogue with "I Begin to Wonder" and Kylie Minogue (whose first television singing performance was on YTT despite never being an official member) with "Slow". Arena is credited as being one of only five non French artists to achieve album sales in excess of one million units in France.