(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Adam Ant – ANTMUSIC 2024 on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 8:00pm. Joining Adam Ant for this concert are special guests, The English Beat. Tickets range from $35-$59.
Adam Ant will perform his classic, chart-topping hits and personal favorites. Ant's songs include “Goody Two Shoes,” “Kings of the Wild Frontier,” “Stand and Deliver,” and “Antmusic.” Joining Ant are special guests, The English Beat, whose songs include “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Save It For Later,” and “I Confess.”
In the mid-70s, Adam Ant joined the band Bazooka Joe as a bassist; they played in pubs and colleges around London. On one decisive night in November 1975, Ant saw The Sex Pistols playing their first-ever show, supporting Bazooka Joe. The explosive punk band inspired Ant to start something new. He formed The Ants and began performing around London, landing residency at the legendary Marquee Club.
In 1979, Adam and the Ants released their debut album, Dirk Wears White Søx, which immediately topped the independent charts. He hired the former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren who suggested a more accessible and pop-oriented, rhythmic variation on punk that inspired a new album, Kings of the Wild Frontier. Released in 1980, it became a worldwide hit, topping the British charts for 12 weeks. But it was a ferocious debut performance on Top of the Pops that set fire to the phenomenon. With ‘Antmania’ in full force, Ant received the Brit Award for Best British Album.
“Stand and Deliver,” released in 1981, was another chart-topper, and remained in the top spot for five weeks becoming his most successful single and winning him the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting. His follow-up record, “Prince Charming,” went straight to number one. This honor coincided with Adam becoming the first VJ on the brand new 24-hour music video channel, MTV.
Ant's solo career started with the album, Friend or Foe, which had three Top 20 hits in the Billboard Top 100. “Goody Two Shoes” was also number one in the UK and Australia. After being voted Sexiest Man Alive by the viewers of MTV, he celebrated this success in the U.S. with a Best New Artist Grammy® nomination.
In 1983, he appeared on NBC Television Network's Motown 25 Special, alongside Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. He released his second solo album, Strip, which was followed by another solo effort, Vive Le Rock, recorded with legendary producer, Tony Visconti. This led to a memorable performance of the title track at Live Aid.
For tickets, more information, or group discounts, call State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469) or visit online at STNJ.org. State Theatre Guest Services, located at 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick NJ, is open by phone and email only, Tuesday through Friday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For in-person purchases, Guest Services is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00pm to 4:30pm. Additional ticket and transaction fees may apply.
Taking a break from the music business, Ant emerged as an actor, first appearing in theatrical productions then in numerous films that included Nomads, Junk, and Slam Dance!, followed by a string of television shows; La Femme Nikita, Northern Exposure, The Equalizer, and SledgeHammer! In the 1990s, Ant split his time between acting and music, returning to the studio to record Manners and Physique, which produced the Top 10 U.K. hit, “Room at the Top.” In 1994, Ant recorded his next album, Wonderful, at London's famous Abbey Road studios, the Beatles fabled studio.
It would be 12 years before he would play live again, with an acoustic show, in 2007 at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London, where he read extracts from Stand and Deliver, his recently released brilliant autobiography.
In 2008, Ant was presented with the Q Music Icon Award, placing him alongside fellow recipients Paul McCartney and Bryan Ferry. In 2011, Ant performed at Hard Rock Calling in London's Hyde Park. After several successful tours of the U.S., Europe, and Australia, Ant released his first album in 16 years: Adam Ant is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter.
In 2014, at the Hammersmith Apollo, Ant performed the entire album, Dirk Wears White Søx and released a DVD of the show. He finished 2015 working on the remastered anniversary release of his iconic LP, Kings of the Wild Frontier. With the album back in the charts, the sold-out tour that accompanied it found Ant playing the classic and now iconic album, in sequence, to over 30,000 people. Never one to sit idle, in 2017, Ant toured the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, performing the Kings of the Wild Frontier album to great acclaim, followed in 2018 with the ANTHEMS Tour, and in 2019, he returned to the U.S. to perform the Friend or Foe album in its entirety. After the global pandemic, Adam embarked on the ANTICS U.K. tour for the Summer of 2022.
After major renovations, State Theatre New Jersey celebrated its 100th Anniversary in December 2021 in a fully renovated theater including newly renovated lobbies, all new restrooms, upgraded HVAC systems, a new elevator for access to all levels, and brand-new theater seats. Originally built as a silent film and vaudeville palace, State Theatre’s historic significance was honored by PBS by featuring it in its documentary series, Treasures of New Jersey, in the fall of 2018. “Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey” can be streamed online.
Today, State Theatre is the largest performing arts center in Central New Jersey and has welcomed more than six million people through its doors since reopening as a nonprofit performing arts center in 1988. State Theatre New Jersey is a cornerstone of the cultural vitality of Middlesex County and averages a total economic impact on New Brunswick and the surrounding area of more than $18 million a year. The mainstage programs have featured high-caliber artists such as Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Kevin Hart, Ringo Starr, Melissa Etheridge, John Leguizamo, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Program offerings include Broadway, orchestra, family, dance, comedy, rock/pop, jazz, Performances for Schools, and Sensory-Friendly Performances.
State Theatre New Jersey’s programs are made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.
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