Adam Ant in Sydney to promote his Australian tour. Picture: Renee Nowytarger Source: The Australian
Tim Douglas, The Australian, reports
For almost a decade, Adam Ant's guitar - once the 1980s British rock star's closest companion - remained untouched.
As the flamboyant new wave musician's very public battle with mental health reached a critical point in the late 1990s, music was the farthest thing from his mind.
"I was just a shell,'' the British musician, 57, told The Australian in Sydney yesterday, ahead of his first Australian tour in more than 30 years.
"I was in a bad place. I had been working solidly from 1977 to 1995, and I drove myself literally mad. I got to the point where there was nothing left.''
Ant, whose pseudo-military garb and commando-grade make-up remain an abiding cultural footnote for 80s post-punk, said he has his 13-year-old daughter, Lily, to thank for his decision to take control of his life, and relaunch his career.
"Having Lily made the real difference,'' said Ant. "Suddenly music wasn't this self-driven obsession with the power and the glory and being No. 1. I hadn't become a man until my daughter came into my life.''
The musician, accompanied by band Georgie Girl and her Poussez Posse, will begin his first Australian tour since 1981 in Sydney on March 23, before playing Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.
Ant - real name Stuart Goddard - enjoyed wild global chart success with Adam and the Ants in the 1980s with hits such as Stand and Deliver before replicating the success as a solo artist with songs including Goody Two Shoes, an Australian No 1.
He faded from the spotlight in the mid-90s before being thrust back into it in 2002 after being arrested for threatening patrons at a London hotel with an imitation pistol.
"Things were pretty dreadful, pretty hopeless,'' says the musician, who was diagnosed as bipolar aged 21. "I realised, you know, I'm not invincible; not a machine.''
He took the bold step of actively relaunching his career two years ago, with pop-up "guerrilla'' gigs in London, which were followed by a more substantial British tour that garnered rave reviews.
"That was important to me,'' he said. "You know you're doing your job if people are listening.''
The singer, who will release his ninth album in July, said it was important to remain a passionate advocate for mental health. "I think it's one of the responsibilities you have when you're famous - or infamous,'' he said. "I feel duty bound to share my experience. Mental health is a subject shrouded in ignorance.''
Life now for the charmingly erudite musician is all about control. He owns his own record label, has toned down his make-up ("it's still important to wear a little bit so you can be seen a few rows from the front'') and designs his own clothes.
"It's a fresh look for me,'' he said. "This is all a new start and I love the challenge. You know, I'm starting all over again.''
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