Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Stand and Deliver: The Autobiography
by
Adam Ant
Who could forget their first view of Adam Ant on "Top of the Pops," white stripes across his face, swaggering to the beat of 'Antmusic' or in frilly shirt and mask for 'Stand and Deliver'? One of the most successful pop stars of the 80s, his face adorning posters on teenager's walls from Acton to Akron, Adam Ant was a phenomenon. Now in this frank and revealing autobiograp...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
April 30th 2007
by Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd
(first published 2006)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
501)
From having an abusive father to being sectioned under the Mental Health Act of 1983, this man has come out the other side with humility and humour. Adam is just about my favourite person on the planet.
I was a big fan of Adam Ant in the late 70s, before he went on to become mega with the whole cowboys, Indians and pirates thing. I first saw the band in an early incarnation at Wardour Street's Vortex Club supporting my other fave ('before they became famous') band Siouxsie and the Banshees. I liked the vaguely dangerous atmosphere at the gigs, loved the edgy show, the frankly weird songs about S&M, Dirk Bogarde, and Hampstead ('not a place for revolutions - you're deprived of being deprived...more
Wasn't a huge adam ant fan, saw the doc on tv and became curious. read the book and just didnt want to put it down. fab honest account of his life and his actions and emotions. it would be an inspirational book for anyone suffering the same illness and i'm so glad he gets his happy ending
I found this memoir by Adam Ant fascinating, but not totally for the words on the page. The first part of the book is really fantastic, where he describes his family and upbringing, which is border-lined terrible. The last part of the book is horrifying due to his severe manic -depressive state. The middle part (surprising) is not that interesting for some odd reason.
I would like to know more about the recordings, because as a life-long pop music fan I think Adam Ant made some amazing and UNIQU...more
I would like to know more about the recordings, because as a life-long pop music fan I think Adam Ant made some amazing and UNIQU...more
3 likes · like · see review
view all 7 comments
I found this a very interesting and quite nostalgic read. Although I was never lucky enough to see Adam Ant perform live, I did see some of the other bands he mentions such as Siouxsie and the Banshees. This made this a nostalgic trip back to the heady days of early punk - the excitment of discovering new bands, new music and the thrill of shocking my parents by playing some pretty risque singles extra loud in my bedroom.
He writes very very well, his artistic influences are there in his use of l...more
I was a HUGE Ant fan from the day I saw my first video (Kings of the Wild Frontier) in the early 80's. The style, music and drums grabbed me and shook up my little pre-teen world. Like many at the time, I spent hours in front of MTV waiting for a video, combed through magazines and jumped on any interview or performance I could find. The highlight of my junior high years was seeing him live in concert for the Friend or Foe tour.
Since we didn't have the internet, Youtube, Twitter etc artists were...more
Since we didn't have the internet, Youtube, Twitter etc artists were...more
I found this a fascinating read. Written honestly, Adam takes you on a journey from his early childhood to the present day, and documents the ups and downs in his life. He writes candidly about his battle with bipolar disorder and, particularly in the later chapters, you really feel for him. However, there are times when Adam seems to skim over months and years, and I felt that he could have talked more about his career in the late 80s and early 90s, when his fame was slipping and his records we...more
I listened to this audiobook, on a whim. I had been aware of this book for years but something drew me towards finally reading it. I loved that the book was read by the man, himself. I was still in primary school when I heard 'Ant Music'. I was too young to enjoy his music and appreciate the well constructed image/persona that was Adam Ant. It was good, fun pop music to me. As I grew up, I was aware that he had gone into acting and I saw him popping up here and there. I saw him on Live Aid, too....more
I love Antmusic. Back in the day, I enjoyed the hits on MTV- since then, I've become much more of a fan. I was excited to read about how it all came to be. The early chapters seemed a little long and I was itching to get on with reaching the music and his later mental breakdown, but he really seemed to cover a lot of ground. He gave great focus to the formation and rise of his rock career and sound. There was a lot of detail on the work - and his sex life. The latter, at times, was too detailed,...more
I've been a fan of Adam Ant since the early 80's and have always found him to be a very interesting person.
This book was quite enjoyable and gives some good insights into the punk music scene from that time and area as well as into Adam's life.
It was interesting to hear about how he coped with a disorder that he didn't even know he had until quite late in life.
I think it helps to be a fan of his music to enjoy the book, but it isn't required. There are a few places where he assumes some knowled...more
This book was quite enjoyable and gives some good insights into the punk music scene from that time and area as well as into Adam's life.
It was interesting to hear about how he coped with a disorder that he didn't even know he had until quite late in life.
I think it helps to be a fan of his music to enjoy the book, but it isn't required. There are a few places where he assumes some knowled...more
1 like · like · see review
Jan 21, 2011
Kelly Maybedog Hawkins
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
to-sort
Sounds interesting and is on my to-read list but I have to say I had no idea such a beautiful face was under all that makeup.
1 like · like · see review
May 16, 2008
Sharon
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Music lovers, people interested in Punk and New Romantics
Recommended to Sharon by:
My friend Sam
A very interesting and sometimes sad history of one of the most enigmatic pop stars of the early 80s and 90s.
As well as his childhood and his rise to fame and the comedown afterwards, he talks about punk at it's peak in London in the 70s. What is also facinating is that he talks frankly of his depression and manic episodes and the truth behind some of his relationships and sexual exploits.
This is a very well written book, honest and truthful. I rather think that this book helped Adam defeat some...more
As well as his childhood and his rise to fame and the comedown afterwards, he talks about punk at it's peak in London in the 70s. What is also facinating is that he talks frankly of his depression and manic episodes and the truth behind some of his relationships and sexual exploits.
This is a very well written book, honest and truthful. I rather think that this book helped Adam defeat some...more
3 likes · like · see review
A very readable book about a very interesting man. I have long been a fan of Adam Ant's music so reading about his life was very fascinating to me. He is very blunt in his descriptions (from his point of view) about his life and his writing style is engaging. He addresses his lifelong struggled with bipolar illness and how he is coping with it now. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of his music or autobiographies.
Adam is completely engaging, telling his story in his own words. From his depressing childhood to musical success to mental illness, he holds nothing back. His first-person recollection of the rise of punk in the UK is reason enough to read this book, as he divides the 'movement' into political and fashion-oriented factions.
I had no idea he had done costume and set design for his concerts as well as storyboarding videos, for example. Nor that he had lived with actress Heather Graham. Fascinatin...more
I had no idea he had done costume and set design for his concerts as well as storyboarding videos, for example. Nor that he had lived with actress Heather Graham. Fascinatin...more
this left me a little flat to be honest.
I was expecting a lot more in depth about his illness, and a more colourful book.
right up to the last thirty or so pages it felf dull, like someone reading in a monotone voice..
a list of who he had met/slept and worked with.
I wish the rest of the book had been more like those last pages, where there was some feeling to what he was describing and retelling.
I was expecting a lot more in depth about his illness, and a more colourful book.
right up to the last thirty or so pages it felf dull, like someone reading in a monotone voice..
a list of who he had met/slept and worked with.
I wish the rest of the book had been more like those last pages, where there was some feeling to what he was describing and retelling.
A talented singer from the 80's, this is his story. There's no pretty words, just straight up truth, hard as some of it is to read. You get the whole story on his childhood, his loves, his music, his fall from grace, his mental illness, all the truth behind the tabloidism. He's a witty, amazing man, and so is the book.
I enjoyed this book but in a way I'm sorry I read it. It's a very honest book, he doesn't pull any punches, its a real warts and all tale. However, thats the problem. Theres a saying that you shouldn't meet your idols for fear of disappointment, and it's true. I know he had mental problems with bipolar, and you can see where it began. But I think he also had a big ego, was a control freak and at times quite arrogant. He recognises this in himself, but its almost as though he is making himself lo...more
Not much to this autobiography - he meets a girl, falls obsessively in love, goes cray-cray, loses girl, more cray-cray, makes a shitty B movie, meets another girl, this one he really loves for real real this time, goes cray-cray, repeat for several decades. Mental illness aside, he comes across as a total prat.
Even if you don't particularly like Adam Ant, it's such a brilliant read. Really interesting reading about his childhood and especially his relationship or lack of with his dad. Interesting finding about what happened behind the scenes at Top of the Pops and just the general pop world. Definitely recommend.
Stand & Deliver is a powerful autobiography. You feel as if you are in Adam Ant's head throughout the book. Parts about his bipolar disorder were difficult and and at times upsetting to read, but he is truly a survivor. I would recommend it to anyone who loves his music.
this is Adam ants life story doesn't go much into he's musical carer in much depth it focus on his mental well being or lack of it . Quite insightful at times i really enjoyed it and probably learnt a bit about mental illness
Really enjoyed this book, brought back memories of 80s music esp since I was a real fan of adam and the Ants and ant music. Also gave a real insight into mental health and how it effects everyone including those around you.
I was a huge Adam Ant fan in my youth, so I enjoyed this book quite a bit. If I were just reading it as a biography in its own right would I love it? Hard to say.
Unputdownable, honest and emotive, I found myself crying for the child he had been and amazed at how he managed to achieve so much, and I wasn't a fan in the 80s, I just read this out of curiosity.
I love Adam Ant and when I found out that he wrote an autobiography I was more than thrilled!! Dealing with fame and super star status, not to mention Bi-Polar disorder, he cronicles his life from the begining all the way to his healthly life now. A wonderful read for thoes who love the music or if you just love the british pop idol.
A truly fascinating memoir by an incredibly talented man who has had to deal with a debilitating mental illness.
Crazy life this one had, read it while traveling through the UK, fitting I think.
My favorite coworker gave me an autographed copy for Christmas. :)
Best Music autobiog there is (Mc Fly readers take note)
A must read for Ant fans, a little dry if your not.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Adam Ant (Stuart Leslie Goddard) is a New Wave/post-punk musician from the 1980s.
More about Adam Ant...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
