Fact #165402
When:
Short story:
Adam And The Ants are signed to CBS Records in London, England, UK, Europe, by A+R man Howard Thompson.Full article:
Adam Ant : Because of the press I couldn’t get signed to Sony for three fucking years. Everyone else was getting signed- even the Banshees got signed. We were the last band to get signed, and that was only because of the publishing guy who got me the deal and not Howard Thompson at Sony, who claims the credit. When Howard Thompson heard the first mix of Dog Eat Dog, he said put more bass on it, so we went back and did nothing and came back, he didn’t even notice!’
(Source : http://louderthanwar.com/adam-ant-in-depth-big-interview-and-new-album-and-dirk-tour-news/)
Howard Thompson (A+R Man, CBS Records) : I had seen Adam (once) at the Vortex in Wardour St long before I joined CBS. I wasn’t very impressed, and I’d also passed on a demo tape that had been brought to me when I was at Bronze Records (1978) and Adam was represented by a management company called Megalovision.
I’d also passed on X-Ray Spex at some point, but their manager, Falcon Stuart, knew he could always get a meeting with me and he called once I’d gotten to CBS, so I took a meeting. When he handed me a demo cassette labeled Kings Of The Wild Frontier by Adam And The Ants, I groaned. But I stuck it in the machine and was knocked out by what I heard. Those drums!
You have to realize, by this point, three labels had not picked up Adam’s option - Decca (“Young Parisians”), Polydor (“Jubilee” soundtrack) and Do It who’d released two singles, “Zerox” and “Car Trouble” and an LP “Dirk Wears White Socks”, none of which had set the world on fire. So he was somewhat spoiled meat and, by this time, largely written off by the music industry.
Falcon explained that EMI Publishing had given Adam a publishing deal - I think the advance was £10,0000 (I could be wrong) - which Adam invested in his Ants Invasion Tour 1980, a last ditch attempt to get interest from record companies. The tour was about to come to a close at the Empire, Leicester Square.
A couple of nights later, I’m standing in the Empire with thousands of Antpeople - all of whom have either mohican haircuts, tartan bondage trousers, or ANTS scrawled on all their clothes and bare skin and I see one of the most electrifying shows I’d ever seen. Two drummers on tall risers, everyone decked out in their new costumes and a very sexy Adam who commanded the stage, much to the delight of everyone there. The songs were catchy, well played and it was a spectacle that drove the fans wild. In other words, a no-brainer.
I looked around for the competition, but only noticed one other record company person at the show, an a&r man from Virgin Records.
The next day I rushed into Muff’s (Muff Winwood, CBS A+R Boss) office and described what I had seen, saying we had to sign Adam. I played him the tape and asked if he would meet with Adam as soon as possible. I set up a lunch in a restaurant in Soho, attended by Falcon, Adam, Muff, David Bettering (CBS MD) and I. At one point during the meal I remember, vividly, asking Adam what he really wanted out of all this. He looked me in the eye and said, with gravitas - “Howard, I want to be a household name”. That did it for me and, I guess, the rest of the table. We offered him a deal the next day and quickly had it signed.
Kings went into the Top 50 (just) and then things got mental with Dog Eat Dog and Antmusic.
(Source : interview with Johnny Black, May 17, 2018)
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(Source : http://louderthanwar.com/adam-ant-in-depth-big-interview-and-new-album-and-dirk-tour-news/)
Howard Thompson (A+R Man, CBS Records) : I had seen Adam (once) at the Vortex in Wardour St long before I joined CBS. I wasn’t very impressed, and I’d also passed on a demo tape that had been brought to me when I was at Bronze Records (1978) and Adam was represented by a management company called Megalovision.
I’d also passed on X-Ray Spex at some point, but their manager, Falcon Stuart, knew he could always get a meeting with me and he called once I’d gotten to CBS, so I took a meeting. When he handed me a demo cassette labeled Kings Of The Wild Frontier by Adam And The Ants, I groaned. But I stuck it in the machine and was knocked out by what I heard. Those drums!
You have to realize, by this point, three labels had not picked up Adam’s option - Decca (“Young Parisians”), Polydor (“Jubilee” soundtrack) and Do It who’d released two singles, “Zerox” and “Car Trouble” and an LP “Dirk Wears White Socks”, none of which had set the world on fire. So he was somewhat spoiled meat and, by this time, largely written off by the music industry.
Falcon explained that EMI Publishing had given Adam a publishing deal - I think the advance was £10,0000 (I could be wrong) - which Adam invested in his Ants Invasion Tour 1980, a last ditch attempt to get interest from record companies. The tour was about to come to a close at the Empire, Leicester Square.
A couple of nights later, I’m standing in the Empire with thousands of Antpeople - all of whom have either mohican haircuts, tartan bondage trousers, or ANTS scrawled on all their clothes and bare skin and I see one of the most electrifying shows I’d ever seen. Two drummers on tall risers, everyone decked out in their new costumes and a very sexy Adam who commanded the stage, much to the delight of everyone there. The songs were catchy, well played and it was a spectacle that drove the fans wild. In other words, a no-brainer.
I looked around for the competition, but only noticed one other record company person at the show, an a&r man from Virgin Records.
The next day I rushed into Muff’s (Muff Winwood, CBS A+R Boss) office and described what I had seen, saying we had to sign Adam. I played him the tape and asked if he would meet with Adam as soon as possible. I set up a lunch in a restaurant in Soho, attended by Falcon, Adam, Muff, David Bettering (CBS MD) and I. At one point during the meal I remember, vividly, asking Adam what he really wanted out of all this. He looked me in the eye and said, with gravitas - “Howard, I want to be a household name”. That did it for me and, I guess, the rest of the table. We offered him a deal the next day and quickly had it signed.
Kings went into the Top 50 (just) and then things got mental with Dog Eat Dog and Antmusic.
(Source : interview with Johnny Black, May 17, 2018)