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  • Scantmusic: In conversation with Will Crewdson

    With over thirty American dates announced for this summer/autumn to add to an already bulging diary, Adam Ant guitarist Will Crewdson is in more demand than ever. We caught up with him at Edinburgh’s La Belle Angele, on his second of ten gigs supporting Magazine’s Dave Formula & Noko to see what’s what and who with… and snuffle out any hot goss on the forthcoming Ant shows…

    The full transcript:

    So, Will, tell us how you’ve been getting these plum appearances with Magazine and EMF. You’re getting around now!

    Um, I don’t know. It’s like you bang your head against the wall for so long, and eventually the wall caves in, you know, because I’ve been doing this solo stuff for quite a while now. Most of the gigs I do are in London really with it, and it’s normally in between touring with other people, but just over the last sort of two or three years I guess, I’ve started to get all these really cool supports with bands that I used to love, you know, and it’s very nice to do and they seem to like me doing it. Which is a bonus.

    Had you performed with Noko and Dave Formula before? How did you know each other?

    No, I mean, I know their manager pretty well, and I have met Dave before in the past and I know Noko who’s good friends with Mary Byker. I play with Gaye Bykers – they’re in Apollo 440 together – so it’s all kind of linked like that really, yeah.

    EMF though – was that a random?

    Quite random, yeah, because I didn’t know any of them, those guys. But they’re lovely blokes and they’re still a great band live. I can’t remember how that came about. I think it was probably their agent or an agent that I was working with, yeah.

    Is that how you’re getting a lot of gigs?

    Sometimes, yeah. And then you do one thing like that, you know, like, I think I did Jesus Jones first and then I guess people saw me doing that and they thought, “Oh, that might be good for EMF,” you know, and yeah, just kind of like happens like that, really. Like you knock over the first domino… Very destructive my answers, aren’t they!? “Breaking walls” and “Pushing down dominoes”!

    So, you’re accumulating fans – are you finding an uptick in followers?

    Yeah, I mean, it’s weird when you’re supporting someone because obviously, they’re not there to see you. So, in a lot of ways, you’re just kind of – I mean, people enjoy it – but they’re obviously just there to see their band and they’re there to buy their t-shirts, which is fair enough, you know? But no I’ve definitely picked up a few people and, you know, it’s good to get out of London. It’s always, you know, a lot of appreciation the further north you go, I think, which is great.

    On our gig guide, sixty gigs you’ve got currently on there that you’ve either performed this year or you’re about to perform later this year…

    Okay…

    What supplements are you on …and can we have some?

    Supplements…?

    …to keep you going – that’s a lot of gigs!

    Yeah, it’s good actually. And thanks for letting me know because now I don’t have to bother keeping a diary. I just look at your website, so thanks for that, Stan! I don’t know. I got to say, though, these gigs do take it out… even like I just played forty minutes and when you’re doing it on your own, it’s quite intense, you know, because – and not just physically – it’s just mentally intense for me because I sort of, you know, really get into it. I can play like two hours with other bands and barely break a sweat but with this, I’m just like “Ugh” wrecked the next day. I’ve got four in a row this week, but anyway, it’s all good, I love it.

    How do you do it? What tips do you have? Do you put it down to a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle or…?

    Well, I am a vegan and that hasn’t hindered me as far as doing gigs. [Laughs] I’ve managed to find vegan guitar straps and all my tools are non-leather. So yeah, no, it’s… yeah, I don’t know. I mean, yeah, obviously you’ve just got to be healthy, whatever you eat really, haven’t you?

    Or there’s a painting in the attic somewhere…

    Yeah, in the basement…!

    You and Adam are obviously on the same vitamins! Sixteen years of Adam…

    Yeah, pretty much…

    Bar a little breaky-wakey…

    …a little holiday, yeah.

    …what’s the secret to your success with Adam?

    Secret to my success?! [laughing] Well, I love all the songs, which helps, you know, and I love playing them. And I still think he’s a great front man. And, so yeah, that’s half the battle, isn’t it? If you love what you’re doing and it’s a job, it’s just the best thing ever, you know? And I still pinch myself when I’m rehearsing with him about to do a tour, thinking, “Bloody hell!” you know? So, for me, it’s just still a big rush, you know?  

    You must be doing well, because you obviously haven’t upset him yet. You’re still hanging in there…!

    As far as I know!

    USA in August/September – what are you most looking forward to on the upcoming Ant tour?

    Um, just going to America in general. I just love it. I love travelling around. There’s a few places I’ve never been to on this tour, so that’ll be fun. New Haven I’ve never been there… and that reminds me of a Pat Benatar live video I used to have, which was live in New Haven! So, I’m quite excited about that. [laughs] I’m looking forward to it. And, I’ll probably need less supplements for this because we’re going to be playing slightly shorter sets, supporting Squeeze, so it sounds like it’s going to be really fun. And I went to see Haircut 100 the other day and they still sounded great. So, it’d be great to watch them every night as well, yeah.

    Fantastic. What’s the process preparing for an Ant tour? Obviously, there’s the rehearsal process, but how do you actually put together a set list? Is that your responsibility now? You’re musical director?

    I’m not really the musical director. I mean, I used to be, but yeah, there hasn’t been a designated person really, but I put ideas forward. When they’re asked for, I’ll put ideas forward. And, uh, sometimes they even get used, you know!

    Well, if you need any help petitioning for Apollo 9…!

    Oh, I’d love to play it, yeah. Yeah, it’d be great to do. We did it a few years ago…

    Time to get that one out of the bag. Have you prepared any sort of set list yet for Blackpool?

     No. [Laughs] It’s not for… how long is it?

    Another 2-3 months [at time of interview] …

    Three months? Yeah, no. No.

    So how long do you rehearse? A couple of weeks beforehand, a few days beforehand?

    Yeah, a couple of weeks normally.

    Antmusic2025 – any stand out moments?

    It was nice meeting Robert Fripp …briefly. [Laughs] The husband of Toyah, and she was very nice as well, so that was nice. It was great watching Yee Loi every night because they’re like one of my favourite bands now, they’re amazing. And it was great playing Antmusic, you know, all that Ant stuff again. Hammersmith Odeon was a highlight, definitely. Yeah, it was good, I can’t think of one bad night. So yeah, it was all good.

    What’s your favourite song to play live?

    Oh, um… probably Beat my Guest. Yeah. Or Red Scab. Yeah, Red Scab maybe yeah.

    Would you like to send a message for the Ant Lib members?

    Keep fighting the good fight, guys! And, um, see you out there in America. And, uh, and Blackpool…

    “…and Blackpool.”

    Yeah, “In Blackpool!” …bloody ‘ell!

    Check out all Will’s latest musical shenanigans with Scant Regard et al via scantregard.com

  • Full Adam Ant band photo via WeShootMusic.com

    Antmusic2025 – Adam Ant tour review round-up

    Unplug the jukebox

    …and learn about trepidation kids. Those of us who lived through the ‘80s (and survived) have been there before: postponed dates (check), health challenges (check), radio silence from Planet Ant (check), rumours of band discontent (check); but hey it’s all part of the rich tapestry of Antculture, and where would we humble Antpeople be without it all, eh? (Sane? Rich? -ed)

    The Antmusic (2024) tour had a pretty straightforward birth over in the States last year, with AmericAnts enjoying a springtime spurt of live Adam Ant action – a gruelling 37 dates with just one cancellation due to weather conditions (allegedly). Come the autumn and things went awry. The first week of UK shows cancelled piece-meal, literally minutes before venue doors were due to open. Teenage support band The Molotovs left to fend for themselves. No chance of planning around disappointment: show up or shut up.

    Eventually the right decision was made: postponement. Until autumn 2025! Adam made amends with a rare video message and eventually rewarded us all with… even more dates! And a cruise! By this time, good old fashioned British cynicism was creeping in, and expectations were (understandably) low. As long as the Lad Himself is OK though, is all that matters.

    Then came the summer nostalgia fests and the online commentary from (mostly) non-Ant advocates. As much as Adam may like gardening and fluffy animals, one can argue he has never really been an ‘outdoorsy’ type of live artist. Festivals are for hippies, right? Right on, Neil – *snort!*

    As if things couldn’t get more discombobulating, Toyah announces live on national TV she’s joining in the Antfun (along with youngsters Yee Loi on alternate dates), not one but three long-term Ant band members are gone (Joe Holweger the latest casualty), and a Facebook post from Cardiacs guitarist (and lifelong Antperson) Jon Pooley disappears as mysteriously as it appeared announcing his joining the front line for #Antmusic2025.

    Do us all a favour

    Talking of which, that’s the preamble over with (can I wake up now?! –ed) and here we go for two years’ wait finally over as the new line-up steps out at that internationally renowned rock mecca otherwise known as… Bournemouth. Yes, ‘England’s Coastal Garden’ (official title) aka ‘God’s waiting room’ (unofficial title) aka ‘cultural wasteland’ (…-ed) located in sleepy Dorset (Zzz –ed) where the average age is about 96 (slight exaggeration there –ed) and it still doesn’t warrant city status. As an all-seater venue, the maiden show at the buzzkill BIC can be viewed as either a stained breast pocket (eh? -ed) or a stroke of genius for easing Mr Ant back into the fold gently.

    Allan Jones (no, not that one) of the Bournemouth Daily Echo (Est 1900) filed the first media review of #Antmusic2025:

    It was a great light show, the band were excellent and the die hards in the crowd were up and dancing. To me though there was something slightly off with some of the vocal delivery.
    This was my seventh time seeing Adam over the years and tonight this was certainly not up there with his usual excellent delivery.
    Maybe not a performance for the record books but plenty of people still loved it. Hopefully a hiccup or maybe just me.
    Lets hope so.

    Read full review at www.bournemouthecho.co.uk (opens in new tab)

    But before Allan’s ink had dried (that’s enough of the Biro references –ed), there were fickle fans of ye little faith already attempting to offload tickets for future dates via the socials. Don’t they know by now Adam generally needs a show or two to erm, ‘warm up’?!

    Onwards past Longleat (“Borgia, can I have a tank?”) to Wales for the second night and its another all-seated venue of Cardiff’s Utilita. Fan Paddy Roberts was kind enough to submit the following review to Ant Lib Online:

    The heavy rain could not dampen my enthusiasm: not even the sudden torrential squall that almost drowned out the final sprint to the venue. I’d had this ticket to see Adam Ant for what felt like two years: but I’d been waiting for over four decades. Adam and the Ants provided my pre-teen self that first spark of “Oh! That’s what music can do…”: they opened me up to a post-punk world of music with feeling, and angst, and feedback, and lyrics that actually spoke directly to me … then hammered in the wedge to make sure that door never closed.
    There was an underlying palpitation in the hall: the throng of dandies and pirates were keen for the show to start, and most seats were already taken when the support act – Toyah! – started playing. Clearly a legend in her own right, Toyah’s performance was engaging and entertaining, her voice and her energy undiminished by time. As she talked us through her set, illuminating each song with stories, working in some connections between her and Adam, the sense of expectation grew: she left us wanting more, and then the lights dimmed again…

    The sound desk had cranked up the master volume, and Adam’s band exploded into Dog Eat Dog: Adam Ant took to the stage and sang: “You may not like…” Oh, yes, we bloody would!

    His set rollercoastered through his career, from Young Parisians through Dirk and Prince Charming to the later solo work and back again: the highlights for me were from the Kings of the Wild Frontier album, and the B-sides. Goodness only knows where my brain stores those lyrics, but they came flooding out as the dam of time broke, leaving my throat hoarse and my voice shredded. We all have favourites: we were treated to, for example, Killer in the Home and Ants Invasion; I would have loved to have heard them play Physical; but to complain about this set list would be where madness lies.


    Adam had the audience in the palm of his hand. The band played with passion: Jola and Dave Green set the pace, Jon Pooley and Will Crewdson’s strings augmented the tribal feel with driving force. Altogether, they added new – for me – fire and anger to the songs. But it was Adam Ant who was the ruby in the crown. He sang, sometimes with strength and other times with subtlety, for the best part of two hours, leading the audience in song, willing us to dance and – although the stewards gamely tried to hold back the inevitable – by the time we were asked to Stand and Deliver, we were dancing in the aisles.
    And then, they were gone. The house lights went up. It was over. Reluctantly, we shuffled toward the exits. Outside, in the streets, the rain had stopped: Antmusic had conquered the elements.

    It was soon evident that the band (now an Ants MkII-friendly) five-piece had allayed any fears over the abrupt personnel changes – a testament to Will Crewdson’s musical direction and work ethic, of which we should all be grateful for (and hope Adam rewards fittingly). As camera phone footage from two nights in Glasgow, Camden Roundhouse an Antmas night in Brighton filtered through, it was clear the energy was back (partially) thanks to venues more appropriate for enjoying live music – significant progress since that opening night in Bournemouth.

    Martin Williams of The Herald seems to agree:

    With more than a few moans about his “flaky” voice and even his lack of movement from the southern England seaside town, could this be evidence Adam Ant was actually now a busted flush? While Bournemouth was a mainly seated event, probably perfect for appreciative nods for a more gentile classical recital the punk and new wave roots of Adam Ant showed that it was the right move to have a designated standing area in Glasgow.
    And Adam Ant did not just show up — he arrived with a bang.
    In a city like Glasgow, where the crowd is rarely simply passive, the response was enthusiastic. His energy seemed elevated, as though the delayed tour has given him a hunger. That hunger translated into pace: the show did not drag, the transitions were slick enough although there were times you wondered whether he wondered if he was entirely comfortable on stage.

    Read full review at www.heraldscotland.com (opens in new tab)

    Performers that were undoubtedly comfortable on stage were the two support acts. There had been the inevitable disgruntlement when it was made apparent to UK Antpeople that The Beat – whom had joined Adam Ant for the USA leg of the Antmusic tour – were not coming this side of the pond. Popular with the AmericAnts, they were a tough act to follow.

    Having seen Toyah live a number of times on the club circuit, can confirm she always brings her A-game to the stage but appreciate Ms Willcox is the proverbial Marmite of the retro music scene, and her addition to the line-up raised eyebrows amongst those of us aware of the Toyah/Adam backstory. Yee Loi, however, were turning heads at all their allotted shows and proved to be something a little bit special with their youthful exuberance and punky tuneage.

    They caught the eye (and ear) of WeShootMusic.com’s Steve White at the Stockton Globe:

    Think noise, real punk rock, all with incredibly catchy melodies, choruses that grab you hard and urge you to join in. Yee Loi deliver a glorious 30 minutes of non-stop punky pop rock n roll that spits out all the hallmarks of future success. Attitude, captivating stage presence and tunes that reel you in and just won’t let go. They may have been a real shock to many here expecting an 80’s nostalgia feast but by the end of those thirty minutes Yee Loi will have deservedly gained a not insignificant number of new fans.

    Read full review at www.weshootmusic.com (opens in new tab)

    Mr White also notes the issue with seated venues for an Ant gig:

    Still a captivating performer, that mischievous twinkle in his eyes and cheeky grin has lost none of its charm over the years.
    These songs need to be danced to, need to have arms in the air, people yelling their voices out as they join in. Yes we all age. Some now can’t stand for a whole gig and that’s OK but surely for a gig such as this venues need to try and incorporate at least a small standing area? Just a thought.

    Read full review at www.weshootmusic.com (opens in new tab)

    Sometimes we have to be canny if we want to avoid the human bondage den of the all-seater venue, Southend’s Pavilion being a prime example. Not only are the staff of this council-owned venue catering to the (mostly) grey pound fantastic, they will also turn a blind eye to some pogoing on the sides. As long as you respect those around you and not encroaching on the enjoyment of others who can’t or won’t stand when Adam delivers (afterall, some of us simply don’t have the stamina anymore), we should at least have the choice when forking out for over inflated ticket prices. This isn’t a round-table talking tour for the blue rinse brigade. Sexmusic is designed for dancing and jumping up and down like a lunatic. Shepherd’s Bush Empire is a great example of a mixed standing/seater venue. Much better than Roundhouse with it’s terrible view wherever you sit or stand (unless right at the front) due to the columns – like – everywhere.

    Try another flavour

    For the second half of the tour, adjustments to the setlist were made. With Wonderful being the track least accommodating to Adam’s aging maturing vocal chords, it was out. As a common ‘toilet break song’ for many of us, this is commendable (afterall, we’ll always have the memory of the 1995 show opener, just after Nina Symone – if you know, you’ll know etc) and was not missed. Vive Le Rock’s Miss Thing a welcome wildcard addition but still no room for Apollo 9 (sob -ed). Why Adam chooses Vive Le Rock over its bigger hitting album mate is a mystery to us mere mortals. But then again, Room at the Top and Deutscher Girls are also seldom performed. Is this an aversion to singles that peaked at No13? With Adam being of the superstitious persuasion, that’s one theory.

    This is noticed by the mighty GodIsInTheTVZine blog in their review of the 2nd Liverpool show at the Philharmonic:

    There’s some minor gripes to be had – his reluctance to include to sing any non-singles from Prince Charming or Strip albums is kinda annoying, as is his dropping of crowd favourites from previous tours (‘Apollo 9‘, ‘Wonderful’ [!], ‘Room At The Top‘ to name but a few). And everything here was written no later than 1985 (with nothing from his 2013 fantastically-named comeback album Adam Ant Is The Blueback Hussar Marrying The Gunner’s Daughter), but with a back catalogue as strong as his these are just small moans.

    Read full review at www.godisinthetvzine.com (opens in new tab)

    Even if Scorpios and Baby, Let Me Scream at You are forever vetoed, there’s plenty more for fans of all eras to get their antennas around – from a good spanking of perennial early Antz favourites such as Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face), Beat My Guest, Lady, Zerox and a surprisingly decent version Young Parisians, which had one or two of us looking out for a saxophone during the instrumental. Will claims he did not use any effects jiggery pokery for this, so perhaps it was a trick of the acoustics. Or collective audiation, such is the impact of Will’s polymathic phonic talents.

    One major setlist change/omission/improvement (delete as appropriate) was the encore. Out goes Physical as the traditional finale, instead the equally crowd-pleasing Stand & Deliver is pushed down and out of the main set. It’s been a while since Adam got his kit off, so this makes sense but some of us are sad to see this staple Ant tune completely off the menu.

    The rejigging of the finale also sees some intriguing stage antics from the band. Both Jon and Will seamlessly switch from guitars to floor toms to join Jola and Greenie for the elongated ‘audience participation’ section, then back again to strings before stepping out of the lights in unison to give Adam his solo finish. No more extended Will solo guitar action to end, this is a highly choreographed team effort (babes).

    Final week and the pace was kept up, and if there was tour fatigue within the ranks it wasn’t showing. John Hayhurst of York Calling blog reflects:

    At 71, lets face it, Adam isn’t darting about like he once did – who is at that age?. The moves are smaller now—sharp shuffles, theatrical freezes, controlled prowls across the edge of the stage. But that restraint makes the character stronger, not weaker. He wears the Dandy Highwayman gear like a uniform he never retired from. He doesn’t have to act like a character anymore. He just is Adam Ant.

    Read full review at www.yorkcalling.co.uk (opens in new tab)

    Don’t tread on an Ant

    The Antmusic tour team had an extra year to think this one through – and it shows. The iffy nostalgia festivals, the 11th hour changes, the mystery (‘it’s a myffstery’) lack of news until Toyah let slip, the slow ticket sales for the bolt-on tour dates: None of it detracted from a new era in professionalism of the live Ant show.

    Much has been said elsewhere with regards to Adam’s age and suggested fragility – reflecting it could be time to knock the big tours on the head. Hopefully Adam – the life-long fighter and survivor – will take a good rest this season and ruminate on the well-meaning observations, blessed in the knowledge he has a more than capable, solid ensemble behind him.

    What are your thoughts on Adam Ant’s most recent tour? Do you agree/disagree with the above reviews and observations? Add your comments when you sign up as an Ant Lib member.

    Latest comments:

    ★Was at the Nottingham gig, with Toyah as support. Have seen her a few times, but this was a hit laden set with no filler, truth told, she could’ve popped a couple more tunes in. Adam, with his, partly new, band of merry men, & Jola, was on form, albeit him being a little less amimated. But movememt aside, a tight band, tunes aplenty, a crowd who were behind them every step of the night, including a gent who was living his best life in the balcony opposite where we were sat. Roll on Antics Vol 2! ~Gary

  • Welcome back

    What’s going on?

    Oh, there you are! It’s been a while since Ant Lib Online went *pop!* following a few years in digital limbo. After taking time out from the relentless updates following the Adam Ant revival of 2010-11, the website hung on until – like all old bangers – the back-end finally went and it got covered up in the garage, quietly rusting offline1.

    Unless you ‘don’t do social media’ (really don’t blame you there, to be fair), Ant Lib revived its Twitter (now X), Facebook and YouTube accounts as ‘Ant Lib 25’ to celebrate twenty-five years since our launch on 23rd October 1998 and to reconnect with members. New Instagram, Threads and Bluesky channels soon followed, with regular content reaching up to 5-10,000 Adam & the Ants fans globally, many of which are new to Ant Lib *Hello there!*2.

    Monkeying aroun’ in the early 2000s

    See a Nation on its knees

    Up until 2024 there really wasn’t a plan for Ant Lib as such, just some loose ends to address – namely the Warriors DVD box release3 (finally completed and shipped out to pre-orders last year), and the Anthropology fan book project that’s been on ice so long its making Adam’s 21st century release schedule look comparably prolific. As an independent fan organisation built on democratic principles, our future was put in the hands of our followers via a revived Ant Lib Survey 2024 – and this has assisted with the prioritisation of project ideas and will drive output for the next couple of years.

    While social media has helped us raise awareness in order to build our online presence back up to 2015 levels, building on rented land is never a sustainable long-term strategy – as any of our beloved tech bro oligarchs could pull a channel with no notice or indeed any rationale other than that they just can. It has therefore become obvious over the past year that our Ant Lib Online hub needed revival to facilitate and enable progress in any future projects.

    It’s become obvious over the past year that our Ant Lib Online hub needed revival to facilitate and enable progress in any future projects…

    Try this for sighs

    Nobody should have that power to destroy fan cultures, and instead of bellyaching over what has become of the www since the height of Ant Lib activity, now is the time to stand up against the grifty link economy of misinformation, rage bait and uninspiring AI generated slop that is now dominating and crushing fan communities – because websites like ours made way by rolling over into oblivion.

    The answer? If one is not offering solutions, one is part of the problem; and a new Ant Lib Online is the first step in that direction – maybe not claiming to be “Here to save everybody”4 – but hopefully providing an outpost for Adam & the Ants fans to contribute and be part of an alternative to the extreme concentration of cultural control that is killing independent creativity. An online Antzine for a future age.

    Frozen in 2012 for eight years ’til the SORN kicked in

    Don’t say you love me (oh no)

    If you made it this far down the page, thank you! However, there’s a long way to go and instead of relaunching in a flurry of whoops, whistles, coconuts and perfection, the new Ant Lib Online is very much a work in progress. Consider the current homepage as a mood board of ideas inspired by the responses from last year’s Ant Lib Survey; the Archive the start of a repository of classic Ant Lib interviews (going back to the very beginning) and starting point for future articles; the new Events calendar as a social hub promoting the spirit of the live Ant experience, and of course Membership5 will eventually open up more perks for being part of a (re)new(ed) Antpeople’s movement.

    Ant Lib might be in its 28th year6 but we’re still very much young at heart, so consider this just the beginning. Every Ant fan regardless of age, background or ideology has something to bring to the table, and now is the time for us all to unite in building a legacy before it’s too late.

    Pre-register your interest as a friend of Ant Lib today if you want to see and/or contribute to an Ant-idote to the seemingly never-ending doomscrolling and enshittification.


    AM4SP!

    1. …and occasionally being pillaged without consent for profit, but that’s another story for another time. ↩︎
    2. This has been the best upshot of the return. It is genuinely humbling meeting all the new fans that have joined or rejoined the scene since we’ve been away ♥ ↩︎
    3. Not available to buy. Pre-register as a member for chance to get hold of it. ↩︎
    4. Ant Lib never used this tagline, we might have bordered on the pretentious at times but never had delusions of grandeur, yep another story…yadda yadda. ↩︎
    5. Lifetime subscriber from yesteryear? Let us know when you pre-register! ↩︎
    6. Yes, albeit with a decade long hiatus. Yes you guessed it, another etc… ↩︎

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