Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

It will be an album that divides opinion and there will be those that try their damndest to compare it some of the most iconic albums of Adam Ant’s career. Highly unfair bearing in mind that Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter is the first new studio album by the British charming prince of 1980s pop for 13 years. Why would you want to try and go back to a period which you dominated and in which the scene has moved on, not exactly for the better either? Hard to be a star again, sparkling incessantly against some of the dull and tarnished pop acts of this generation.

In 15 years pop has moved on and so has the man behind classic tracks such as Antmusic, Dog Eat Dog and Young Parisians. Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughteris experimental and just errs on the side of thrilling. This new album shows a different side to the man and songs such as Vince Taylor, the astounding Dirty Beast, Vivienne’s Tears and the superb PunkYoungGirl all flow with the memory of what might have been had society and the music business been much kinder to Adam Ant during his difficult years.   

That’s not to say it’s all rosy in the garden, there is work to do to keep this creative genius going and being interested in recording more music. The album is slightly disjointed and overruns by a couple of tracks but for those that take their time over the album and for those that like picking over the lyrics to tracks there is a lot to be taken from it. It certainly has the feel of an extended autobiography, lovingly created, something for everyone but just a chapter or two too far.

A huge welcome back to the incredible talent and undeniable spirit that is Adam Ant. Pop may have forgotten him but the fans never went away.

Ian D. Hall