Adam and The Ants – “Dog Eat Dog” (1980) Review | Leapfrog the Dog and Brush Me Daddy-O
Kronomyth 1.8: I see innocence shining through.
Yes, Adam Ant was more dandy than punk, but I think it goes deeper than that. Dog Eat Dog culminates with the admission that Ant is proud of the people who let their innocence shine through. A revolutionary thought, but on a very different front than where the punks had set up camp. On Physical (You’re So), Ant expresses frustration that his love interest is too physical to allow him to be the physical one. I think this is why the appeal of Adam and The Ants runs deep for some: they were rebels without a coarse bone in their body. The music here is, of course, brilliant: counter-rhythms, pulsating basses and broken-glass guitars mixed into a blender until they resembled pure liquid joy. I have this weird theory that muses possess people for a period of time and then move on. Having said that, I wonder if the muse that possessed Marc Bolan found a ready host in Stuart Goddard. Then again, I should probably keep my crazy thoughts to myself…
The Product
A1. Dog Eat Dog (Adam Ant/Marco Pirroni) (3:15)
B1. Physical (You’re So) (Adam Ant) (4:27)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single in October 1980 in the UK (CBS, S CBS 9039) with picture sleeve. Reached #4 on the UK charts (charted on 10/11/80 for 16 weeks).
