Thursday, July 27, 2017

Two Good Songs That Sound Great Together

The reason I enjoyed the following two songs back to back on mix tapes is obvious. In 1980, Malcolm McLaren convinced Matthew Ashman, David Barbarossa and Leigh Gorman to leave Adam and the Ants (or Antz, as they were known then) for his latest venture, Bow Wow Wow. Adam Ant, using much of the advice McLaren had given him as he was swiping his band, upped his game with the hugely popular album 'Kings of the Wild Frontier.'

At about the same time, Bow Wow Wow was putting out its first recording. McLaren, in one of his brilliant semi-failures, released the anthem "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go" as the first ever cassette single. Needless to say, EMI didn't get behind the ode to home taping, and the label wasn't real fond of the blank B-side either (another genius McLaren moment). Still, it was a hit with the NME crowd and, to this day, I think it works really well with "Antmusic." Both are anthems and fantastic singalongs, especially in the car. I think it's clear to say Ant won this opening bout with his old band. Only the re-release of "Imagine," following John Lennon's death, kept "Antmusic" from the top spot in the UK. "Dog Eat Dog" also went Top 10 that year. Bow Wow Wow would have to wait until 1982 and "Go Wild in the Country" to have such a moment.

Adam and the Ants - "Antmusic"
Bow Wow Wow - "C·30 C·60 C·90 Go"
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4 comments:

drew said...

Like you I love both of these.

I remember when Tank, Stiff's eldest brother came home with the Bow Wow Wow tape it sparked a lively discussion amongst us. The predominant mood was they won't catch on, they're rubbish.

In 1992 after a month in the summer trying unsuccessfully to find work on n Aberdeen, before hitching down the road I went to HMV and bought The Blue Room by the Orb on cassette single to listen to on my Walkman during the wait for a ride. The one and only cassette single I ever bought bu clocking in at 39 mins it was hardly a,single

July 27, 2017 at 4:51 AM
Rol said...

My 3 year old loves singing along to Antmusic in the car. Oh oh oh oh! Might try him on C30 C60 C90... although he'll never understand the magic those letters represent.

July 27, 2017 at 8:27 AM
Echorich said...

No brainer Brian! This is the musical version of Doublemint Gum (that will likely go over so many heads)...

What I will always love about McLaren is that he DID steal and repackage, but he always, always gave away some of his best advice to those who's "pockets" he was picking...Malcolm told Adam he was destined for stardom and to get some real musicians behind him...well in Chris Hughes, Marco Pirroni and Kevin Mooney he found some magic.

July 27, 2017 at 11:03 PM
C said...

Love Echorich's description - yes, Wrigley's Doublemint! Indeed a great coupling, and I owned them both too, it was all part of a surprising progression for many of us who'd loved the early Ants too.

July 28, 2017 at 8:08 AM

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