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 Adam
Ant was born as Stuart Leslie Goddard on November 3, 1954 in Maryleborne, London, England. He came from a working
class family background. Adam's grandfather was a full-blooded gypsy. His father was a chauffeur and his mother
used to clean house for Paul McCartney. Adam was brought up in North London as an only child. They lived in just
two little rooms without the luxuries of running tap water and private washroom facilities. According to Adam,
"I mean there is poor and then there is really poor. There was no luxury, but there was always food on the table. If we were ever desperate,
then it was always concealed from me." His parents divorced when he was seven and he was an only child until
1974 when his father's new wife had a child. A sister was born.
Education
In school, Adam studied History, French and Art. He had a real passion for painting and drawing. He later dropped
the French from his study and concentrated more on his artistic talents. Adam attended Hornsey School of Art in
London. His influences came from Peter Webb, (who taught courses in Erotic Art), and Allen Jones, who concentrated
on sexual imagery artwork. This had a great impact on Adam.
 Bazooka Joe and The B-Sides
At a course at school, Adam met a fellow named Danny was also an illustrator and was in a band called Bazooka Joe,
named after the comic strip character and the bubble gum. Adam later joined Bazooka Joe, as a bass player in the
early 70's. Like members of Bazooka Joe, Adam started playing around with his own name, changing it from gig to
gig. He was once called himself 'Eddie Riff' . He started writing songs and the band would add general craziness
to their performances like faking cardiac arrests, and staging fights on stage with fake blood. Adam eventually
lost interest with Bazooka Joe and in 1975, he formed his own band called 'The B-sides'. He decided that he would
be the front man for the band and sing himself. He wrote music and the band rehearsed a lot. But the B-Sides never
performed live. The songs that Adam wrote would later be the considered Antmusic.
The Name Change
After experimenting with various names, Stuart finally settled on Adam because he'd seen paintings of the Garden
of Eden and thought it would be a nice place to be. He decided on The Ants as insect names like the Beatles did
well.
Marriage
While at Art School, Adam fell in love with and married Carol Mills, a fellow student. Their wedding was held in
the summer of 1975. They lived with Carol's parents. Adam was considered a good husband, went to school, did odd
jobs around the house and seemed content. Carol changed her name to Eve. He was working on an essay for school
on fetishism and bondage. But at home, Adam acted peculiar. He stopped eating. He led a double life - a young husband
residing in the suburbs and an illustrator who was focusing on erotic images and playing music as the punk scene
in London started to flourish. But music was most important to him and he stopped going to college. He didn't associate
with his friends anymore and he became ill and developed Anorexia Nervosa. He took a large quantity of drugs, had
an overdose and underwent psychiatric treatment. After his therapy, Adam told Eve that he wanted out of the marriage
but still lived in the same house. He had a new look and when he visited some of his old school teachers, they
hardly recognized him. He had changed and his main focus was now music.
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