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Vive Le Rock

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This article is about the music album. For the magazine, see Vive Le Rock (magazine).
Vive Le Rock
Studio album by
Adam Ant
ReleasedSeptember 1985
RecordedJanuary-March 1985
StudioGood Earth Studios, Soho, London
GenreNew wave
Length36:40
LabelCBS
ProducerTony Visconti
Adam Ant chronology
Strip
(1983) 		Vive Le Rock
(1985) 		Manners & Physique
(1990)
Singles from Vive Le Rock
  1. "Apollo 9"
    Released: 1984
  2. "Vive Le Rock"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Kerrang![2]
Trouser Pressgenerally favourable[3]

Vive Le Rock is the third solo album by Adam Ant, released in September 1985.

Production

Producer Tony Visconti, famous for his 1970s work with Ant's heroes Marc Bolan and David Bowie, commented on his work with Ant on Vive Le Rock: "What a creative ball of energy! He was great to work with. He's very opinionated and knows what he wants. We didn't quite agree during the mixes, he kind of wanted everything very trebly and I'm a bassey kind of producer."[4]

The album was a realisation of the new "rockers in space" ethic and look Adam Ant had begun with the hit UK single "Apollo 9" in September 1984, which peaked at number 13.[5]

Release

This album at first received only minor attention in the United States, peaking only at number 131.[6] In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 42.[7] One single from the album was released in the US – the title track "Vive Le Rock". The 12th track "Human Bondage Den" was released on the original cassette and CD release of this album (as a bonus non-LP track). Most re-releases did not feature this track until Columbia Records re-released the album in 2005 (along with seven other bonus tracks).

"Apollo 9" was a hit a year before Vive Le Rock's release. Ant has stated in his autobiography, Stand and Deliver, that Vive Le Rock's failure and the fact that his then-current record label was unwilling to work heavily on promotion for the album left him depressed and unenthusiastic about his future in music. This may have led to his decision to work heavily on his acting career and put his music career on hold until the release of Manners & Physique in 1990. However, in the same book, Ant discusses his performance at Live Aid, where the band before him played over their allotted time, so he could only play one song. He chose the current single, "Vive Le Rock." While his acrobatic performance left him winded, he states that "as Bowie played 'TVC15', 'Rebel Rebel' and 'Heroes', I gaped in awe. Here was a lesson in how to be a star. How far I had yet to go."[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni.

Side one
  1. "Vive Le Rock" – 3:39
  2. "Miss Thing" – 3:08
  3. "Razor Keen" – 3:49
  4. "Rip Down" – 3:23
  5. "Scorpio Rising" – 4:04
Side two
  2. "Apollo 9" – 3:22
  3. "Hell's Eight Acres" – 3:51
  4. "Mohair Lockeroom Pin-Up Boys" – 3:14
  5. "No Zap" – 3:14
  6. "P.O.E." – 3:24
  7. "Apollo 9 (A cappella Reprise)" – 1:32 (secret track)
CD and cassette versions bonus track
  2. "Human Bondage Den" - 3:07
2005 reissue bonus tracks
  2. "Vive Le Rock" (Unreleased 12" Mix) - 7:28
  3. "Apollo 9" (Unreleased Francois K 7" Mix) - 3:41
  4. "Doggy Style" (Unreleased demo track) - 3:48
  5. "Night They Vietcong" (Unreleased demo track) - 3:06
  6. "Big Big Man" (Unreleased demo track) - 3:28
  7. "Rip Down" (Demo version) - 3:15
  8. "Apollo 9" (Francois K Splashdown Mix) - 6:46
  9. "Vive Le Rock" (Unreleased US 7" Mix) - 3:49

Personnel

Technical

References

  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Adam Ant Vive Le Rock review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  2. ^ Johnson, Howard (17 October 1985). "Adam Ant 'Vive le Rock'". Kerrang!. Vol. 105. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 24.
  3. ^ Young, Jon; Lewis, Kate; Rompers, Terry. "TrouserPress.com :: Adam Ant". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  4. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20021121143205/http://www.tonyvisconti.com/faq/misc.htm
  5. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/apollo-9/
  6. ^ Adam Ant entry, Guinness Book of Rock Stars, Barry Lazell/Dafydd Rees/Luke Crampton, Guinness Publishing 1994
  7. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/vive-le-rock/
  8. ^ Stand and Deliver, Adam Ant, Sidgewick & Jackson 2006
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