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Vive Le Rock

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This article is about the Adam Ant album. For the magazine, see Vive Le Rock (magazine).

Vive Le Rock
Studio album by
Adam Ant
Released2 September 1985[1]
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: 10 September 1984[1]
  2. "Vive Le Rock"
    Released: 1 July 1985[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Kerrang![3]
Trouser Pressgenerally favourable[4]

Vive Le Rock is the third solo album by Adam Ant, released in September 1985, which contained two versions of Ant's 1984 song "Apollo 9".

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."[5]

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.[6]

Release

"Apollo 9" was released as a single a year before Vive Le Rock's release, and was a chart hit. However, the album received only minor attention in the United States, peaking at number 131,[7] and number 42 in the United Kingdom.[8] The title track was the one single from the album released in the US. Ant performed "Vive Le Rock" at the 1985 benefit concert Live Aid. It was the only song he played at the show, as the band preceding him on the bill, The Boomtown Rats (for whom concert co-organiser Bob Geldof was the front man) overran their allotted time.[9]

Ant has said that the failure of Vive Le Rock, and his then-current record label's unwillingness to promote it, left him depressed and unenthusiastic about his future in music. This led to his decision to focus primarily on his acting career, not releasing another album until Manners & Physique in 1990.[10]

Twelfth 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.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni

Side A
No.TitleLength
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 B
No.TitleLength
6."Apollo 9"3:22
7."Hell's Eight Acres"3:51
8."Mohair Lockeroom Pin-Up Boys"3:14
9."No Zap"3:14
10."P.O.E."3:24
11."Apollo 9 (A cappella Reprise)"1:32
Total length:36:40
CD and cassette versions bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Human Bondage Den"3:07
2005 reissue bonus tracks
  2. "Vive Le Rock" (Unreleased Rico Conning 12" mix) - 7:28
  3. "Apollo 9" (Unreleased François Kevorkian 7" mix)[11] - 3:41
  4. "Doggy Style" (Unreleased demo) - 3:48
  5. "Night They Vietcong" (Unreleased demo) - 3:06
  6. "Big Big Man" ("Razor Keen") (Unreleased demo) - 3:28
  7. "Rip Down" (Unreleased demo) - 3:15
  8. "Apollo 9" (François Kevorkian Splashdown 12" mix) - 6:46
  9. "Vive Le Rock" (Unreleased Steve Thompson 12" mix) - 3:49

Personnel

Technical

References

  1. ^ a b c "Adam Ant Discography". adam-ant.com. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Adam Ant Vive Le Rock review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  3. ^ Johnson, Howard (17 October 1985). "Adam Ant 'Vive le Rock'". Kerrang!. Vol. 105. London, UK: Morgan Grampian. p. 24.
  4. ^ Young, Jon; Lewis, Kate; Rompers, Terry. "TrouserPress.com :: Adam Ant". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  5. ^ "tony visconti". 21 November 2002. Archived from the original on 21 November 2002.
  6. ^ "apollo 9 | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  7. ^ Adam Ant entry, Guinness Book of Rock Stars, Barry Lazell/Dafydd Rees/Luke Crampton, Guinness Publishing 1994
  8. ^ "vive le rock | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  9. ^ Stand and Deliver, Adam Ant, Sidgewick & Jackson 2006
  10. ^ Stand and Deliver, Adam Ant, Sidgewick & Jackson 2006
  11. ^ "Adam Ant Discography - Vive le Rock". adam-ant.com. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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