By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN? Saturday 1 November, tour runs through 25 November 2025

I’ve tried to work out how many times we’ve seen the Ant Man himself; maybe 10? These have all been in his recent tours since 2010, with The Good, The Mad and the Lovely Posse.

• Read on for reasons including how ridicule is nothing to be scared of and this audience could’ve given more

Adam was my first crush, pre Duran yes hard to imagine. I’ve always adored him and not only is Kings of the Wild Frontier one of my most favourite albums ever, but Stand and Deliver is my most favourite song ever. The tour of that album in 2016, also in the Guildhall, remains one of my best gigs ever. 

Fast forward to this gig. We weren’t sure if we’d ever see him again. From the naughty north to the sexy south, no sorry I got carried away with those lyrics. From the adoration shown by the Southsea punkerati when he first started touring again, to the 80s revival festivals where he appeared rather grumpy to be honest, to this, the Antmusic tour, where we fear we may not see him again.

He has just celebrated his 71st birthday. He can still sing, not relying on filler backing singers, only his musicians singing other parts of the songs. He can’t make the high notes, but he’s faithful enough to the songs. He can’t prance around stage as much as he did, but he can still swagger a bit, play guitar and change guitars a few times, and – most importantly – entertain us. 

Straight into Dog Eat Dog, Vive le Rock, Antmusic, Car Trouble, Xerox, with a lovely intro about how his dad thought youths were thugs but young Stuart thought them cool. 

Ants Invasion, a bit of a deep cut favourite of mine, Prince Charming – where he asks us to sing along if we know the words, ‘Ridicule is nothing to be scared of’ -, Puss in Boots, Kings of the Wild Frontier, Beat My Guest – another deep cut favourite of mine, Killer in the Home, another fav, Los Rancheros (amazing to hear again!), Goody Two Shoes and the encore, Stand and Deliver.

I was impressed by his performance, and less impressed by the audience. Hardly any of us were standing and singing / dancing! If Adam can get up on the stage at 71, we can surely dance for him? 

Two tight drummers, great pared-down guitars, showing the rockiness of even pop songs like Stand and Deliver; that’s what we want. Yes he can stand and he did deliver. As always.

• Pictures via Facebook courtesy and A Humdrum Mum. Tickets
• Read more from Carron at her blog A Humdrum Mum
• Have you seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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