"Antmusic" is a song by English rock bandAdam and the Ants, released as the third single in the UK in 1980 from the albumKings of the Wild Frontier. "Antmusic" peaked at No. 2 in the UK in January 1981, being held off the top by the re-release of John Lennon's "Imagine" after his murder in New York City on 8 December 1980. In Australia, the single spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report and earned the bandplatinum certification for sales of over 100,000 copies. It also reached No. 2 in South Africa, No. 4 in Ireland, and No. 6 in New Zealand. In the North America, the song reached No. 14 on the US Rock Albums & Top Tracks chart, as well as number 19 on the National Disco Action Top 30 chart, but it did not find success in Canada. The music video to "Antmusic" featured the group playing in a discothèque with a giant juke box, and persuading the young audience to turn away from disco music and dance to the new-styled 'Antmusic'. The music video was directed by Steve Barron. The song was featured in the 2015 film Ant-Man.
"Fall In"
It was common for Ant to record new versions of his pre-1980 compositions for the B-side of his singles. For this single, an old Ant song dating back to the pre-Ants band the B-Sides in 1976 called "Fall In" was used. The song was co-written by Ant and Lester Square and originally titled "Fall Out" until the Police released a song by that same name in May 1977. A recording has surfaced of the song being performed by the Ants at a private preview show in a Muswell Hill bedroom on 5 May 1977. Following Square's departure, Ant added new lyrics referencing the band's regular rehearsal space at the Screen on the Green cinema in Islington. The resulting version was first recorded as a home demo in Putney in July 1977, and a full band demo was recorded at Decca Studios in August 1978. The version on the Antmusic B-side was recorded in 1980 during sessions for the Kings album at Rockfield Studios. The song has been a frequent feature of Ant's live setlists both with the Ants and solo from 1977 to the present day. Live versions have been released on the 1994 live album and in excerpt form on the 2014 documentary The Blueblack Hussar directed by Jack Bond. The 1978 Decca Studios version appears in full as closing credit music on the 2015 DVD live video albumDirk Live at the Apollo. Square's later band the Monochrome Set also continued to perform a version of the song, with new lyrics, under the title "Fallout". The song appeared as a B-side to the 1979 single "He's Frank " as well as a 1979 Peel Session. Another joint Ant/Square composition titled "Fat Fun", which had similar shared ownership between the two bands, was recorded by the Ants at Rockfield Studios but not released until 2000 on the Antbox box set. The Monochrome Set's version of "Fat Fun" can be heard on the compilation Volume, Contrast, Brilliance....
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Covers
Robbie Williams recorded a cover version on the B-side of his single "No Regrets" in 1998.
OK Go released a cover version of it on the B-side of the single "Get Over It".
DJ Hyper recorded a cover featuring Leeroy Thornhill for their album We Control.
Rogue Traders recorded a song called "Would You Raise Your Hands?" which contained samples from "Antmusic" including the lyrics "So unplug the jukebox and do us all a favour".
The Quakes recorded a cover version on the album Psyops where it is a ghost track. Psyops/Orrexx Records, 2005.
Hypnolovewheel recorded a cover of the song which was included on the compilation album Freedom of Choice: Yesterday's New Wave Hits as Performed by Today's Stars.
