B-side "Red Scab" Format 7" single Label CBS | Released 7 May 1982 Genre New wave, dance-rock | |
Length 3:28 (album version)
3:15 (single version) | ||
"Goody Two Shoes" is a song by Adam Ant, released on 7 May 1982. It was his first solo record, after the dissolution of his band Adam and the Ants that year. The single spent two weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and it became his third chart topper in the space of a year on the chart (the previous two number ones were with Adam and the Ants).
Contents
History
Following the dissolution of Adam and the Ants in early 1982, Adam Ant pursued a solo career. His début as a solo artist, "Goody Two Shoes" was written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni and produced by Ant, Pirroni and Chris Hughes. The song details Ant's frustration with press intrusion, which was reinforced by the video and his clean cut image.
The song was an instant hit, topping the UK Singles Chart in June 1982 and later repeating the feat in Australia, where it topped the Kent Music Report. Despite the success, this was his third and final number one single. In the United States, the song was his first and biggest hit, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
There are two versions of the cover. The first has Adam and the Ants across the top of the sleeve and the later version just Adam Ant. This is probably due to the confusion around the timing of Adam going solo, particularly as the song was performed by three fifths of the band—Adam, Marco and Merrick (Hughes).
There are also two different studio versions of the song. The UK 7" single version is notably different from the re-recorded version which appears on Friend or Foe. The single version has a different, more reverberating drum track. The Friend or Foe version, instead of Hughes on drums, features Bogdan Wiczling, drummer on the rest of the album. This version also appeared on the US edition of the single.
Adam Ant performed "Goody Two Shoes" at Top of the Pops on 20 May 1982.
B-side
It was fairly common for Ant to record new versions his pre-1980 compositions for the B-side of his singles. For this single, an old Ant song from 1977 called Red Scab was used. The song was regularly performed live by the Ants between August 1977 and January 1980 when the original Ants split. In mid 1978, following the recruitment of new guitarist Matthew Ashman it was heavily rearranged from a mid-tempo song to a slow song (while retaining the fast ending). The new arrangement was demoed by the full band at Decca Studios in August 1978. This particular version was recorded in 1982 by Adam, Marco and Merrick. The song was revived for live performance in 1993 and has been a regular fixture of live shows since then.
Track listing
All songs written by Adam Ant except as noted.
- "Goody Two Shoes" (Adam Ant/Marco Pirroni) – 3:15
- "Red Scab" – 4:06
Music video
The video presents a stylized vision of a day in the life of Adam Ant, from dressing in the morning to performing on stage, to being hounded by the media. At the end of the day, he takes home a woman journalist played by British actress Caroline Munro, in effect answering the song's theme question, "What do you do?" The video also starred veteran actors Graham Stark as the butler and Dandy Nichols.