The Adicts

The Adicts

The Adicts in Chicago, 2011
Background information
Also known as Fun Adicts, ADX
Origin Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Genres Punk rock, punk pathetique, new wave
Years active 1975–present
Labels Dining Out, Dwed Wecords, Razor Records, Fallout Records, Sire, SL Records, Cleopatra, Anagram Records, Captain Oi!, SOS, People Like You Records, DC-Jam Records
Website http://www.adicts.us/
Members Keith "Monkey" Warren (singer)
Pete "Pete Dee" Davison (guitar)
Michael "Kid Dee" Davison (drums)
John "Scruff" Ellis (guitar)
Shahen Hagobian (bass)
Past members Tim Hocking (bass)
James Harding (keyboards)
Mel "Spider" Ellis (bass)
David "Pretty Boy" Arnold
Dan "Fiddle Dan" Graziani (fiddle)
Cody "12" Farwell (bass)

The Adicts are an English punk band from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. One of the most popular punk rock bands in the 1980s, they were often in the indie charts during that decade.[1][2]

The Adicts originated as Afterbirth & The Pinz in late 1975.[3] They soon changed their name to The Adicts and became known for their distinctive Clockwork Orange "droog" image, which along with their urgent, uptempo music and light-hearted lyrics, helped set them apart from other punk bands. In the 1980s, they temporarily changed their name to Fun Adicts (for a children's TV appearance) and then ADX (after signing to a major label).

Their music has catchy melodies and lyrics, and often features extra instruments and sound clips, such as carousel music in "How Sad", violin played by Derick Cook in "Joker in the Pack", and gongs and keyboard percussion by Anthony Boyd in "Chinese Takeaway".

The musicians wear all-white clothing with black boots and black bowler hats. The singer, Keith "Monkey" Warren, wears joker makeup, wildly patterned suits (such as checkerboard or polka dot), flared trousers, colorful dress shirts, bowler hat and gloves. The band's visual look is complemented by their stage shows, involving items such as streamers, confetti, playing cards, beach balls, joker hats, toy instruments, bubbles and glitter.

Still an active and popular live act, The Adicts appeared at the 2012 Punk Rock Bowling music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4]

History

The band debuted with the 1979 EP Lunch with The Adicts, the first release on the Dining Out label. In 1980 the band recorded the songs "Sympathy" and "Sheer Enjoyment" for an intended single, but they weren't released until the 1984 compilation album This Is Your Life. The band released their debut album, Songs of Praise, in 1981 on their own Dwed Wecords, funded by the band's then-manager Geordie Davison. In 1982, the album was re-released on Fallout Records, who also issued their first single "Viva la Revolution", which became one of the band's most iconic songs. That same year, the band began their relationship with Razor Records and released their second album, Sound of Music, featuring the single "Chinese Takeaway".

In 1983, the band released "Bad Boy", their highest-charting single. The success of that single led to the band signing with Warner Bros. Records offshoot Sire Records. At this time, the band changed their name to ADX at the behest of Sire, as the name The Adicts was considered to have too much of a negative connotation. The relationship with Sire only lasted for two singles, "Tokyo" (produced by Vapors frontman David Fenton in 1984) and a cover of Marlene Dietrich's "Falling in Love Again" in 1985. Their third album, Smart Alex, featuring previous singles "Bad Boy" and "Tokyo", was issued in 1985 on Razor Records. The band's third release of that year was the Bar Room Bop EP, for which they returned to Fallout. Their fourth album, 1986's Fifth Overture, was initially released only in Germany, and did not see release in their home country until the following year.

The band then entered a period of inactivity, only releasing the live albums Live and Loud!!, recorded in 1981 and released in 1987, and Rockers into Orbit, recorded in 1986 and released in 1990. The band's next studio album finally appeared in 1992, when the US label Cleopatra Records released Twenty-Seven, which wasn't released in the UK until a year later on Anagram Records. Cleopatra reissued the band's first three albums in 1993, giving those discs their first release in the US.

Another period of inactivity ensued, this time lasting until 2002. That year, the band's first album in a decade,Rise and Shine was released on Captain Oi! Records, who also released expanded reissues of all of the band's previous albums with the exception of Songs of Praise. Two years later, the Rollercoaster album was released on the US label SOS Records; it has never been officially released in the UK. Over the next couple of years, SOS released their own expanded reissues of Sound of Music, Smart Alex, Twenty-Seven and Rise and Shine. The Adicts' next album was a newly recorded version of their debut Songs of Praise, which was released in 2008 on the European label People Like You Records. A year later, the band released Life Goes On on the same label. In 2012, All the Young Droogs was released on DC-Jam Records.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Release date Record label Peak positions
UK UK
Indie
Songs of Praise 1981 Dwed Records  – 15[5]
Sound of Music 1982 Razor Records 99[6] 2[5]
Smart Alex 1985 Razor Records  – 7[5]
Fifth Overture 1986 SL Records  – 7[5]
Twenty-Seven 1992 Cleopatra Records  –  –
Rise and Shine 2002 Captain Oi! Records  –  –
Rollercoaster 2004 SOS Records  –  –
Songs of Praise: 25th Anniversary Edition
(Re-recording of Songs of Praise)		 2008 People Like You Records  –  –
Life Goes On 2009 People Like You Records  –  –
All the Young Droogs 2012 DC-Jam Records  –  –

Live albums

Title Release date Record label
Live and Loud!! 1987 Link Records
Rockers into Orbit 1990 Fallout Records
Joker in the Pack 2004 Anagram Records

Compilations

Title Release date Record label Peak position: UK
Indie
This Is Your Life 1984 Fallout Records 12[5]
Totally Adicted 1992 Dojo
The Complete Adicts Singles Collection

(Re-released as The Complete Singles Collection)

 1994 Anagram Records
The Best of The Adicts

(Re-released by Anagram in 1998 as The Very Best of The Adicts)

 1996 Dojo
The Collection (Sound of Music and Smart Alex with bonus tracks) 1997 Taang! Records
Ultimate Adiction - The Best Of 1997 Cleopatra Records
Joker in the Pack 1999 Harry May Record Company
Made in England 2005 SOS Records
Clockwork Punks: The Collection 2005 Anarchy Music

EPs

Title Release date Record label
Lunch with The Adicts 1979 Dining Out
Bar Room Bop 1985 Fallout Records
Triple B Sides 2008 People Like You Records

Singles

Title Release date Record label Peak position: UK
"Viva la Revolution" 1982 Fallout Records
"Chinese Takeaway" 1982 Razor Records
"Bad Boy" 1983 Razor Records 75[6]
"Tokyo" (as ADX) 1984 Sire Records
"Falling in Love Again" (as ADX) 1985 Sire Records

Music videos

Title Date
"Viva La Revolution" 1982
"Joker in the Pack" 1982
"Life Goes On" 2010
"Give It to Me Baby" 2013

References

  1. ↑ Feeney, Katherine (10 March 2008). "The Adicts". Brisbane Times / The Sun-Herald (Australia). Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  2. ↑ Sorocco, Erika (2 March 2011). "CALIFORNIAN: English punk band aim to take Temecula by storm". North County Times (San Diego County, California). Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Forman, Bill (3 March 2011). "Viva la evolution". Colorado Springs Independent. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Ferguson, Brandon (4 March 2011). "UPDATE: Adicts Break in New Meat for Upcoming Tour". OC Weekly (Orange County, California). Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4.
  6. 1 2 Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography. Canongate. ISBN 0-86241-913-1.

External links

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