| "Stand and Deliver" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byAdam and the Ants | ||||
| from the albumPrince Charming | ||||
| B-side | "Beat My Guest" | |||
| Released | 1 May 1981 (1981-05-01)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:34 | |||
| Label | CBS Records | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Chris Hughes | |||
| Adam and the Ants singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Stand and Deliver" onYouTube | ||||
"Stand and Deliver" is a song by Britishnew wave bandAdam and the Ants, released as the lead single from their third studio album,Prince Charming (1981). It was the band's first No. 1 hit in the UK. The phrase "stand and deliver — your money or your life", used in the lyrics, is commonly associated withhighwaymen in 18th centuryEngland.
Adam and the Ants' previous single, "Antmusic", debuted on theUK Singles Chart on 6 December 1980. It spent nine weeks in the top 10, peaking at No. 2, but was denied the No. 1 position by the re-release ofJohn Lennon's "Imagine" afterhis murder inNew York City on 8 December 1980.
"Stand and Deliver" became the band's first No. 1 when it debuted at the top spot on 3 May 1981, and remained there for five weeks.[2] Listed as the third best-selling single of 1981,[3] it has sold 1.03 million copies in theUK,[4] and was in 2023 included on theOfficial Charts Company's list of the UK's best-selling singles of all time at number 141.[5]On the US Dance chart, "Stand and Deliver" peaked at #38.[6]
Copies of the single "Stand and Deliver" b/w "Beat My Guest" were included as a free bonus item with some vinyl copies of theUS version of the albumKings of the Wild Frontier onEpic Records. Epic's cassette edition appended the two tracks to each end of either side of the tape. A slightly different version of "Stand and Deliver" was then featured on their follow-up LP,Prince Charming, released in November 1981.
The costume and general plot of the video show a strong influence from the 1973Monty Python sketch "Dennis Moore", although the highwayman scenario had also recently formed the basis for theDick Turpin series on UK television, starringRichard O'Sullivan in the title role. It featuresAdam Ant dressed as a "dandy highwayman" who threatens his victims with the mirror image of their unfashionable selves and who is captured and escapes being hanged from the gallows with help from his accomplices (his band members).
The video's opening sequence of Adam Ant putting on his make-up before going out on a robbery became a defining visual image for Adam Ant in the years that followed; a still from this was used as the sleeve forthe band's next single. The video also features the second appearance ofAmanda Donohoe, who had also appeared in the previous video for "Antmusic". At the time, she was Adam Ant's girlfriend.[citation needed]
Limahl appears in the video as an extra.[7]
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 12 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] | 7 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] | 22 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[11] | 2 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] | 8 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] | 4 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] | 32 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[2] | 1 |
| USDance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] | 38 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts) | 8 |
| Chart (1981) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] | 47 |
It was fairly common for Ant to record new versions of his pre-1980 compositions for theB-side of his singles. For this single, an old Ant song dating back at least to May 1977 was used. "Beat My Guest" was the first song Adam and the Ants played at their official debut gig at theInstitute of Contemporary Arts restaurant on 10 May 1977.[16] A full band recording was made in the same 14 July 1977 Chappell Studios recording session that had produced the version of Plastic Surgery featured inDerek Jarman's filmJubilee.[17] The version on the B-side of this single was recorded in August 1980 during sessions for theKings of the Wild Frontier album and featured the band's previous bass playerKevin Mooney.
"Stand and Deliver" has been covered byPoppy and by indie bands (Society Burning, Lynyrd's Innards,[18] among others).Sugar Ray provided the first notable cover on their 1997 release,Floored.
In 2015, the song was voted by the British public as the nation's 15th favourite1980s number one in a poll forITV.[19]
| "Stand and Deliver" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Promotional single byNo Doubt | |
| from the albumPush and Shove | |
| Released | 2009 (2009) |
| Recorded | 2009 |
| Studio | |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:22 |
| Label | Interscope |
| Songwriter | Marco Pirroni |
| Producer | No Doubt |
| Audio video | |
| "Stand and Deliver" onYouTube | |
In 2009, Americanrock bandNo Doubt recorded a cover version of "Stand and Deliver".[21] They performed the song while playing a fictional 1980s band, Snowed Out, in theGossip Girl episode "Valley Girls", airing 11 May 2009, and also performed the song on their2009 tour during the encore. It was eventually included on the deluxe edition bonus disc of the band's sixth studio album,Push and Shove, released on 21 September 2012.[22]
In 2003, Adam Ant embarked upon an ill-fated attempt to raise awareness of the plight of theendangeredmountain gorilla inCentral Africa by reworking "Stand and Deliver" into "Save the Gorilla".[23] This was to have been the lead track of a five track EP (with the remaining four tracks all being covers chosen for ajungle/primate theme) of which 2000 copies were pressed. Co-writerMarco Pirroni and the original song publishersEMI Publishing blocked its release just days before its intended release on 17 November, and the EP was withdrawn.[24] One EP track, a cover of "Jungle Rock", eventually surfaced on collaboratorBoz Boorer's 2008 solo albumMiss Pearl.
