Strip (Adam Ant album)

Phil Collins plays drums on "Puss 'n Boots" and "Strip",[3] Collins also aided in production duties for the two tracks he played on, and enlisted Hugh Padgham to assist with the production and engineering of those sessions. Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, of ABBA fame, also performs the female spoken part on "Strip".

The cover photograph was fashioned after actress Jane Russell's famous photo from Howard Hughes's 1943 film The Outlaw.

The lead single from the album in Europe and Australia was "Puss 'n Boots", which continued the pantomime themes and fashions of Ant's earlier work. The single reached number 5 on the UK chart in November 1983, becoming Ant's final UK top 10 hit, although other top 20 hits would follow. The title track, "Strip", was released as a single in December 1983 and reached number 41 on the UK singles chart[4] and number 42 in the U.S. "Puss 'n Boots" was also released as a single in the U.S., but failed to chart.[5] "Playboy" was planned to be the third single.[6]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Smash Hits	6/10[8]
Trouser Press	unfavourable[9]

From contemporary reviews, Ian Birch wrote in Smash Hits that the new songs on the album feature a "new and much fresher style" from Adam Ant, specifically noting "more thoughtful writing, more adventurous arrangements" and "sharper singing while the "obsession with sex gets a bit ridiculous but if you keep a sense of humour, it soon fades into the background."[8]

An extensive tour of the U.S. was undertaken after the release. Ant settled on a deal with his tour manager, Michael Kleffman, that would give him a pay bonus if the album or the following album peaked within the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200.[10] Neither the album nor its follow-up, Vive Le Rock, managed to do so, with the former peaking at #65 and the latter peaking at #131.

Some performances of the tour can be found on YouTube. It was the biggest American tour of Ant's career, with dates in many cities, and was famous for the showmanship involved; this included a Houdini-style immersion tank, which Ant would jump in and emerge from wearing only black shorts – after "stripping" his stage costume off during the course of the show.

All songs written by Adam Ant and Marco Pirroni.

1. "Strip" – 3:48
2. "Baby, Let Me Scream at You" – 4:07
3. "Libertine" – 4:19
4. "Spanish Games" – 3:00
5. "Vanity" – 4:08
6. "Puss 'n Boots" – 3:52
7. "Playboy" – 3:50
8. "Montreal" – 4:23
9. "Navel to Neck" – 3:41
10. "Amazon" – 3:50

Additional tracks on the 2005 remaster

11. "Strip" (Demo recording)
12. "Dirty Harry" (Demo recording)
13. "Horse You Rode in On" (Demo recording)
14. "She Wins Zulus" (Demo recording)
15. "Puss 'n Boots" (Demo recording)
16. "Playboy" (Rehearsal recording, Compass Point Studios, Bahamas)
17. "Navel to Neck" (Rehearsal recording, Compass Point Studios)
18. "Strip" (Live studio version, Polar Studios)

• Adam Ant – vocals, bass, guitars (2), percussion (9)
• Richard James Burgess – keyboards (2-5, 7-10), drums (2-5, 7-10), percussion (2-5, 7-10)
• Marco Pirroni – guitars (1, 3-10)
• Phil Collins – drums (1, 6), percussion (1, 6)
• Rutger Gunnarsson – brass and string arrangements
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – spoken vocals (1) (uncredited)[11]

Production

• Phil Collins – producer (1, 6)
• Hugh Padgham – co-producer (1, 6), engineer (1, 6)
• Adam Ant – producer (2-5, 7-10), cover design
• Richard James Burgess – producer (2-5, 7-10)
• Marco Pirroni – producer (2-5, 7-10)
• Paris Edvinsson – engineer (2-5, 7-10)
• Michael B. Tretow – mixing (2-5, 7-10)
• Anders Andersson – production assistance
• Jean-Luc Fauvel – production assistance
• Mark Freegard – production assistance
• Radu Wouk – production assistance
• Allan Ballard – photography

• Strip at Discogs (list of releases)