26 September 1981
Adam Ant made some great records in his early ’80s glory years. More importantly, he was a brilliant pop star. ‘Prince Charming’, though, despite featuring the most famous line he ever sang, trades almost entirely on Adam’s star power.
You can’t dance to it, to the extent that the video is an instructional guide in what you should be doing when it comes on at your local hop. The sparse arrangement only exposes the lack of substance beneath. And that line, today seen as some sort of New Romantic manifesto or battle-cry, strikes me as what someone scared of ridicule would say, or at least hints at an awareness that this lesser product would require a harder sell. Cue lavish video, more dressing up, and the most iconic pop star of the era painting himself into a corner of panto-style light entertainment; Adam’s final big hit, still a great record, would be called ‘Puss N’ Boots’.
