Kings of the Wild Frontier (song)

"Kings of the Wild Frontier" is a 1980 song by the British new wave group Adam and the Ants. Written by Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni, it was the title track of the band's second album and was also their first release for CBS Records after leaving the small independent label Do It Records.^[1]

"Kings of the Wild Frontier"
Single by Adam and the Ants
from the album Kings of the Wild Frontier
B-side	"Press Darlings"
Released	25 July 1980
Genre	Post-punk new wave
Length	3:53
Label	CBS
Songwriter(s)	Adam Ant Marco Pirroni
Producer(s)	Chris Hughes
Adam and the Ants singles chronology
"Cartrouble" (1980) "Kings of the Wild Frontier" (1980) "Dog Eat Dog" (1980)
Music video
"Kings of the Wild Frontier" by Adam and the Ants on YouTube

Although it was not the first pop song to do so, this was the first time the band employed the use of the two-drummer Burundi beat which then became one of their stylistic hallmarks.

Originally released on 25 July 1980, and found on the EP record "Press Darlings", the song peaked at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart, Following the EPS breakthrough success of "Dog Eat Dog" which reached (UK #4) and 'Antmusic' which reached (UK #2), respectively. It was also later re-released by itself in February 1981, peaking at number 2 in the UK singles chart.^[2]

"The extent of its success surprised us," Pirroni recalled. "We'd written the music as a soundtrack to the visuals – very Eighties. I took that cowboy guitar twang from Ennio Morricone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack. I was trying to get everything I liked into that record. And it worked."^[3]

Adam's ever-changing line-up of Ants included, on this song, Pirroni on guitar, Kevin Mooney on bass guitar and, on drums, both Chris Hughes (under the pseudonym "Merrick") and Terry Lee Miall.

The song was included on the album of the same name released on September 17 1980. When the album was released in the USA, the track "Making History" was dropped in favour of "Press Darlings" and "Physical (You're So)".^[4]

Reception

The Guardian said the song was "one of history's flat-out weirdest bids for screamy teen stardom: the lyrics beckon new fans in – "a wild nobility, we are the family" – set to a cacophony of thunderous drums, shouting, whooping, feedback and Duane Eddy-style guitar. It is unbelievably exciting."^[5]