His first solo album was Friend or Foe (1982), from which the debut single "Goody Two Shoes" reached number one in the UK and Australia in 1982, and became his first top 20 hit in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100.

[4]: 28  In the aftermath of this incident, Goddard was placed under the supervision of teacher Joanna Saloman, who encouraged him to develop his abilities in art and whom he later credited as the first person to show him he could be creative.

In late 1979 they released their debut album Dirk Wears White Sox (1979, Do It Records) featuring Matthew Ashman on guitar, Andy Warren on bass and Dave Barbarossa on drums.

Ant eventually returned to performing, appearing as a guest on the NBC special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, singing "Where Did Our Love Go" with Diana Ross.

[17] The latter two adopted the stage names Count Wiczling and Chris De Niro respectively and were upgraded from live backing musicians to being full-time band members, featured on record sleeves,[17] logos[18] and even in song lyrics.

The duo continued to demo other songs around this time, including such titles as "Tough Blokes", "Justine", "Picasso Meets Gary Cooper" and "Call Me Sausage" (the last of which leaked out into bootleg circulation among fans).

In 2001, following the 11 September attacks, Ant recorded a charity single for New York firefighters; a double A-side of Neil Diamond's "America" with his own song "Big Trouble".

[32] In 2003, the Channel 4 television special titled The Madness of Prince Charming[7] was aired in the UK documenting Ant's career and his struggle with mental illness (he was diagnosed as suffering with bipolar disorder).

Originally intended as a benefit record for the endangered mountain gorilla, it was never released, due to copyright and licensing issues relating to the title track.

As part of the promotion of the paperback, Ant performed a reading of selected passages of the book along with acoustic songs (accompanied by childhood friend Dave Pash on guitar) at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London on 24 September.

A day later, on 19 March, Ant guested at a Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction gig at the Pipeline Bar, London E1, in which he provided lead vocals for the band's Top 20 hit "Prime Mover".

Also announced at the Chelsea event was a public screening of the December 1981 Prince Charming Revue concert video plus a question-and-answer session to be held in South London's Coronet Cinema on 11 May 2011.

[53] There was one negative onstage incident at Fat Sam's in Dundee on 21 May 2011 when Ant reacted angrily to some crowd elements who booed his kilt decorated with the St George's Cross.

[50] Just three days after the final Norwich date of the tour, Ant was back onstage again with two members of his live band on 19 December at a charity event at Ronnie Scott's.

[64] While this exhibition was on, Ant took his band on tour to Australia with an initial five date schedule spread over a two-week period from 23 March to 8 April, taking in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

This got off to an early start when Ant stepped in as replacement headliner at the Bearded Theory festival in Derby on 18 May 2012, when the Levellers had to pull out due to one of the band members being injured.

Ant also played the first full band concert in continental Europe of his 2010s comeback on 24 June 2012 at the Parkpop festival in the Zuiderpark in the Hague, Netherlands, with his set broadcast on Dutch national TV.

[77] On 31 December 2010, Ant gave an interview for The Sun (featured in the "Something for the Weekend" segment) in which he discussed in considerable detail the various controversies surrounding his recent life and musical activities.

[84] To promote the album, Ant performed a series of concerts around the British Isles during April and May (billed as a "Spring Tour") culminating in a gig at The Roundhouse on 11 May.

A free concert in Rome took place on 14 June and a second full length 40 plus show US tour got underway on 17 July in San Diego and ran to 21 September in Anaheim.

[47] Prior to the tour, Ant and his band appeared on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to promote the new album, performing a live version of the track "Vince Taylor".

[citation needed] Jack Bond's documentary on Ant, The Blueblack Hussar, covering his life and performances from late 2010 to mid 2011, was released on DVD in July 2014 by Sunrise Pictures.

Further, Tarrant's originally commissioned insider documentary White Sox which captures a candid look at Ant during his Spring 2014 UK tour is currently unreleased and awaits distribution as of 2024.

After his January 24, 2017 show in Boston, Ant's guitarist and music director, Tom Edwards, suddenly died due to suspected heart failure; he was 41.

[92] The tone of Ant's debut solo album, Friend or Foe, was defined as glitzy glam pop with "tongue-in-cheek tunes, delivered with an excess of flair and good humour".

[98] During the 1980s and 1990s he was living in Hollywood and pursued his acting career, taking roles in films such as Nomads,[99] Slam Dance,[100] Sunset Heat,[101] and Love Bites.

[102] Ant also appeared on American television shows, including The Equalizer,[103] Sledge Hammer!,[104] Tales from the Crypt[105] and Northern Exposure[106] in which he played a rock musician.

[4]: 257, 326 He produced the musical Be Bop A Lula about rock 'n' roll singers Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran's days on tour in England, with a set designed by L.A. artist Michael Pearce.

He has tattoos depicting Lord Nelson's last prayer before the Battle of Trafalgar, an image of his grandfather and a quotation from Oscar Wilde: "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

"[32] In 2002 Ant was poised to join the 1980s-focused Here & Now tour, but was unable to do so when he was arrested and charged, after throwing a car alternator through a window at the Prince of Wales pub in Camden and then threatening patrons with a starting pistol.