Dog Eat Dog (Adam and the Ants song)
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| "Dog Eat Dog" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
On the back cover, the famous "Warrior Ant" logo, drawn by ex-Bazooka Joe guitarist Daniel Kleinman, makes its first appearance.[1] | ||||
| Single by Adam and the Ants | ||||
| from the album Kings of the Wild Frontier | ||||
| B-side | "Physical (You're So)" | |||
| Released | 3 October 1980 | |||
| Recorded | August 1980 | |||
| Genre | New pop[2] | |||
| Label | CBS Records | |||
| Songwriters | Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni | |||
| Producer | Chris Hughes | |||
| Adam and the Ants singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Dog Eat Dog" on YouTube | ||||
"Dog Eat Dog" is the opening track on the Adam and the Ants album Kings of the Wild Frontier. It was written by Adam Ant & Marco Pirroni, and features the two-drummer Burundi beat for which Adam and the Ants would become famous.[3] Released as a 7" single on 3 October 1980, it was their first top ten hit.
Shortly after the single's release, the band performed "Dog Eat Dog" on Top of the Pops on 16 October 1980, helping launch the single to number 4 on the UK Singles Chart,[4] and increasing anticipation for the forthcoming album Kings of the Wild Frontier (released 3 November 1980).[1]
Royal Variety Performance
Whereas the Top of the Pops performance helped launch the band's success, Adam and the Ants' performance of a medley of "Antmusic" & "Dog Eat Dog" at the Royal Variety Performance on 18 April 1981 lives in notoriety. During "Antmusic", Kevin Mooney had a very public meltdown that led to his leaving the band. As the band lip synced & mimed through the performance, Mooney took off his bass, placing it on the floor, making it obvious that he wasn't actually playing. This continued & became more pronounced through "Dog Eat Dog".[5]
Lyrics
In his 2007 autobiography, Stand and Deliver, Adam said that "Dog Eat Dog" was inspired by a Margaret Thatcher quote he'd read in a newspaper. The expression refers to a situation of fierce competition in which people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed. The lyrics of this song are about bands in competition with each other, and doing just that.[6]