Stand and Deliver (song)
Encyclopedia
"Stand and Deliver" was Adam and the Ants
' most successful single. It entered the UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on their Prince Charming
album. The lyric "stand and deliver - your money or your life" was a phrase commonly used by highwaymen in 18th century England
during robberies.
dressed as a "dandy highwayman" who is captured and escapes being hanged from the gallows with help from his accomplices (his band members). The video's opening sequence of Adam Ant putting on his makeup before going out on a robbery became a defining visual image for Adam Ant in the years that followed. The video also has an early appearance by Amanda Donohoe
who at the time was Adam's girlfriend.
released the song along with their entire music catalogue for those who bought tickets to their North American tour
in 2009, though it is not to be counted as a single officially and will not appear on their upcoming album. They also performed the song while playing a fictional 1980s band, 'Snowed Out', in the Gossip Girl
episode "Valley Girls
" as well as in their 2009 tour
during the encore.
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
' most successful single. It entered the UK Top 40 at Number One and stayed there for five weeks. It was featured on their Prince Charming
Prince Charming (album)
Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated Prince Charming three-and-a-half out of five stars. He explained that it was "a markedly different record than [Kings of the Wild Frontier], intentionally so", and that "the songs just aren't there." However, he concluded by stating that it "simply has style...
album. The lyric "stand and deliver - your money or your life" was a phrase commonly used by highwaymen in 18th century England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during robberies.
Music video
The song's video features Adam AntAdam Ant
Adam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
dressed as a "dandy highwayman" who is captured and escapes being hanged from the gallows with help from his accomplices (his band members). The video's opening sequence of Adam Ant putting on his makeup before going out on a robbery became a defining visual image for Adam Ant in the years that followed. The video also has an early appearance by Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe
Amanda Donohoe is an English film and television actress. She is known for her 1980s relationship with popstar Adam Ant and her later work on television — including L.A. Law and Emmerdale — and her roles in successful movies including Liar, Liar.-Early life:Donohoe was born in London, the daughter...
who at the time was Adam's girlfriend.
Cover versions
- Indie rock group Young Knives released the single "Up All Night" with a cover of "Stand and Deliver" recorded at an XFM Radio session as the b-side, and have also performed it at their live shows.
- In 1997 the song was covered by the band Sugar RaySugar RaySugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...
for their album Floored. - Dutch band Mark Foggo's SkastersMark Foggo's SkastersMark Foggo is an English-born ska musician currently based in Antwerp, Belgium.Beginning his music career in Amsterdam in 1979, Foggo became a prominent figure in Europe's post-2-Tone ska scene, most notably with his band Mark Foggo's Skasters, formed in 1987...
recorded a skaSkaSka |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
rendition of the song for their 1998 release St. Valentine's Day Massacre. - The British television show Horrible HistoriesHorrible Histories (2009 TV series)Horrible Histories is an award-winning British children's television series based on the Terry Deary book series of the same name. The first series was thirteen episodes long, and was broadcast from 16 April to 9 July 2009 on CBBC on BBC One. A second series, of twelve episodes , aired from 31 May...
featured a song about highwayman Dick TurpinDick TurpinRichard "Dick" Turpin was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's profession as a butcher early in life, but by the early 1730s he had joined a gang of deer thieves, and later became a poacher,...
that was based on "Stand and Deliver".
Other media
- This song is featured in the 2008 racing game, Burnout ParadiseBurnout ParadiseBurnout Paradise is the seventh game in the Burnout racing video game series. It was developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in January 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and on February 5, 2009 for Microsoft Windows...
. - The song appears in the 2011 video game Saints Row The Third
No Doubt version
No DoubtNo Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
released the song along with their entire music catalogue for those who bought tickets to their North American tour
Summer Tour 2009 (No Doubt)
The Summer Tour 2009 is the fifth concert tour by American rock group, No Doubt.-Background:On December 3, 2008, the band announced on their official website plans of a tour and a new album . They stated, "As most of you saw from our little iChat , we have decided to go on tour next year while...
in 2009, though it is not to be counted as a single officially and will not appear on their upcoming album. They also performed the song while playing a fictional 1980s band, 'Snowed Out', in the Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
episode "Valley Girls
Valley Girls (Gossip Girl)
"Valley Girls" is the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of the The CW Television Network television series Gossip Girl. The episode served as a backdoor pilot for a potential Gossip Girl spin-off series set in the 1980s, entitled Valley Girls...
" as well as in their 2009 tour
Summer Tour 2009 (No Doubt)
The Summer Tour 2009 is the fifth concert tour by American rock group, No Doubt.-Background:On December 3, 2008, the band announced on their official website plans of a tour and a new album . They stated, "As most of you saw from our little iChat , we have decided to go on tour next year while...
during the encore.