Adam Ant: Steve Jobs "raped songwriters"

"Steve Jobs did fuck all for music. He raped songwriters and turned music to a digital hell. He was only into one thing – money!”

So says Adam Ant in an interview in the latest issue of Hot Press that also takes in S+M, being ripped off by record companies, Malcom McLaren and Ant's mental health problems.

"Steve Jobs has left a shit legacy for children of my daughter’s age who’ve had music reduced to a commodity” he continues. "The art’s been bled out of it by people with no loyalty to the concept of an album or developing an artist."

Ant's return to music (his new record Adam Ant Is The Blueback Hussar In Marrying The Gunner's Daughter is set for release in January) comes after many years in the wilderness struggling with his mental health.

“When they put me on the anti-depressants I stopped writing because they knock the crap out of everything. After the doctors weaned me off ‘em though, the ideas came flooding back and I’m as productive now as I’ve ever been. One of the things I want to do is de-stigmatise bipolar disorder, which is what the doctors tell me I've got. You can get insured if you’re an alcoholic or a junkie but if you’re a bit challenged upstairs, forget it.”

Read the full interview with Adam Ant in the new issue of Hot Press (Florence cover) out now.

He plays Vicar Street, Dublin, on November 25.