They soon changed their name to The Adicts and became known for their distinctive Clockwork Orange 'Droog' image, which, along with their urgent, uptempo music and light-hearted lyrics, helped set them very much apart from the rest of the genre. Temporary 1980s name changes to ADX and FUN ADICTS, for a children's TV appearance, also occurred.
Their song "Viva La Revolution" was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground.
The band still has all its original members, uncommon for a band with such longevity.
The music of The Adicts proves that punk music is a very broad genre, often featuring extra instruments and sound clips such as carousel music (How Sad), violin played by Derick Cook (Joker in the Pack), gongs and keyboard percussion by Anthony Boyd (Chinese Takeaway), and even completely different songs like the switch to Gain To Lose's Tune #24 at the end of G.I.R.L..
The look of the majority of the bandmates is that of the Droogs from the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange based on the book by Anthony Burgess. All white with black combat boots and black bowler hats. The band says that the look appealed to them because of the teenage angst associated with A Clockwork Orange. Singer "Monkey" wears full joker make-up and his clothes are wild, patterned suits, flared trousers, colorful dress shirts, and other such things. His favorites seem to be checkerboard patterns, or polkadots. And of course, there's the obligatory bowler hat and gloves. Along with the look come stage antics involving streamers, confetti, playing cards, joker hats, toy instruments, and glitter just to name a few things.
members:
Keith 'Monkey' Warren - Vocals.
Mel (Spider)Ellis - Bass
Pete Dee Davison - Guitar
Michael 'Kid Dee' Davison - Drums
John 'Scruff' Ellis (Mel’s brother) - Guitar
Dan Gratziani - Violin,Piano,Mandolin
Chinese Takeaway
The Adicts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Went to the chip shop
Went to the burger shop
Didn't have a long stop
Went to these places
Didn't like their faces
No Television
No Competition
Now I'm in the right shop
To stop my hunger
Can't make my mind up
I'll just pick a number
The Adicts's song Chinese Takeaway is a playful commentary on the fast food industry and the ease with which we turn to it when we are hungry. The song begins with the singer visiting various fast food chains - the fish shop, chip shop, and burger shop - but finds that they aren't satisfying his hunger. He is looking for something different, something that will fill him up and delight his taste buds. When he finally finds a Chinese takeaway, he knows he's in the right place. However, even then he struggles to make a decision about what to order, so he simply picks a number.
In many ways, this song is a reflection of the culture of quick, cheap, and easy meals that has become so prevalent in modern society. The singer's frustration with the lack of quality and variety at the fish shop, chip shop, and burger shop mirrors the frustration many people feel with the standardization and homogenization of fast food chains. At the same time, the singer's delight at finding a Chinese takeaway highlights the joy of discovering something new and different - something that stands out from the crowd.
Line by Line Meaning
Went to the fish shop
Visited a shop that sells fish
Went to the chip shop
Visited a shop that sells chips (French fries)
Went to the burger shop
Visited a shop that sells burgers
Didn't have a long stop
Didn't spend much time at each shop
Went to these places
Visited these different food shops
Didn't like their faces
Didn't like the appearance or quality of the food shops
No Television
There was no TV in any of the shops
No Competition
There was no competition between the shops; none were significantly better than the others
I Want A Chinese Takeaway
The singer wants to eat Chinese food instead
Now I'm in the right shop
The singer has found a shop that sells Chinese food
To stop my hunger
To satisfy the singer's hunger
Can't make my mind up
The singer is having trouble deciding what to order
I'll just pick a number
The singer will randomly select something to order rather than a particular dish
Lyrics © Budde Music Publishing GmbH, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KEITH WARREN, MELVIN LEROY ELLIS, MICHAEL DAVISON, PETER JONNATHAN DAVISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Amazingbabyxx
My best friend was an adicts superfan all of her teenage years and we went to all the shows in our area of southern cali any chance we got, had a lot of memories singing these songs. When she was 21, she commited suicide in a bad time and monkey personally visited the graveyard and made her family a personal painting recreating a photo they took together at a show. Hes a real nice guy. Not many people treat their fans so respectfully and he made my bestfriends family happy with his kindness.
@jenwendy7
Wow ❤😢
@StankFernatra
❤
@evaberry8154
What is cool Cat. That's what it's all about.
@BarbRogersMs.SolarTerror
❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥
@rundflugscheibedorfcore9666
1
@ohare7clubs
i remember this song when i was five singing with my dad. 16 years later and im still singing it!! love the Adicts!
@USABall-ik2mj
Same I love this song
@kryptichands968
They make life better, I've never had so much fun at a show
@celticwarrior1365
This takes me back to a time when Siouxie and the Banshees' 'Hong Kong Garden' was still resounding in my memory! I also had this classic in my record collection.