Adam Ant Committed under UK's Mental Health Act

BY Stephen CarlickPublished May 21, 2010

Eighties new wave pop star Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard) was committed to a British hospital under the Mental Health Act this week after an "unspecified incident" this past Tuesday (May 18).

Of course, the incident was, according to Contact Music, only one of a series of mishaps to occur involving Goddard, who suffers from bipolar disorder, over the past several of weeks.

A message he wrote to his fans reads: "Ant fans - please send me postcards at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Fulham Road. Please don't come down here as it may upset the staff who have been really pleasant. I am having a well earned rest at Her Majesty's Pleasure and am painting and continuing being an art student. I have a great view and am considering gigs later in the year."

Goddard, now 55, stunned fans in Portsmouth, UK last week when in the middle of a show, he invited a four-year-old onstage to teach him the lyrics to the Who's "My Generation." The longwinded and fruitless attempt caused a number of fans to flock towards the venue's exit, whom the former Ants front-man told to "fuck off."

In 2002, Goddard narrowly escaped prison on mental health grounds after threatening London bar patrons with a fake gun, and in 2003, he was hospitalized for threatening to smash a neighbour's door in with a shovel. He was later found naked in the basement of a nearby cafe.

Goddard's claim that he's "considering gigs later in the year" comes on the back of related news in which he declared the need to return to performing for the sake of his 12-year-old daughter Lily.

Just last month, he said "Lily has never seen Adam perform and doesn't know what the Ants were all about. I've had this life-long battle against manic depression, but I've had to overcome it for her sake. Times got bad. I lost my mind. But I'm back."

Well, not quite. But as Ant promised this week, he is "having a well earned rest," so all's well for now.

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