The Boomtown Rats are an Irish new wave band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

including "

Like Clockwork "Like Clockwork" is a single by The Boomtown Rats. It was the band's first to reach the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 6. Described as "simple, cool", in concerts supporting '' A Tonic for the Troops'', the song's agitated, stac ...

", "

Rat Trap A rat trap is a trap designed to catch rats. Designs are often larger variations on mousetraps. Types of traps Spring traps for large rodents such as rats or squirrels are powerful enough to break the animal's neck or spine. They may break hu ...

", "

I Don't Like Mondays "I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish new wave group the Boomtown Rats about the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, '' The Fine Art of Surfacing''. T ...

" and "

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...

". The original line-up comprised six musicians; five from

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

;

Gerry Cott Gerry Cott (born 15 October 1954, in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish guitarist and songwriter, who was a co-founder of the Irish new wave band The Boomtown Rats. He started playing flamenco guitar when he was 11 years old. In 1966 he saw Bob Dyla ...

(rhythm guitar),

Simon Crowe Simon Crowe (born 14 April 1955, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the Irish new wave band The Boomtown Rats. The original name of the Boomtown Rats was the "Nightlife Thugs". The name Boo ...

(drums),

Johnnie Fingers Johnnie Fingers (born John Peter Moylett, 10 September 1956) is an Irish keyboardist and co-founding member of the new wave band The Boomtown Rats. He was notable for his attire of striped pyjamas on stage and his melodic piano style. Backgroun ...

(keyboards),

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

(vocals) and

Garry Roberts Garrick Roberts (16 June 1950 – 9 November 2022) was an Irish musician best known as the lead guitarist with The Boomtown Rats, a band which came into being in 1976. He and Johnnie Fingers (Moylett) had decided to put a band together and, be ...

(lead guitar), plus Fingers' cousin

Pete Briquette Patrick Martin Cusack (born 2 July 1954), known by the stage name Pete Briquette, is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. He is a member of the Boomtown Rats and has also played in Bob Geldof's band. Boomtown Rats He was born in Bal ...

(bass). The Boomtown Rats broke up in 1986, but reformed in 2013, without Fingers or Cott. Garry Roberts died in 2022. The band's fame and notability have been overshadowed by the charity work of

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Bob Geldof, a former journalist with the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''.

History

Beginnings

The band was formed in 1975 with five of the six members who came from

, while

was originally from

Ballyjamesduff Ballyjamesduff () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. A former market town, it was the winner of the 1966 and 1967 Irish Tidy Towns Competition. History The first mention of Ballyjamesduff is found in The Registry of Deeds, Kings Inns, Henrie ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

, Ireland. Geldof initially managed the band but took over the lead vocals from

. Initially known as The Nightlife Thugs, the group changed their name to The Boomtown Rats, which Geldof had taken from

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

's autobiography '' Bound for Glory''. In the summer of 1976, the group played their first UK gig before moving to London where they signed with

Ensign Records Ensign Records was a record label started in 1976 by London-born Nigel Grainge, elder brother of UMG Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge. History Nigel Grainge began his career in the record business as a sales office assistant at Phonogram UK in 197 ...

later that year. Their first single, " Lookin' After No. 1", released in August 1977 after a year of touring, including a support slot with

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

. It reached the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at No. 11. Their first album ''

The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Republic". The original line ...

'' was released the following month and included another single, "

Mary of the 4th Form "Mary of the 4th Form" is the second single by The Boomtown Rats. It was the first song taken from the band's first album ''The Boomtown Rats'' but the single is a different, re-recorded version from that on the album and 19 seconds longer. On Fr ...

" reached No. 15 in December. Music journalist Martin C. Strong commented, "Geldof's moody charisma helped to give the band a distinct identity".

Mainstream success

The band together with producer

Mutt Lange A mutt is a mongrel (a dog of unknown ancestry). Mutt may also refer to: People * Mutt, a derogatory term for mixed-race people Nickname * Larry Black (sprinter) (1951-2006), American sprinter * Mutt Carey (1886–1948), New Orleans jazz trump ...

embarked on recording their next album, ''

A Tonic for the Troops ''A Tonic for the Troops'' is the second album by Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats, released in June 1978. ''A Tonic for the Troops'' peaked at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart in 1978. The album included the singles " She's So Modern", "Like Clock ...

'' (1978). In May, the first single " She's So Modern" reached No. 12 in UK charts. A headlining tour around the UK culminates in a show filmed at the Hammersmith Odeon. The second single "

" reached the UK Top Ten at No. 6 in July. The album was released shortly after, while in early November, the third single "

" became the first rock song by an Irish band to reach No. 1 in the UK. In addition, "Rat Trap" was also the first new wave song to claim the number one spot. The US version of the album (with a slightly different selection of tracks) came out the next year on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The band returned to the recording studio with Lange to produce a follow-up in 1979, while they embarked on a US tour in support of the album with moderate success. The single "

" was released in July, also reached No. 1 in the UK. The song was written in response to a school shooting in California, and became a worldwide Top Ten hit, except for the United States. It was the band's only song to reach the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was included in the band's third album, '' The Fine Art of Surfacing'' released in November of that year. The album also contained " Diamond Smiles" and their next Top 10 hit in the UK, " Someone's Looking at You". In December 1980 "

" was released, which was their last Top 10 hit, reaching No. 3. and in the following year the Boomtown Rats' next studio album '' Mondo Bongo'' produced by Tony Visconti appeared. A second single 'Elephant's Graveyard (Guilty)' charted at 26 while the title track appears in the US without much success. During the subsequent tour, Gerry Cott decided to depart the band that continues as a quintet. In December 1981 the single 'Never In A Million Years' stalled at No. 62 in the UK charts. The band's fifth album, '' V Deep'', again produced by Visconti, was released in February 1982. A second single from the album "House on Fire" made number 24 in the UK Singles Chart. A third, 'Charmed Lives' failed to chart however. In the US, the album was initially rejected by their American label, which instead issued a four-song EP called ''The Boomtown Rats'', featuring four selections from ''V Deep''. The full album was eventually issued in the US in late 1982. The same year Geldof appeared in the film

Pink Floyd - The Wall Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

directed by

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

. A follow-up album entitled ''In The Long Grass'' was recorded in 1983, but was initially rejected by the group's label. By 1984, the band was touring universities after becoming unable to fund the "guarantee" required to book mainstream concert halls. ''In The Long Grass'' was finally issued in the UK in May 1984, but failed to chart. Two singles, "Tonight" and "Drag Me Down", were taken from the album; these reached the lower rungs of the UK Singles Chart, but two further singles, "Dave" and "A Hold of Me", failed to register. The Boomtown Rats' involvement with Band Aid (on which they all played) raised their profile again, and in January 1985, a revised version of ''

In the Long Grass ''In the Long Grass'' was the sixth studio album by The Boomtown Rats, released in 1984 in the UK and 1985 in the US. It was the band's last studio material for over three-decade until 2020's '' Citizens of Boomtown''. The Boomtown Rats' least c ...

'' was finally released in the US. The album made the US charts at No. 188, but the associated singles failed to make an impact on the charts or on the radio. The band subsequently performed at

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

's charity performance. "Dave", a single from the original release of ''

'' was re-recorded as "Rain" for the US market. The song was about the band's saxophone player and school friend David McHale, who had suffered a breakdown after his girlfriend was found dead in a public toilet next to an empty heroin bag.

Break up

After Live Aid, the band was on hiatus while Geldof focused on the

Band Aid Trust Band Aid were a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know I ...

. The band's final performance came at

Self Aid Self Aid was an unemployment benefit concert held in Dublin, Ireland on 17 May 1986. The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea, both Englishmen of Irish descent, were designated "honorary Ir ...

, a May 1986 concert at the RDS in Dublin, to raise awareness of unemployment in Ireland. Their rendition of "Joey's on the Street Again" was 12 minutes long, with an extended

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, during which time Geldof ran among the crowd. It also included a rendition of

's song "Greenback Dollar", which provided circularity and closure. Following this performance, Geldof addressed the crowd, saying, "It's been a great ten years; rest in peace". The band then performed " Looking After No.1". Following the band's break-up, Geldof launched a solo career with

continuing to work alongside him. Garry Roberts co-wrote songs for

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He ...

before leaving the music business and going on to become a successful salesman of financial services. Roberts later presented his Guitar Workshop to schools, encouraging pupils to play the instrument and emphasising the contribution of the blues to modern rock and pop music. Fingers became a successful record producer in Japan, as well as being part of the Japanese band Greengate. Simon Crowe was in the West Country-based

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

band Jiggerypipery and has also run a clock making business. In 2005, the band's albums were all

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

and re-released and a '

Best Of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

was released, along with two DVDs. Briquette mixed the live DVD and Francesco Cameli mixed the extra tracks for the re-release of the Boomtown Rats albums at

Sphere Studios Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band went t ...

in London.

The Rats

In 2008, Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe, who had continued playing together in The Fab Four, with Alan Perman (ex

Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat, rock and pop group formed in 1964 in Manchester, originally called Herman and His Hermits and featuring lead singer Peter Noone. Produced by Mickie Most, the Hermits charted with number ones in the UK a ...

) and Bob Doyle (who once auditioned unsuccessfully for

E.L.O. The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

), and The Velcro Flies, with Steve (Dusty) Hill and Gavin Petrie, got together as "The Rats", playing their favourite Boomtown Rats songs, with two guitars, bass and drums. The band was initially fronted by Peter Barton, who since the early 1980s has played with several resurrected acts, including

The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

and Lieutenant Pigeon. Barton was replaced on lead vocals and bass by Bob Bradbury, who was the founder and main songwriter in

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the ''Norwich C ...

. Darren Beale, formerly of The Caves, played lead guitar. Saxophone player Andy Hamilton, who toured and recorded with The Boomtown Rats, including at Live Aid, played as a guest at some gigs. Gerry Cott and Johnnie Fingers were invited to join the band when circumstances allowed. Cott attended The Rats' second gig (at The

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and as ...

, London). Fingers, meanwhile, worked for the

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan. ...

in Japan, but planned to join the band on stage when he was in the UK. On 21 June 2009, Geldof, Roberts, and Briquette got together in Dublin to play "Dave", at a party to celebrate the life of Boomtown Rats' close friend and saxophone player, "Doctor" Dave MacHale, who had died of cancer in Frankfurt. On 20 September 2011, Gerry Cott guested with Geldof's band at The Cadogan Hall, London. They played three Boomtown Rats songs prior to the encores. Cott returned to the stage for the final encore playing on two Geldof solo songs.

The Boomtown Rats reform

, Gary Roberts,

, and

reunited as The Boomtown Rats in 2013, joined by Alan Dunn (longtime member of Geldof's band) on keyboards and Darren Beale (who played with Roberts & Crowe in The Rats) on guitar. Bob Geldof said, "Playing again with the Rats and doing those great songs again will be exciting afresh. We were an amazing band and I just feel it's the right time to re-Rat, to go back to Boomtown for a visit." In June 2013, it was announced that the band would be embarking on a UK and Ireland tour supported by a new compilation album, '' Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits''. The group performed at the

Brentwood Festival The Brentwood Festival is an annual music festival held at the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, Essex every July. The festival donates a share of its proceeds to charity, and has raised a total of £120,000 for various causes. As well as live music, ...

in 2016, where Geldof attracted controversy for criticising the audience. In April 2017, the band returned to the studio to record new material for their first studio album since ''

'' in 1984. In March 2020, they released a new album, '' Citizens of Boomtown'', and a lead single, "Trash Glam Baby".

Members

File:Bob Geldof 3115.jpg, Geldof File:The Boomtown rats Garry Roberts 3098.jpg, Roberts and Dunn File:The Boomtown Rats Peter Briquette 3251 (15094842179).jpg,

Briquette A briquette (; also spelled briquet) is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material (e.g. charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, or paper) used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. The term derives from the French word '' ...

, Crowe and Beale Current *

– lead vocals, guitar, harmonica *

– bass, keyboards, backing vocals *

– drums, percussion, backing vocals with *Alan Dunn – piano, keyboards, backing vocals *Darren Beale – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals Former *

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

– keyboards, piano, backing vocals *

– rhythm guitar Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1978) * '' The Fine Art of Surfacing'' (1979) * '' Mondo Bongo'' (1981) * '' V Deep'' (1982) * ''

'' (1984) * '' Citizens of Boomtown'' (2020)

UK Top 40 singles

* " Lookin' After No. 1" (1977) No. 11 * "

" (1977) No. 15 * " She's So Modern" (1978) No. 12 * "

" (1978) No. 6 * "

" (1978) No. 1 * "

" (1979) No. 1 * " Diamond Smiles" (1979) No. 13 * " Someone's Looking at You" (1980) No. 4 * "

" (1980) No. 3 * "The Elephant's Graveyard (Guilty)" (1981) No. 26 * "House on Fire" (1982) No. 24 * "

" (CD single re-issue) (1994) No. 38

References

External links

Boomtown Rats History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boomtown Rats, The Irish new wave musical groups Irish punk rock groups Irish rock music groups Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Musical groups from County Dublin People from Dún Laoghaire Musical groups reestablished in 2013