Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). Australian Chart Book. p.42. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. The discography of Irish new wave group The Boomtown Rats consists of seven studio albums, seven compilation albums, 23 singles and three video albums. The Boomtown Rats' debut release was the 1977 single " Lookin' After No. 1" which was originally written by frontman Bob Geldof in 1975 while waiting for his local unemployment office to open in his native Dun Laoghaire then a major port an hour south of central Dublin. The group's next single " Mary of the 4th Form" was released in the same year, along with their self-titled debut album. Trash Glam Baby - Single by The Boomtown Rats on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved 10 January 2020. How Do You Do? appears to have started as a tirade on the record industry, but ultimately descends into Bon Jovi territory saying as long as the band play well on a Saturday night it'll all be OK! Musically the song is good with a great guitar solo, and a crescendo of an ending. Maybe with better developed lyrics this would have been a great song, instead of been merely good to listen to.

The Boomtown Rats: A Tonic for the Troops". Uncut. p.116. [B]oasting Geldof's most finely tuned lyrics and their best tunes. The Boomtown Rats and other bands from yesteryear who have reformed". The Independent. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. The band's fifth album, V Deep, again produced by Visconti, was released in February 1982. [1] A second single from the album "House on Fire" made number 24 in the UK Singles Chart. [9] 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. [10] The same year Geldof appeared in the film Pink Floyd - The Wall directed by Alan Parker. [9] The band was formed in 1975 with five of the six members that originated from Dún Laoghaire, while Pete Briquette was originally from Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan, Ireland. [1] Geldof initially managed the band but took over the lead vocals from Garry Roberts. Initially known as The Nightlife Thugs, the group changed their name to The Boomtown Rats, [3] which Geldof had taken from Woody Guthrie's autobiography Bound for Glory. [1]The two UK re-releases in July 1993 and February 2005 are both superior and each has its merits. In the main, they have gathered together all the UK and Irish B-sides from Mary of the Fourth Form through to Rat Trap along with a couple of curiosities. There's No Tomorrow Like Today - Single by The Boomtown Rats on Apple Music". Apple Music . Retrieved 12 June 2020. 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. [17] The Boomtown Rats reform [ edit ] Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1sted.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p.193. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.

Carson, Tom (5 April 1979). "The Boomtown Rats: A Tonic For The Troops". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007 . Retrieved 7 November 2020. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrateded.). St. Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Bob Geldof blasts Brentwood Festival fans for wearing Primark clothes". The Daily Telegraph. 21 July 2016 . Retrieved 26 October 2017. In 2008, Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe, who had continued playing together in The Fab Four, with Alan Perman (ex Herman's Hermits) and Bob Doyle (who once auditioned unsuccessfully for E.L.O.), 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 Hollies and Lieutenant Pigeon. Barton was replaced on lead vocals and bass by Bob Bradbury, who was the founder and main songwriter in Hello. 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.Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1sted.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p.198. ISBN 0-85112-250-7. A Tonic For The Troops (24/100 Greatest Irish Albums)". Hot Press. 17 November 2004 . Retrieved 7 November 2020. A follow-up album entitled In The Long Grass was recorded in 1983, but was initially rejected by the group's label. [10] 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. [9] Dave", a single from the original release of In the Long Grass 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. [11] [12] Break up [ edit ] 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. [3] The single " I Don't Like Mondays" was released in July, [1] also reached No.1 in the UK. [5] The song was written in response to a school shooting in California, and became a worldwide Top Ten hit, except for the United States. [8] 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. [1] The album also contained " Diamond Smiles" and their next Top 10 hit in the UK, " Someone's Looking at You". [1]

Personally, I think it is certainly the greatest album of the 1970s and possibly the greatest album of all time! Jonze, Tim (28 January 2013). "Boomtown Rats re-form for Isle of Wight festival". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 January 2013. Series in which leading performers and songwriters talk about the album that made them or changed them.

Tracklist

Mary of the 4th Form" (a re-recorded version of the original found on their first LP The Boomtown Rats) It wasn’t the volume that bothered me nor the music itself. It was all harmless battle-fatigued doomsday riffs with supermacho vocal lines about penile prowess pasted on top and extended solo pyrotechnics from a bunch of long-haired guys from England, overstuffed with money and fame, who had ruled the airwaves and manhandled Midwestern arenas for most of the 70’s, a syncopated metal grate that cut through the pot smoke and blasted across my high-school parking lot every morning before classes began. What’s so bad about being dumb? The Boomtown Rats: A Tonic for the Troops". Mojo. p.114. Full of smart, acerbic, punky pop sounds... In the summer of 1976, the group played their first UK gig before moving to London where they signed with Ensign Records later that year. [1] Their first single, " Lookin' After No.1", released in August 1977 after a year of touring, including a support slot with Tom Petty. [3] It reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart at No. 11. [1] [5] Their first album The Boomtown Rats was released the following month and included another single, " Mary of the 4th Form" reached No. 15 in December. [1] [3] Music journalist Martin C. Strong commented, "Geldof's moody charisma helped to give the band a distinct identity". [4] Mainstream success [ edit ]

Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes - the A-side and B-side. Eames, Tom (17 June 2013). "Boomtown Rats announce new 'Classic' album, UK and Ireland tour". Digital Spy . Retrieved 13 September 2013. a b c d Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19thed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p.71. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. Bob Geldof, Cadogan Hall – review". thisislondon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012 . Retrieved 22 September 2011. And finally Rat Trap! Though I Don't Like Mondays is probably a more well known song, Rat Trap was their first number one. Very similar to Joey from the debut album, Rat Trap is a well crafted mini-epic taking Billy through a drunken night in Dublin to his meeting with Judy in the Italian Cafe. Springsteen-esque, with a wonderful sax solo in the middle of the song and in the fade-out. The first punk/new wave number one (well, the first official one), the song was gratefully received by a nation suffering from Grease overload. Not only did it supplant the infernal Summer Nights at number one, it also held off the individual efforts by Travolta and Newton-John. Well at least until Rod Stewart told us how sexy he was!

Recommendations

Citizens of Boomtown". theboomtownratsofficial.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020 . Retrieved 19 March 2020. TRASH GLAM BABY | SINGLE OUT NOW Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrateded.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p.42. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.