The Boomtown Rats are an Irish new wave band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985, including 'I Don't Like Mondays', which reached number 1 in the UK singles chart in 1979. The group is led by vocalist Bob Geldof. The other members of the original line-up were Garry Roberts (lead guitar), Johnnie Fingers (keyboard), Pete Briquette (bass), Gerry Cott (guitar) and Simon Crowe (drums). The Boomtown Rats broke up in 1986, but reformed in 2013, without Johnnie Fingers or Gerry Cott.
Links To Peel
Peel played the band's debut single, 'Looking After No 1' in 1977 and voted the song at number 39 in his personal 1977 Festive Fifty. Peel would continue to support the band throughout the late 70's. Over the years he occasionally joined singer Bob Geldof in TV programmes including Music Of The Millennium and Grumpy Old Men. After Peel's death in 2004, Gerry Cott, the band's guitarist, paid tribute to the man: [1]
"When we started the Boomtown Rats, John, as he did with lots of other bands before and since, gave us a helping hand. It's still hard to believe he's gone. I loved listening to him on the radio. I will miss him very much."
Festive Fifty Entries
- 1977 Festive Fifty: Looking After Number One #39
Sessions
The Boomtown Rats - Peel Session 1977
1. Recorded: 1977-07-26. Broadcast: 03 August 1977. Repeated: 29 September 1977, 28 December 1977
- Joey / Neon Heart / Looking After Number One / Mary Of The 4th Form
2. Recorded: 1978-05-15. Broadcast: 26 May 1978. Repeated: 01 January 1979, 25 June 1980
- Like Clockwork / Me And Howard Hughes / Living In An Island / (Watch Out For) The Normal People
Other Shows Played
Boomtown Rats - Looking After No. 1 (1977)
- 1977
- 12 July 1977: Looking After No. 1
- 30 August 1977: Lookin' After No. 1 / Neon Heart / Joey's On The Street Again
- 01 November 1977: Mary Of The 4th Form
- 22 December 1977: Do The Rat (single – Mary Of The 4th Form b-side) Ensign
- 23 December 1977: Lookin' After Number 1 (single) Ensign FF #39
- 1978
- 09 March 1978: She's So Modern
- 15 June 1978: She's So Modern (LP - A Tonic For The Troops) Ensign
- 15 June 1978: Living In A Island (LP - A Tonic For The Troops) Ensign
- 15 June 1978: Don't Believe What You Read (LP - A Tonic For The Troops) Ensign
- 03 August 1978: Can't Stop (LP - Tonic For The Troops) Ensign
- 29 September 1978: Rat Trap (single) Ensign
- 02 October 1978: Rat Trap (7") Ensign
- 1979
- 28 May 1979: She's So Modern (Soundtrack LP - That Summer!) Arista
- 02 July 1979: I Don't Like Mondays (7") Ensign
- 12 July 1979: It's All The Rage (b/w I Don't Like Mondays) Ensign
- 05 May 1983 (TOTP): Looking After Number One
- Others
- Karl's Tape Dec 1980 Jan 1981: Banana Republic (7") Ensign
- Karl's Tape Dec 1980 Jan 1981: Under Their Thumb Is Under My Thumb (album - Mondo Bongo) Mercury
- Karl's Tape Dec 1980 Jan 1981: The Elephants Graveyard (Guilty) (7") Mercury
- Karl's Tape December 1981: Never In A Million Years (7") Mercury
- Karl's Tape - Mid-Late February 1982: House On Fire (12") Mercury
