The Boomtown Rats, “the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world… from Dún Laoghaire!”, as Geldof indisputably proclaims at the top of every live Rats gig, celebrate an extraordinary rock’n’roll  birthday this year with the release of ‘The First 50 Years: Songs Of Boomtown Glory’ (out September 19th)

Emerging from the poor, grey, joyless place that was Ireland in the mid-70s The Boomtown Rats, named after Woody Guthrie’s childhood gang, challenged the status quo and in so doing…”helped call a new country into being.” (Prof Eoin Devereux, Limerick University)

Their debut single ‘Looking After No. 1’, taken from their 1977 debut album ‘The Boomtown Rats’ crashed into the UK charts and was a sensation followed by TV appearances on the Marc Bolan show and  Top Of The Pops.

Their second album, A Tonic for the Troops (1978) featured the UK No. 1 hit ‘Rat Trap,’ becoming the first UK chart-topping single by an Irish rock group and the first ‘new wave’ No 1. The album ‘ garnered the band an extraordinary hat trick Album Of The Year in NME, Melody Maker and the ITV Music Awards.

The Boomtown Rats’ biggest international success came in 1979 with the release of ‘I Don’t Like Mondays,’ a haunting ballad inspired by a tragic school shooting in San Diego, California. When 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer was asked why she opened fire on an elementary school, killing two adults and injuring several children, she reportedly said, “I don’t like Mondays.” It topped the UK Singles Chart and became a global smash, hitting No 1 in 32 countries. It was however banned in the US, the record company having been threatened with lawsuits, refused to distribute the song despite it being a massive radio hit.

The Boomtown Rats have released seven studio albums: The Boomtown Rats (1977), A Tonic For The Troops (1978), The Fine Art of Surfacing (1979), Mondo Bongo (1980), V Deep(1982) In the Long Grass (1984), and Citizens Of Boomtown (2020).

The First 50 Years – Songs Of Boomtown Glory brings the best of The Boomtown Rats together as a a 24 track double vinyl LP, and 27-track double CD with the tracks selected by an online fan poll and the band themselves.

The Boomtown Rats ’The First 50 Years: Tales Of Boomtown Glory’ – pre-order here

Disc: 1

1 Looking After No. 1

2 K.I.S.S

3 Me And Howard Hughes

4 Here’s A Postcard

5 Dave

6 Drag Me Down

7 Rat Trap

8 Someone’s Looking At You

9 Banana Republic

10 Keep It Up (CD/Digital only)

11 Diamond Smiles

12 When The Night Comes

13 Mary Of The Fourth Form

 

Disc: 2

1 There’s No Tomorrow Like Today

2 The Elephant’s Graveyard

3 She’s So Modern

4 (I Never Loved) Eva Braun

5 Trash Glam Baby

6 House On Fire (CD/Digital only)

7 The Boomtown Rats!

8 Tonight (CD/Digital only)

9 Like Clockwork

10 Neon Heart

11 Up All Night

12 Monster Monkeys

13 I Don’t Like Mondays

14 Joey’s On The Street Again

 

2LP

Side One

  1. Lookin’ After No. 1
  2. K.I.S.S.
  3. Me And Howard Hughes
  4. Here’s A Postcard
  5. Dave
  6. Drag Me Down

 

Side Two

  1. Rat Trap
  2. Someone’s Looking At You
  3. Banana Republic
  4. Diamond Smiles
  5. When The Night Comes
  6. Mary Of The Fourth Form

 

Side Three

  1. There’s No Tomorrow Like Today

2 The Elephant’s Graveyard

  1. She’s So Modern
  2. (I Never Loved) Eva Braun
  3. Trash Glam Baby
  4. The Boomtown Rats

 

Side Four

  1. Like Clockwork
  2. Neon Heart
  3. Up All Night
  4. Monster Monkeys
  5. I Don’t Like Mondays
  6. Joey’s On The Street Again