Saturday, February 08, 2025
Monday, December 02, 2024
2025 Dates
50th Anniversary dates, London date is exactly 50 years after first gig in Dublin.
- Sun May 25 2025 - LEYLAND Lancashire - Music in the Park festival
- Fri October 10 2025 - NOTTINGHAM Royal Concert Hall
- Sat October 11 2025 - BIRMINGHAM Symphony Hall
- Fri October 17 2025 - ABERDEEN Music Hall
- Sat October 18 2025 - GLASGOW Barrowlands
- Fri October 24 2025 - SHEFFIELD City Hall
- Sat October 25 2025 - CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
- Fri October 31 2025 - LONDON Eventim Apollo
- Sat November 1 2025 - SOUTHAMPTON O2 Guildhall
- Fri November 7 2025 - MANCHESTER Bridgewater Hall
- Sat November 8 2025 - GATESHEAD Glasshouse
- Fri November 14 2025 - YORK Barbican
- Sat November 15 2025 - LIVERPOOL Olympia
Friday, March 08, 2024
2024 Dates
Friday 26th April - BOOMTOWN RATS - Tvornica Kulture, Zagreb
Saturday 15th June - BOOMTOWN RATS - Lets Rock Northampton
Saturday 29th June - BOOMTOWN RATS - Lets Rock Exeter
Saturday 20th July - BOOMTOWN RATS - Let's Rock Wales
Sunday 21st July - BOOMTOWN RATS - Rewind Scotland Scone Palace, Perth
Thursday 25th July - BOB GELDOF - Manefestivalen Gamle Fredrikstad, Norway
Thursday 1st August - BOOMTOWN RATS - App Fest, Gloucestershire
Saturday 24th August - BOOMTOWN RATS - Sunshine Festival, FISH MEADOW.UPTON-UPON-SEVERN.WORCESTERSHIRE.WR8 0PF
Sunday 25th August - BOB GELDOF - The Pairc Festival, Kings Heath, Birmingham
Also check https://www.theboomtownratsofficial.com/tour
Tuesday, September 05, 2023
2023 Dates
Fri 10 Mar Kulttuuritalo Helsinki - CANCELLED
Sat 20 May Lets Rock The Moor, Cookham, Berkshire
Sat 8 Jul Lets Rock Southampton
Sat 15 Jul Lets Rock Shrewsbury
Sun 29 Jul Cavan, Ireland - SOLD OUT
Sat 5 Aug Lets Rock Northern Ireland, Bangor, County Down - CANCELLED
Sun 6 Aug Rewind North, Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire
Fri 18 Aug Weyfest, Farnham, Surrey
Sat 19 Aug Lochore Meadows Country Park, Fife.
2022 Dates
Sat 16 Apr | Moray's Easter Fest, Elgin Cooper Park, Elgin, Scotland |
Sun 29 May | Riverside Park, Highworth Road, Lechlade, Glos, England https://lechladefestival.co.uk/ |
Sun 5 Jun | BigStage@1886, Villiers Square, Douglas, Isle of Man https://1886bars.com/product/mad-sunday/ |
Fri 17 Jun | SWR Summer Festival 2022, Speyer, Germany |
Sat 2 Jul | Sign of the Times Festival - LITTLE HADHAM HERTS SG11 2DY, England |
Sun 7 Aug | Stone Valley North Durham DH7 7DW, England |
Sun 28 Aug | Stone Valley Midlands Newark, Notts NG22 9EQ, England |
Sat 1 Oct | Great British Alternative Festival, Skegness, England https://www.bigweekends.com/great-british-alternative-music-festival-skegness-300922 |
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Saturday, October 08, 2022
Out The Back Of Boomtown
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Thursday, January 14, 2021
2021 Dates
The Boomtown Rats - UK Singles Discography
- Rats UK Discography with UK label/tracks/entry date/highest chart position/positions made/weeks on chart thanks to polyhex.com. Non-UK catalogue numbers have been added where known.
1977
ENY9 Mary of the 4th Form/Do The Rat (NL Mercury 6008 513)
19-Nov-1977
1978
ENY13 She's So Modern/Lying Again (NL Mercury 6008 521)- 15-Apr-1978
- 12
- 23-19-15-15-{12}-14-17-33-39-61-70
- 11 weeks
1979
ENY30 I Don't Like Mondays/It's All The Rage (NL Mercury 6008 550)
1980
ENY34/ENY3412 Someone's Looking at You/When The Night Comes (NL Mercury 6008 555)
BONGO1 Banana Republic/Man at the Top
1981
BONGO2 The Elephants Graveyard (Guilty) /Real Different
MER 87 Never in a Million Years/Don't Talk To Me
- 12/Dec/1981
- 62
- {62}-62-70-70
- 4 weeks
1982
MER91 House on Fire/Europe Looked UglyMERX91 House on Fire (dub mix)/Europe Looked Ugly
MER106 Charmed Lives/No Hiding Place
MER1062 Nothing Happened Today (Live)/A Storm Breaks (Instrumental)
MERX106 Charmed Lives/A Storm Breaks (Instrumental)
1984
MER154/MERX154 Tonight/Precious Times/Walking Downtown**- 18/Feb/1984
- 73
- {73}-76-83
- 3 weeks
MER163/MERX163 Drag Me Down/An Icicle In the Sun/Up All Night (extended)**
(Special Edition 12") Drag Me Down/Rat Trap/She's So Modern
MER179/MERT179/MERX179 Dave/Hard Times/Banana Republic (Live)**/Close As You'll Ever Be (Live)**
1985
MER184/MERX184 A Hold of Me/Never In A Million Years/Say Hi To Mick**
1994
VERCD87 I Don't Like Mondays/Looking After No.1/Mary of the 4th Form/She's So ModernVERDD87 I Don't Like Mondays/Rat Trap/Someone's Looking At You/Banana Republic
VER87 I Don’t Like Mondays/Born To Burn/Do The Rat
* - D.U.N. L.A.O.G.H.A.I.R.E. was the B-side to Like Clockwork in Ireland, but released as a cover mount Flexi Disc in the UK
** - 12" Only
In the US, I Don't Like Mondays was their ONLY hit! If you can call number 73 a hit. It entered on 2nd February 1980 and peaked at 73 after entering at 91.
- I Don't Like Mondays
- 2/Feb/1980
- 73
- 91-80-75-{73}-92
- 5 weeks
Tracks in bold were not on any of the recent re-released albums in 2005.
Tracks in italics have mixes/lyrics that differ from the re-released album.
2020
Trash Glam Baby/There’s No Tomorrow Like Today - 7"/download/stream
- 14/Feb/2020
- FAILED TO CHART
Here’s A Postcard (Hot Mix) - Stream only
- 21/Aug/2020
- FAILED TO CHART
Friday, June 12, 2020
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Citizens of Boomtown: The Story of the Boomtown Rats
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000jjr5/citizens-of-boomtown-the-story-of-the-boomtown-rats
With guests including Bono, Sinead O'Connor, Dave Stewart, Jools Holland, David Mallet and Sting, as well as music writers, photographers and historians, this film explores the musical and social legacy of Ireland's first rock superstars The Boomtown Rats, who changed their own lives, helped to change Ireland and, with Bob Geldof's Live Aid, changed the world.
In this entertaining, dramatic and absorbing film, director Billy McGrath digs deep into the bands history and remarkable songbook and highlights the key moments of its huge success and subsequent fall in 1985. And after over 30 years, why did the band regroup in 2013?
Friday, March 13, 2020
Citizens of Boomtown

And it broke into the top 50 LPs in the UK chart
26.03.2020 CITIZENS OF BOOMTOWN #48
Better still #11 in Physical Chart...
https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/physical-albums-chart/20200320/2/
1 Trash Glam Baby 03:54
2 Sweet Thing 03:11
3 Monster Monkeys 04:25
4 She Said No 03:56
5 Passing Through 04:36
6 Here's a Postcard 03:52
7 K.I.S.S. 03:11
8 Rock 'n' Roll Yé Yé 04:55
9 Get a Grip 04:00
10 The Boomtown Rats 05:20
Deluxe Edition Additional Tracks
11 K.I.S.S. (Remix) 06:01
12 Trash Glam Baby (Live at the Palladium) 05:08
13 Someone's Looking at You (Live at the Palladium) 06:10
14 Monster Monkeys (Live at the Palladium) 05:05
15 Like Clockwork (Live at the Palladium) 03:59
16 And I Do 04:02
17 Against the World 03:04
18 Man Like Me 03:19
19 Three Dogs 03:28
20 The Zone 03:55
21 There's No Tomorrow Like Today 03:34
Saturday, February 29, 2020
2020 Year of The Rat Dates
TUE 6 Oct 2020 London Palladium
WED 7 Oct 2020 Brighton Dome
MON 19 Oct 2020 Manchester O2 Ritz
WED 21 Oct 2020 Liverpool Grand Central Hall
MON 26 Oct 2020 York Barbican
WED 28 Oct 2020 Birmingham Town Hall
TUE 3 Nov 2020 Sage, Gateshead
WED 04 Nov 2020 Glasgow Old Fruitmarket
MON 09 Nov 2020 Cheltenham Town Hall
WED 18 Nov 2020 Cambridge Corn Exchange
Friday, January 10, 2020
Sunday, December 17, 2017
2018 Dates
Saturday 20 January 2018 Sporthalle Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Monday 22nd January 2018 Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany
Saturday 2nd June 2018 Holywood Harmony Festival, Co Down,
Saturday 16th June 2018 Lets Rock, Temple Newsham, Leeds
Sunday 8th July 2018 Marlay Park, Dublin (Support for Queen)
Thursday 12th July 2018 Roots Festival Norway http://www.rootsfestivalen.no/
Sunday 22nd July 2018 Rewind Scone Palace, Perth Scotland
Saturday 28th July 2018 Lets Rock, Clapham Common, London
Sunday 5th August 2018 Rewind Capesthorne Hall, Chester
Saturday 11th August 2018 Kubix Festival New Herrington Country Park,Sunderland
Sunday 16th September 2018 Ramsbottom Festival
Sunday 22nd September 2018 MTV presents Gibraltar Calling music festival
Sunday 7th October 2018 Great British Alternative Festival Skegness
Saturday 27th October 2018 Sligo Institute of Technology
Sunday 28th October 2018 Wexford Spiegeltent
Thursday 6th December 2018 Aria Complex, Triq Hal-Gharghur, Iklin, Malta
Sunday, March 12, 2017
2017 Dates
Friday 24th March The Mandela Hall, 79 University Rd, Belfast
Saturday 25th March The Olympia Theatre,72 Dame St, Dublin, Ireland
Friday 7th April The Olympia Theatre,72 Dame St, Dublin, Ireland (Rock Against Homelessness)
Fri 21 April Famagusta, Cyprus
Saturday 8th July One Live Festival, Stoke Park, Parkway, Guildford, GU1 1ER, UK (Support includes The Darkness, Reverend & The Makers, Toploader)
Thursday 3rd August Wacken Open Air 2017, Germany
Saturday 5th August Amphitheater, Hanau, Germany
Saturday 12th August Nostalgie Beach Festival, Ostend, Belgium (with UB40 and Banarama) www.nostalgiebeachfestival.be/nl/
Saturday 9th September Worcestershire County Cricket Grounds http://wccc.co.uk/concerts
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
2016 Dates
Dates for your diaries
Friday 26th February 2016 Grosvenor House Hotel, London W1, UK
Friday 29th April 2016 The Stage, Basingstoke, Hampshire UK
Saturday 18th June 2016 Hurtwood Park Polo Country Club,Ewhurst Green, Surrey GU6 7SW UK
Saturday 25th June 2016 Donauinselfest, Vienna, AUSTRIA
Friday 1st July 2016 Godiva Festival, Coventry, West Midands UK
Saturday 9th July 2016 Midnattsrocken 2016, Lakselv NORWAY
Saturday 16th July 2016 Wellow Fest, Chapel Farm. Wellow, Newark Nottingham NG22 0EJ, UK
Sunday 17th July 2016 Brentwood Festival, Essex, CM15 9NN, UK
Friday 29th July 2016 Silverstone, Northamptonshire UK
Thursday 11th August 2016 Leopardstown Racecourse, EIRE
Sunday 21st August 2016 Weyfest, Farnham, Surrey UK
Saturday 27th August 2016 Victorious Festival, Portsmouth, UK
Saturday 12th November 2016 Riesa, GERMANY
Friday, February 26, 2016
The Great Room, Grosvenor House, 86-90 Park Lane, London
W2 Foundation was set up by Keith Wood as a benevolent fund for Sport, Community, Education and Rugby Player Welfare. The W2 Foundation sits within The Ireland Funds and has raised over €1.5m to date. With no operational costs, all proceeds raised from the event go directly to the Foundation.
The Rats played
- She's So Modern
- Like Clockwork
- Neon Heart
- (She's Gonna) Do You In
- Someone's Looking (at You)
- Banana Republic
- I Don't Like Mondays
- Close As You'll Ever Be
- Mary of the 4Th Form
- Lookin' After No 1
- Rat Trap
- The Boomtown Rats
From twitter...

Sunday, December 06, 2015
Olympia, Dublin, Ireland - Sunday 6th December 2015
Last tickets remaining in the upper circle for 39 euro via Ticketmaster Ireland and doubtless other ticket agencies.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
A Night at The Opera - Thursday 22nd October 2015
Rats, Jazz, Opera! That statement ranks as the greatest oxymoron I have ever written!
Still a very good excuse to head to Cork where their last gig in a tent went down a storm. The Opera House sounds like another interesting venue.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Sunday, September 06, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Friday, August 28, 2015
Friday, August 14, 2015
Monday, August 10, 2015
The Imelda May Show
For the rest of us, a couple of minutes from the show and a trailer...
Sunday, August 09, 2015
Saturday, August 08, 2015
Monday, August 03, 2015
Friedberg, Germany
- (I Never Loved) Eva Braun
- Like Clockwork
- Neon Heart
- (She's Gonna) Do You In
- Someone's Looking at You
- Banana Republic
- She's So Modern
- I Don't Like Mondays
- Close as You'll Ever Be
- Mary of the 4th Form
- Looking After No. 1
- Rat Trap
Encore:
- Diamond Smiles
- The Boomtown Rats
Friday, July 31, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Latitude, Suffolk, UK
They played
- She's So Modern
- Like Clockwork
- (She's Gonna) Do You In
- I Don't Like Mondays
- Mary of the 4th Form
- Looking After No. 1
- Rat Trap
- The Boomtown Rats
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Sunday, June 07, 2015
Friday, June 05, 2015
Kivenlahti Rock Festival, Helsinki, Finland
They Played...
- (I Never Loved) Eva Braun
- Like Clockwork
- Neon Heart
- (She's Gonna) Do You In
- Someone's Looking at You
- Banana Republic
- She's So Modern
- I Don't Like Mondays
- Close as You'll Ever Be
- Mary of the 4th Form / I Wanna Be Your Man / Boom Boom
- Looking After No. 1
- Rat Trap
Encore of Me and Howard Hughes, Diamond Smiles and The Boomtown Rats in the setliste but were not played due to curfew.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, Germany
They played...
- (I Never Loved) Eva Braun
- Like Clockwork
- Neon Heart
- (She's Gonna) Do You In
- Someone's Looking at You
- Banana Republic
- She's So Modern
- I Don't Like Mondays
- Close as You'll Ever Be
- Mary of the 4th Form
- Looking After No. 1
- Rat Trap
- Diamond Smiles
- The Boomtown Rats
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
Monday, November 24, 2014
Festival Dates 2015
Thursday 28th May 2015 Swiss Festival Winterthur, Switzerland
Friday 29th May 2015 - Wiesbaden, Germany
Friday 5th June 2015 Kivenlahti Rock Festival, Helsinki, Finland
Sunday 7th June 2015 Let's Rock Bristol, Ashton Court, Bristol, UK
Sunday 21st June 2015 Lublin Festival, Poland
Sunday 19th July 2015 Latitude, Suffolk, UK
Friday 31st July 2015 Carfest North, Oulton Park, Cheshire , UK
Monday 3rd August 2015 Friedberg, Germany
Saturday 8th August 2015 Rebellion Festival, Blackpool, UK
Sunday 9th August 2015 Rewind North, Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, UK
Friday 14th August 2015 Kartfestivalen, Norway
Friday 28th August 2015 Carfest South, Laverstoke Park Farm Hampshire, UK
Saturday 29th August 2015 Watchet, Somerset, UK
Sunday 6th September 2015, Electric Picnic, Laois, Ireland
Sunday 13th September 2015, Reload, Norwich, UK
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Rats return to Maida Vale
This recording of the programme took place at the BBCs Maida Vale studios where the band recorded their Peel sessions back in the late 1970s.
I arrived at about 4.30pm with no one waiting outside the studio. So I headed to the local and was quite well oiled when three of us headed to the venue at about 6.15pm, a whole quarter of an hour before the doors were due to open only to be told it was full and no one else was getting in!
We were late because we were sent emails saying "You and those on your ticket will be given priority entrance to the event." so saw no need to get there that early.
I was a bit hacked off at that point thinking I had made a massive mistake considering I could have queued for a couple of hours, but then someone confirmed we had questions and were to be admitted, so we were taken down into the bowels of the studio where we waited outside the studio door to be let in. No queuing for us!
We politely let the others with questions in ahead of us. They all filed into the second row from the front, and as we were sitting down in the third row, we were told to get up and go and sit in the front row!
Turned out these were pretty much the best seats in the house, as the way the stage was set up John Wilson who was doing the interviewing had his back to us, but Geldof whilst side on to much of the audience directly faced us.
The Rats kicked off with the riff from Rat Trap which we were told to applaud enthusiastically, absolutely no issue for me. They opened with She's So Modern. I noticed various audience members recording and taking photographs which I didn't believe was permitted, Anyway as everyone was seated, and there was no one in front of me, I got my iPad out (which I had only taken along to stave off boredom in the queue) and recorded Rat Trap, Like Clockwork, Howard Hughes and Eva Braun.
The interview was captivating. Geldof dominated proceedings, but the other three did chip in from time to time. There was a lot about Mutt Lange and his input with Pete admitting that Mutt came up with the bass line in Rat Trap and Bob playing the song acoustically to explain what Mutt brought to the song. I also recorded that bit. Bob talked about writing Eva Braun and Howard Hughes in the same day. If only he could have more days like that.
I even got my moment in the sun when I asked my question. I even had to stand up so people could see me in my full Dennis the Menace regalia. I was a little apprehensive as I was asking if Geldof was the best singer in the Rats. He said no, and then gave a really interesting answer about how Simon and Mutt Lange provided the harmonies, Garry interjected to say Geldof's presence and performance made him a great front man which I wholeheartedly agree with.
I suspect there will be a fair amount of cutting, Some of Bob's more colourful answers definitely won't be broadcast, because John Wilson repeated a couple of questions saying that his first answer wouldn't be going out on Radio 4 at three in the afternoon!
The show ended at 9pm, which left two hours of further drinking time with friends, where we looked back at my footage and talked music until closing time.
It was an absolutely superb evening on a par with getting to play at Highbury and meeting Charlie George before they dug up the pitch. Truly a once in a lifetime money can't buy experience, well except for those good people who bid £550 to win the eBay/Children in Need auction. The best night out this decade!
The show will be broadcast on Radio 4 in two parts on the 1st and 2nd December 2014.
Sunday, November 09, 2014
Friday, November 07, 2014
Friday 7th November 2014 - LONDON Kentish Town Forum
- From Rush Hour With Love
- Out Of The Darkness
- Drop Dead Gorgeous
- Try Everything
- German Accent
- Hallelujah
- Christiana Obey
- Ready To Go
- (I Never Loved) Eva Braun
- Like Clockwork
- Neon Heart
- (She's Gonna) Do You In
- Someone's Looking at You
- Banana Republic
- She's So Modern
- I Don't Like Mondays
- Close As You'll Ever Be
- Mary of the 4th Form / I Wanna Be Your Man /Boom Boom
- Looking After No. 1
- Rat Trap
Encore
- Me and Howard Hughes
- Diamond Smiles
- The Boomtown Rats
Aaron Liddard joined the band playing sax on Rat Trap and The Boomtown Rats.
There was a very lively crowd, self included, at the front. Place was absolutely buzzing at the end of Rat Trap with the whole of the circle stood applauding.
Headed to the bar for Diamond Smiles, and saw the the rest of the Forum was very crowded.