The Boomtown Rats

A New Bob

2011-11-06T21:00:00.023Z

Bob Bradbury from Hello, is the latest singer/bassist to step into the shoes of Geldof and Briquette.

He played with the Rats at The Queens, Bromyard (on 5th November) and at the 70s weekend at The Unity Resort, Brean Sands, Somerset (on 6th November).

It is unknown if this is a permanent change to the line up.

There are some photographs with Bradbury sporting a pair of red trousers ala Geldof circa 1978, though definitely not quite as tight.

Geldof at Cadogan Hall

2011-09-20T20:00:00.003+01:00

I suppose if I had to go to a Geldof concert, which I finally did tonight after some half hearted attempts in the distant past, then the least that could happen would be three Rats on stage.

Fortunately, the day before I had nabbed a couple of front row seats right in the middle of the stage. My only fear was it may be a little too close for comfort. Cadogan Hall is possibly the most pristine venue I have ever watched a rock 'n' roll show at, only seeing Pulp at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane back in 1994 came close.  In my combat trousers, trainer and sweatshirt I feel very underdressed as all the staff were immaculately turned out and incredibly polite, a million miles away from the rude obnoxious security staff you often encounter at gigs. Even the bouncer who threw one enthusiatic fan off stage was very polite about it!

For the most part, the concert was a lot of Geldof solo material. The best live songs were not just the Rats songs, but some of the songs off the last couple of solo albums which was a bit of a surprise for me.

Of the Sex Age & Death songs, Mudslide and One for Me sounded far better live and the awesome Scream in Vain more than lived up to expectations.  Scream in Vain had such a long rambling introduction that I was able to get to a distant bar and bring back a couple of beers as they started to play it.
Other highlights were the superb Systematic Six Pack and a top notch Here's To You dedicated to his mates in the audience.   The Great Song of Indifference bookended the gig to great effect. I have to confess that
sat in my comfy front and centre seat with a couple of beers, the remainder of the solo material washed over me, leaving me distracted enough to look around and see the venue was more or less sold out.

Now I was mainly there for the older material which took a little while to come. I had never heard When The Night Comes live and understandably it did differ from the studio version, particularly the guitar solo. Johnny Turnbull's electric and Vince Loveday's mandolin (well I think it was a mandolin) made the song sound different, and it's fair to say that Geldof didn't quite hold the melody as well as he could. However it was good to hear this song aired again. Banana Republic had a long rambling introduction referring to when the Rats played Leixlip and Geldof's damning of the Irish establishment. This was a really great rendition to the point when the indulgent play off took things down a little. Next up was I Don't Like Mondays which sounded like it had passed its sell by date. When people are laughing at the pause when the lesson today is how to die, you sense no one really needs to hear it again.

But the highlight of the evening was close at hand. Suddenly Gerry Cott appeared on stage. No one saw him walk on, he simply materialised. Even Geldof seemed unaware he was stood right behind him as he was introducing him.   They did Mary of The Fourth Form followed by Joey's On The Street Again and then Rat Trap. This was fifteen to twenty minutes of pure magic, which brought the audience to its collective feet and was worth the price of the admission on its own.  Pete Briquette, who cooly ambled around the stage all evening, looked delighted to have his old friend back on stage with him, and the bon homie with Geldof suggested that past differences have been forgotten.

Had Geldof and co left it at that, no one could have complained, but they came out for a couple of encores. They started the encore with the bland Silly Pretty Thing, but great rendidtions of Diamond Smiles, Here's To You and finally The Great Song of Indifference when the whole band came to the front of the stage rounded off the evening superbly.

When all is said and done it was a good show and I'm really glad I went despite certain reservations on seeing Geldof solo. For Geldof, with the audience approaching the capacity of 900, this more or less fulfilled his ambition of playing a 2,000 seat venue and been able to walk home and sleep in his own bed.

Geldof should consider getting people standing up to watch him play in a more intimate venue like The 100 Club. Oh and of course, he should get Garrick and Simon to tag along next time and play a few more Rats songs. Flying Fingers over from Japan may be too much to expect.

Alive and Kicking

2011-09-04T20:00:00.015+01:00

Busy time for The Rats and Geldof, though sadly still apart, as they tour Europe

The Rats Tour Dates

Saturday 10th September 2011 Hertals Rock Festival, Netepark. 2200 Herentals. Belgium

Friday 14th October 2011 Tabernacle Junction, Yeovil BA20 1QA.

Friday 4th November 2011 Details Tbc

Saturday 5th November 2011 Booked Details Tbc

Sunday 6th November 2011 Unity Resort Brean Sands 70'S Festival

Saturday 3rd December 2011 Kiel, Germany

Bob Geldof Tour Dates 2011

Sat 4th September 2011 IRELAND, Electric Picnic, Crawdaddy Stage

Wed 14th September 2011 NEWCASTLE, The Sage Theatre

Thu 15th September 2011 SOUTHPORT Theatre

Sun 18th September 2011 CROYDON, Ashcroft Theatre

Tues 20th September 2011 LONDON, Cadogan Hall

Wed 21st September 2011 LINCOLN, Theatre Royal

3rd October 2011 - Liepzig

4th October 2011 - Kaufleuten, CH-Zurich, Switzerland

5th October 2011 - Burgheater, A-Vienna, Austria

7th October 2011 - RBB Sendesaal, Berlin, Germany

8th October 2011 - Alte Feuerwache, Mannheim, Germany

9th October 2011 - Theater am Tanzbrunnen, Koln, Germany

11th October 2011 - Fliegende Bauten, Hamburg, Germany

12th October 2011 - Theater am Aegi, Hanover, Germany

13th October 2011 - Prinzregententheater, Munchen, Germany

15th October 2011 - Franeker / De Koornbeurs ( 750 seated)

~~16th October 2011 - Amsterdam / melkweg -~~ cancelled by promoter

~~17th October 2011 - Hoogeveen / De Tamboer (760 seated~~) - cancelled by promoter

21st October 2011 - Gothenburg - Teatern

22nd October 2011 - Copenhagen - Studie 2 - DR Byen

23rd October 2011 - Oslo - Sentrum Scene

24th October 2011 - Uppsala -Katalin & All That Jazz

26th October 2011 - Stockholm - Nalen

27th October 2011 - Malmo Sweden Debaser

Wed 16th November 2011 - NUNEATON, Queens Hall

Thu 17th November 2011 - BRADFORD, St. George's Hall

Sat 19th November 2011 - ST ALBANS, Arena

Sun 20th November 2011 - MANCHESTER, The Quays Theatre

Mon 21st November 2011 - CHATHAM, Central Theatre

New Rats vocalist for Wolverhampton gig

2011-09-02T20:00:00.000+01:00

Mike Odlum, an old school friend of Roberts and Crowe has joined the new Rats lineup as vocalist and bassist. At this juncture, it is not clear if this is a permanent change to the line-up.

Friday 2nd September 2011 The Varsity music venue, Stafford Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LZ.

If you would like to purchase advance tickets for £7 then please send an email to tickets@boomtownrats.co.uk

BRENTWOOD BEER AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

2011-07-08T22:00:00.000+01:00

This is like the gig from heaven. It's the Rats, it's cheap, and there's fcuking loads of beer! Get in there! Also it is a easy trip on the train for me. Even my son (showing my age!) fancies it, so we might just camp for the night!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!!!!!!!!

Brentwood Centre, Doddinghurst Road, Brentwood,Essex CM15 9NN

Fri 8th July

DOORS OPEN 1600 HRS
DJ'S WILL BE PLAYING FROM 1800HRS.
1900 - 1945
2000 - 2045 SQUABBLER
2100 - 2145 DOUBLE TROUBLE
2200 - 2330 BOOMTOWN RATS - The Rats will be here performing all of their hits from Rat Trap - Diamond Smiles to the haunting I don't like Mondays.

Madchester! (err maybe not...)

2011-03-11T19:30:00.003Z

I have been informed this (along with the York date) have been postponed,and is showing as cancelled on the Factory ticket sales site .

No reasons have been given for the cancellation/postponement though it seems a bit premature to have been the result of poor ticket sales which have led to a number of Rats and Geldof concerts to be cancelled in recent years.

Best check with the venue if you have bought tickets and require a refund.

The Rats will be playing FAC251. In homage to the Happy Mondays they won't be playing I Don't Like Mondays! (as if)

Also playing a gig in York the following evening.

March

Friday 11th March FAC251 (The Factory) 112-118 Princess Street, Manchester M1 7EN

Saturday 12th March Fibbers, 8-10 Stonebow House York, YO1 7NP.

Simon Crowe Interview - LFM (107.4FM).

2011-03-06T11:00:00.000Z

Simon Crowe radio interview with DJ Dave Heaney on radio station LFM (107.4FM).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od194y9VwbY&feature=player_embedded

School of Rock

2011-02-18T14:00:00.001Z

Garrick Roberts is the new Jack Black! For those about to rock, we salute you!

Garrick demonstrated his unique style of electric guitar playing to over 300 puils at a workshop at a Solihull school. Garrick gave a talk on the history of the blues and spoke about being a member of the Rats, before treating his audience to hits like 'Rat Trap' and 'I Don't Like Mondays'.

Garry said: “I have been fascinated by the electric guitar since I was 12 years old and I believe it to be one of the most beautiful, versatile and expressive instruments.
“I am keen to show the exciting potential of the guitar to young people who are about the age I was when I began playing, as this is the time when they are ready to begin exploring and developing their own creative potential.”

Gore fest - Systematic Six-Pack Video

2011-02-14T11:16:00.005Z

Listen to one of the best tracks off the new Geldof album along with the X-rated video!

Making of - Part One

Making of - Part Two

Making of - Part Three

Read All About It!

2011-02-14T10:59:00.000Z

The gob is back and in full flow. Three press interviews of note that all have something in them that is worth reading even if it's just the outrageous quotes, particularly in the Quietus.

My favourites ...

"Stop talking about The Boomtown Rats because guess what? It was 30 years ago."

What? Never! I suppose it was all a bit half-arsed from 1981, so I'll give him that. But then he goes on and talks about The Rats outselling The Clash and The Jam, before discussing Red Wedge, Dr. Feelgood, The Ramones, Bob Marley and Dylan...

Bit rich from someone who sings I Don't Like Mondays at the drop of a hat to not want to discuss stuff from 30 years ago.

I suppose I better stop writing here. Sigh - what will I do?

"The sum of my ambition is to play a 2000 seat venue in London. If I could do that and sell it out, I'd like that but that's not possible and I know that."

Well no one is stopping him playing a smaller venue, are they?

And maybe if he plays well people might recommend him to their friends next time and he might get a progressively bigger audience.

I suspect that's the way it went with the Boomtown Rats, though best not talk about them - sore point.

"Creatively, Britain is the only place to be in the world."

Ah yes.
There are no artists anywhere else
nor theatre
nor film
nor software companies
nor television drama
nor televison comedy
nor authors
nor music.
I mean, look at what Britain is doing creatively these days it's the home of the X Factor, Britain's Got Talent, Harry Potter and a whole host of wannabes.
Oh bollocks! Get me out of here!

Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
The Quietus

You Bloom Music Awards - The Cobden Members Club, London Thursday 10th February 2011

2011-02-10T19:00:00.000Z

This is one of those things where Geldof may or may not play, who knows he might want to give an audience a taster of his new album. Anyway, should you be in London and willing to hang around from 7.30pm you can see what happens for free.

Electro-punk maverick Quilla Constance will perform at You Bloom Music Awards presented by Sir Bob Geldof and A&R genius, Nigel Grainge.

Other acts performing:

Neev Kennedy,
Marina V
Her and The Colours
Intermission
Renny C
Joseph Dean Osgood
The Guilty Ones

The Cobden Members Club, London Thursday 10th February 2011 from 7:00pm

Price: £7.00 on the door with flyer / £5.00 before 8:30pm / Free before 7:30pm
For tickets or further information, please call the box office on
020 8960 4222

New Geldof Album - HOW TO COMPOSE POPULAR SONGS THAT WILL SELL

2011-02-07T07:00:00.015Z

Geldof's fifth effort to match the glory days of the Rats. The working title was 58½, his age - though he's now 59¼. Apparently he changed the album title after finding this book by Leslie Shepperd on the top of a piano.

Bar the throwaway single, Silly Pretty Thing, which is the only truly awful track on the album, it is something of a minor triumph. All in all the best Geldof solo album, but not a patch on anything by the Rats.

The highlights are Blowfish with its heavily distorted blues which evokes the spirit of Jimi Hendrix; Systematic Six Pack, which sounds like it should be on the soundtrack of a Tarantino western, the video with Rhys Ifans is a nod and a wink towards it. Here's to You is the most pleasant and pleasing song Geldof has ever written, even if it borrows very heavily from The Beatles. Rounding things off is a hidden track, Young & Sober, that is a throwback to DUN LAOGHARIE and The Great Song of Indifference chronologising the life of Geldof over the last fifty odd years.

Available at all good (and probably bad ones as well) record stores, download sites, and of course Spotify and We7 if you want to have a listen for free.

Track Listing

1. How I Roll

2. BlowFish

~~3. Just Get On~~

3. She's A Lover

4. To Live In Love

5. Silly Pretty Thing

6. Systematic 6-Pack (58½)

7. Dazzled By You

8. Mary says

9. Blow

10. Here's To You (Hidden track: Young & Sober)

12. The Fields Of Spring
13. Too Late She Cried
14. Baby's Going Down

According to Geldof, thirty one songs were recorded, so there are another twenty that could be released. The album will be released on 15th March 2011 in the USA and launched at SXSW where Geldof will perform and headline as keynote speaker. So it's possible the tracklisting may differ for the US release.

On the album's international release there appear to be four additional tracks, these have been listed here, though struck out until they are confirmed. These tracks were also part of the original track listing when the album was originally due to be released in mid-2010. There were snippets of these tracks on the BBC website, but sadly they are no longer there.

Geldof's website has been relauched in the style of a kindle book to coincide with the release. Funnily enough they have restored the link to this blog. Probably an accident. I give it a week before I upset them all again and it gets quashed.

There is another track that seems to have missed the cut, though it could have been a working title, or simply the Comic Relief song he did with Stephen Fry and Midge Ure.

Banker's Song

Now all we need is the Rats to release something and everyone, bar Fingers who is too busy having fun in Japan, will have done something in a twelve month period.

Some clips of Geldof performing the songs

Here's To You

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/showbiz/biz-sessions/3404751/Bob-Geldof-Heres-To-You.html

How I Roll

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/showbiz/biz-sessions/3404753/Bob-Geldof-How-I-Roll.html

Mary Says

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/showbiz/biz-sessions/3404738/Bob-Geldof-Mary-Says.html

Dazzled By You

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/showbiz/biz-sessions/3404752/Bob-Geldof-Dazzled-By-You.html

Blow

Silly Pretty Thing

Gerry Cott Live - 27th November 2010 - St Andrews, Church Road, Cobham, Surrey

2010-11-27T19:30:00.000Z

Heavens above! A rat in a church. I didn't attend so have no idea what was played or how well the concert went.

Gerry Cott will play a series of one-off performances of Urban Soundscapes in acoustically and architecturally interesting venues.

The first of these performances will be held at 7.30pm on 27th November 2010 at the 12th century Norman church of St Andrews, Church Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 3EJ

Get yer Kicks in the Sticks!

2010-11-26T21:45:00.003Z

The Boomtown Rats played at the Whyteleafe Football Club tonight.

For a very small venue and given the extreme cold, the concert was well attended with between 100 and 150 people turning up. By the end the place was rocking with a dozen or so people on the dance floor.

They played, not necessarily in this order as I wasn't taking notes...

Mary of the 4th Form
Close As You'll Ever Be
I Can Make It If You Can
Like Clockwork
Neon Heart
Joey's On The Street Again
Someone's Looking At You
Diamond Smiles
She Does It Right (vocals by Garry Roberts)
Riot in Cell Block #9 (vocals by Simon Crowe)
Looking After Number One
Rat Trap
She's So Modern
I Don't Like Mondays

Fortunately the concert ended shortly before the last train out of Whyteleafe to London (via East Croydon) so I was able to make it home in the wee small hours (yawn).

Geldof in India

2010-11-14T12:00:00.005Z

Bob Geldof played at The Hay Festival in Trivandrum, Kerala.

Sting got up on stage with him and they sang A Hole to Fill. See it here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/8135373/Sir-Bob-Geldof-and-Sting-at-Hay-Festival-in-India.html

Sting - "I flew to Thiruvananthapuram to see Bob. It was a high point of my life performing the number with him. I am happy to perform with Bob and it's always a pleasure to hear him sing."

Geldof also played Banana Republic and, inevitably, I Don't Like Mondays.

An Interview with Geldof can be found here
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=hub201110That_balmy.asp

November Dates for the Rats

2010-11-03T11:45:00.002Z

A busy month for the Rats. Particulary looking forward to the Surrey date which I will be attending.

Saturday 13th November Essen Grugahalle, Germany
Sunday 14th November Landungsbruecken theatre ,Gutleutstrasse 294,Frankfurt am Main.Germany
Wednesday 24th November The Pavillion, Rhyll, as special guests to The Blockheads.
Thursday 25th November Walkabout, Barnsley
Friday 26th November Whyteleafe Football Club, 15, Church Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey CR3 0AR.

Darren Beale and the Pooh Sticks

2010-07-20T17:07:00.003+01:00

Rats guitarist, Darren Beale, will be playing with the reformed Pooh Sticks at Indietracks at the Midland Railway Centre this weekend (23rd-25th July). Catch them on the Indoor stage form 20:15 - 21:10

No - I have never listened to the Pooh Sticks. Listen to them here www.myspace.com/thepoohsticks

Gerry Cott - Urban Soundscapes

2010-07-16T09:00:00.001+01:00

Tracklisting (Previews)

01 Liverpool: Eleanor Rigby
02 Munich: Central Station to Seeg
03 Merritt: Last stop before Vancouver
04 NYC: Cab Ride
05 London: The Southbank Nighttime
06 Santander: Looking out on a stormy sea
07 Tokyo: Walkways
08 Kiev: Big cars darkened windows
09 San Francisco: Up The Down Staircase
10 Maui: The road to Hana
11 Dublin: Empty streets with distant echoes
12 Scarborough: Going to the fair
13 Carrickfergus: Looking back

Looks like Gerry took on board my comments of picking up the guitar again a couple of years ago when I met him at the 100 Club. Sadly he has not rejoined the Rats (boo!), but he has made a solo guitar album entitled Urban Soundscapes (hooray!).

"I always was an acoustic guitarist masquerading as a rocker.". Indeed. The album kicks off with an impressive version of Eleanor Rigby so far with Gerry's distinctive lyrical style of playing. I have to confess for fans of the Rats this record may not rock your boat. Though the guitar playing is technically good and shows off Gerry's abilities, it is incidental music that is ideal background for doing the dishes or other household tasks, but unlikely to hold your interest nor move you.

Of course, you can make your own minds up and purchase the CD at the Gerry Cott Homepage or get it on iTunes . The album is also on Spotify.

You can listen to Eleanor Rigby and Cab Ride in his entry for the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. The album is also available on

Gerry also has a twitter account you can follow.

There is the promise of some forthcoming tour dates.

Jay Bennett - Kicking at the Perfumed Air

2010-07-10T09:00:00.005+01:00

On May 24, 2009, award winning multi-instrumentalist and producer Jay Bennett passed away. Although Jay is probably best known for his work in Wilco, he was also a very sought-after producer, collaborator and solo artist, and was the owner of the Champaign, IL-based music studio.

Jay’s posthumous record, Kicking at the Perfumed Air has been released for free download. While the download is free, donations are currently being accepted to beneﬁt the Jay Bennett Foundation or one of its partner charities.

The title track, Diamond Smiles, is a cover of the Boomtown Rats track from The Fine Art of Surfacing. The track is done in a very different style, even though Jay's vocal are somewhat remincient of a raw youthful Geldof. The song ends with a twinkling homage to the introduction of I Don't Like Mondays.

http://rockproper.com/JayBennettFoundation/

Oil City Confidential - BBC 4 - Dr.Feelgood night

2010-04-23T10:18:00.002+01:00

Given their influence on Rats, see the originals on BBC tonight!

9:00pm Oil City Confidential
Director Julien Temple's film celebrates Dr Feelgood
10:50pm Sight and Sound in Concert
Pete Drummond introduces a concert from Queen Mary College with Ian Dury and the Blockheads and Dr. Feelgood
11:50pm If it Ain't Stiff
Adrian Edmondson narrates a documentary chronicling the story of Stiff Records
1:20am Oil City Confidential
As above

Kats Karavan

2009-12-28T20:16:00.003Z

About Kats Karavan

http://johnpeel.umusic.co.uk/

A lavishly packaged 4cd set contains singles and Peel session recordings by some of John’s favourite artists including The Boomtown Rats, he was a fan in the early days, but I think he changed his mind about the Rats as time went on....

"We keep getting sessions planned with them, new sessions for us which, for one reason or another, they don't seem to be able to do. Perhaps we've got one lined up for early in the new year, perhaps they'll do one. It would be very nice if they did anyway because, although they're famous and so on, it would still be nice to get a session out of them."

Anyway, they did a couple and Looking After No. 1 does feature on disc 1 of Kats Karavan. If you don't have the Crazy single, here's your chance to grab it. (Available for single download at Amazon) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kats-Karavan-History-John-Radio/dp/B002N1BNXC

Rats on Tour - 2010/2011

2009-11-29T10:00:00.003Z

Friday 30th April 2010, Pokey Hole, Netherseal near Derby.With special guest John Williamson (from Animals and Friends) and Mike Bowdens http://www.thepokeyhole.com

Saturday 12th June 2010, The Regent Centre, Christchurch. With special guest China Crisis http://www.regentcentre.co.uk

July 2010

Sunday 18th Dordrecht- Big River Festival Holland.

August 2010

Sunday 1st New Quay Festival. South Wales, Featuring Dave Sharpe The Alarm

Saturday 14th Reepham 10 Summer Festival.Norfolk

Saturday 28th Upton Town Festival. with special guests The Blockheads and Ex Simple Minds.

Sunday 29th Mathew Street Festival Liverpool. 12.00 on stage

September 2010

Saturday 11th Kamenz, Hutbergbuhne, Germany

November 2010

Saturday 13th Essen Grugahalle, Germany

Wednesday 24th The Pavillion, Rhyll, as special guests to The Blockheads.

Thursday 25th Walkabout Barnsley

Friday 26th The Paladium Club, Bideford.

----------------------

January 2011

Friday 21st Tivoli Theatre,Wimborne. as special guests to The Blockheads.

May 2011
Friday 27th Halle, Peiznitzinsel, Germany

Sunday 29th Nice & Sleazy Morcambe

July 2011

Friday 22nd Berlin, Tempelhof, Germany

Saturday 23rd Ahmsen, Freilichtbuhne, Germany

August 2011

Saturday 13th Werne, Freilichtbuhne, Germany

Year of the Rat Tour 2009

2009-11-29T08:00:00.008Z

Wednesday 2nd December 2009 Cleethorps Beachcomber with local support
Thursday 3rd December 2009 Homfirth Picture Dome with local support
Friday 4th December 2009 DNE Club Wakefield with special guests China Crisis
Saturday 5th December 2009 The Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford. with special guests Eddie and the Hot Rods
Sunday 6th December 2009 Whithaven Civic Hall, with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Wednesday 9th December 2009 Key Street, Clitheroe. with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
~~Tuesday 8th~~ Thursday 10th December 2009 The New Tavern, Wigan, with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
~~Thursday 10th December 2009~~ ~~Rock City, Nottingham. with special guests China Crisis~~
Friday 11th December 2009 Victoria Hotel, Largs
Saturday 12th December 2009 The Roadhouse Birmingham, with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Sunday 13th December 2009 Ropetackle Centre. Shoreham with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Wednesday 16th December 2009 Norwich Waterfront as special guests of The Blockheads also featuring Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Thursday 17th December 2009 Electric Ballroom, London as special guests of The Blockheads and Eddie and The Hot Rods
Friday 18th December 2009 TJ's Newport with local support
Saturday 19th December 2009 The Lights. Andover with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Saturday 19th December 2009 Pigs Nose Inn, East Prawl. Devon with local support
Sunday 20th December 2009 Mr Kyps. Poole, with special guest, Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Monday 21st December 2009 The Tunnels, Bristol as special guests of The Blockheads also featuring Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Tuesday 22nd December 2009 Oran Mor, Glasgow. Scotland. With Special Guests Eddie and The Hot Rods
Wednesday 23rd December 2009 Move Music Venue, Galashiels. Scotland. With Special Guests ~~Eddie and The Hot Rods~~ Sham 69

Summer Tour 2008

Saturday 26th July 2008- Pigs Nose Inn, East Prawl, Devon
Monday 4th August 2008 - Key Street Music Bar, Clitheroe
Wednesday 6th August 2008- The Robin, Bilston, Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ
Thursday 7th August 2008 (+ THE VIBRATORS) 100 Club, 100 Oxford Street, London W1
Friday 8th August 2008- Rebellion Festival, Empress Ballroom, The Winter Gardens, Church Street, Blackpool. On stage 10.20pm
Saturday 9th August 2008- The M Club, Crewe. POSTPONED to Friday 23rd January
Saturday 15th November 2008 Charter Hall, Market Street, Okehampton. with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses
Wednesday 17th December 2008 Swansea Sin City with Eddie and The Hot Rods RESCHEDULED to 3rd February 2008

January 2009

Thursday 15th Key Street, Clitheroe TBC
Friday 16th The Cluney Newcastle with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses
Saturday 17th Theatre Royal Wakefield with special guest Blackheart ~~Andy Watts from The Seahorses~~
~~Wednesday 21st Leeds Irish Centre with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses~~
~~Thursday 22nd~~ Corn Exchange, Bedford. with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses
Friday 23rd M Club Crewe with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses
Saturday 24th Corn Exchange, Newbury. with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses
Sunday 25th Rock n Blues Festival, Skegness with Eddie and The Hot Rods, Dr Feelgood, Wilko Johnson,The Hamsters etc

Strictly speaking the year of the Rat ended on 25th January 2009

~~Monday 26th Exmouth Pavillion with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses~~
~~Tuesday 27th The Musician, Leicester with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses~~
Wednesday 28th The Arts Complex, Solihull with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses.
~~Thursday 29th The Playhouse Alnwick with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses~~
~~Friday 30th The Buccleuch Centre, Langholm, with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses~~
Saturday 31st The Platform Morcambe with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses

February 2009

Sunday 1st Martletts Hall, Burgess Hill. with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Tuesday 3rd Swansea Sin City with Eddie and The Hot Rods
Wednesday 4th Huntingdon Hall Worcester with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Thursday 5th The Castle Wellinborough with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Tuesday 10th Baby Blue Club, The Albert Dock, Liverpool with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm
~~Thursday 12th Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm.~~
Friday 13th The Brook Southampton with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Saturday 14th The Playhouse, Harlow with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm
Sunday 15th The Robin Bilston with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm

Friday 17th April 2009 SPIRIT OF 77 FESTIVAL West Coast Bar, King Street, Margate. £13.50 http://www.westcoastlive.co.uk/
~~Saturday 18th April 2009 Hailsham Pavilion with support~~
~~Thursday 23rd April 2009 Rothes Hall, Glenrothes. Fife. Scotland with support tba~~
Friday 24th April 2009 Motor Cycle News (MCN) Festival. Skegness
Saturday 25th April 2009 Didcot Arts Centre
Monday 25th May 2009 Darwen Town Festival (Free Festival)
Saturday 13th June 2009 South Shields Ampitheatre (Free Festival)

Saturday 27th June 2009 PARTY ON THE FARM - Edolphs Farm, Charlwood. Surrey RH6 0EB http://www.theratsatedolphs.co.uk/ £20

Tuesday 4th August 2009 Ypres Town Festival. Belgium

Boomtown Rats @ Ieper

Boomtown Rats @ Ieper

Wednesday 30th September 2009 Monte Carlo, Monaco Le Moods with special guests ~~The Damned~~ From The Jam
Thursday 1st October 2009 Paris with special guests ~~The Damned~~ From The Jam

The first Rats Tape

2009-09-18T13:27:00.005+01:00

http://www.irishrock.org/ipnw/bands/boomtownrats.html

I just read about a demo tape from the Rats pre-record contract. Interesting that the only songs to ever make it to record were Neon Heart and Born to Burn. Menage A Trois did get an airing on BBC Radio 1 back in 1979, but there are few unknown Rats songs. It is also possible that these tracks changed names and are familiar. However, I don't have any idea on that.

I guess no one has this. Do they? You know it's Christmas soon? Should you have it or a copy, let me know. But don't expect me to pay for it, I've given out plenty of rare MP3s/videos so I'm due some payback!

You can get a flavour of the tape from the originals. Use Spotify to construct a playlist, unless you happen to have all the tracks. I bought Burnin' by the Wailers yesterday, so bar a couple of tracks I have most of them somewhere.

There are 22 tracks on the tape with seven Rats originals. Dave Moloney (of Vipers fame) plays drums on the first 10 tracks, Simon Crowe on the rest.

In general, I have gone for the version The Rats are most likely to have copied rather than the true original.

Side One
Rolling Stones (Original Chuck Berry)	Little Queenie
Little Walter	My Babe
Boomtown Rats	Gettin' Back To Me
Wailers	Get Up Stand Up
Boomtown Rats	New Wave (New Age)
Boomtown Rats	Neon Heart
Chuck Berry	Promised Land
Ronnie Wood	I Can Feel The Fire
Rolling Stones (Original Nat King Cole)	Route 66
Boomtown Rats	Born To Burn
Boomtown Rats	Jesse James
Side Two
Eddie Cochran (Original Clyde McPhatter song)	Money Honey
Dr. Feelgood	All Through The City
Rolling Stones (Original Chuck Berry)	Carol
The Who	My Generation
Dr. Feelgood	Riot In Cell Block #9
Little Walter	My Babe
Dr. Feelgood (Original John Lee Hooker)	Boom Boom
Dr. Feelgood	Don't You Just Know It
Boomtown Rats	Getting Back To Me
Boomtown Rats	Menage A Trois
Rolling Stones (Original Chuck Berry)	Little Queenie

Thirty years ago - I Don't Like Mondays released

2009-07-20T00:00:00.010+01:00

And he can see no reasons
'Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown?

Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
I wanna shoot the whole day down

I Don't Like Mondays is the most famous Rats song vying with Do They Know It's Christmas? as Geldof's most well known composition. The story behind the song is pretty well known. On the morning of Monday 29th January 1979 in San Diego, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, Brenda Spencer, took the .22 calibre gun her father had given her as a Christmas present and aimed it at the school playground directly opposite her family home. She killed two men and injured eight children.

Her explanation for doing this was "I don't like Mondays, it livens up the day."

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody’s gonna go to school today
She’s gonna make them stay at home
And daddy doesn’t understand it
He always said she was good as gold

Geldof claims he was doing an interview in Atlanta with Johnnie Fingers when the news story came through on the telex and started writing the song the same day.
However when Mondays was performed for the first time in San Diego itself on 27th February 1979, he claimed to have read about the incident in the newspapers and saw it on the televison in London. The first rendition

To quote Geldof from the San Diego concerts....

San Diego 27th Feb 1979 - ."..about a month ago we read in the paper in England about Debbie Spencer...."

San Diego 28th Feb 1979 - "...what happened was we were watching the box in London and next minute san diego came on the tv screen and there was a picture of this girl I think Brenda Spencer....."

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/boomtown-rats/

This is a more likely, if less interesting, explanation, especially as Geldof was probably not in the US at the time. Geldof and Fingers did tour the US in January 1979 and visited a number of radio stations but at the time of the incident it is likely they had returned to London.

The alternative account from Is That is? is littered with inconsistencies such as the incident happening four months previous rather than just one month. This is Paul Vallely, his ghost writer, using his creative licence.

The Telex machine is kept so clean
And it types to a waiting world

The most famous rendition of the song was at Live Aid in 1985 when Geldof
paused to dramatic effect on the snippet -

And the lesson today is how to die

Which was an apt statement for the day, albeit in the context of a song about a spree killer. Interestingly, this was the first school shooting of its kind, a phenomenon that culminated in the infamous Columbine tragedy.

The song entered the UK charts at number 15 and reached number one the following week and stayed there for four weeks. It didn't fare so well in the United States thanks to the song being more or less banned from the radio, and peaked at number 73.

It also represented the commercial peak of The Boomtown Rats, A Tonic for the Troops re-entered the UK album charts on the back of the success of I Don't Like Mondays. For a short period they were arguably the biggest band in the British Isles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Don't_Like_Mondays

Chicago/Change The World

2009-07-14T11:45:00.000+01:00

Cover of "Chicago/Change the world" by Crosby Stills and Nash sung by David Gimour, Chrissie Hynde and Bob Geldof in support of "Pentagon Hacker" Gary Mckinnon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Mckinnon

Midsummer’s Gig for Dave McHale - Blackrock Rugby Club - Sunday 21st June 2009 - 6.30pm

2009-06-21T20:00:00.004+01:00

Dave McHale, 58, died in late May 2009 in Frankfurt after losing his battle with cancer.

Dave played on Mondo Bongo and V Deep and toured with the band in the early eighties. He was thought of as the unofficial seventh member of The Boomtown Rats. Dave played keyboards and saxophone and was a session musician of some repute.

The Midsummer’s Gig for Dave aimed to raise funds to erect a bench in his home town of Monkstown, County Dublin in his memory.

Garrick Roberts, Pete Briquette and Bob Geldof took part in a one-off musical tribute at Blackrock Rugby Club and sung Dave, from the In The Long Grass LP, the song that he wrote about his friend's plight .

Geldof was inspired to write 'Dave' after McHale's girlfriend died suddenly. "We had dropped Dave off in London after a tour," he explained. "He had a row with his girlfriend and she took off. Then he found her dead from a five-pound bag of heroin. I wrote this song the next day."

Irish Independent

Hot Press

Irish Showbands

Another date for Geldof in the Irish pub in the middle of the Fucking Desert

2009-03-13T19:00:00.000Z

Geldof certainly seems to like it out there. His annual St. Patrick's date at the Dubai Irish Village takes place on Friday March 13th. Tickets available from www.itp.net/tickets

Entry Charges: Dhs100
Opening hours: Door open 7pm show stars 9pm

Spotify now available to everyone in the UK

2009-02-10T12:00:00.000Z

This is a great streaming service along with www.we7.com that will allow you to listen to a vast back catalogue of music including ALL the Boomtown Rats albums, among many others. Pretty much everything from Bob Dylan to Pulp (well except The Beatles). There are some advertisements but other than that it's all FREE!!!

Starting today people in the UK will no longer need an invitation to join Spotify, you can register for the free streaming service directly from the website.

http://www.spotify.com/en/products/free/

See The Rats in Harlow for a Fiver!

2009-01-29T16:23:00.001Z

Credit Crunch Special! Treat the love of your life on Valentine's night.

http://www.playhouseharlow.com/whatson/plays/boomtown-rats

Toni Weekes presents...
Original Boomtown Rats Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe with Peter Barton and Darren Beale present The Rats In Concert
Sat 14th February 2009 - 7.30pm
Main Auditorium
Featuring Special Guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm.

Price: £5

Dates and times
14 February, 2009 19:30

Geldof in Norway

2008-12-11T10:37:00.006Z

Some dates by Geldof in Norway. I had no idea he was so popular in Scandanavia!

9th December Lillestrøm Kultursenter http://www.rb.no/lokal_kultur/article3981992.ece (or maybe not according to the reviews/comments)
10th December Skien Ibsenhuset http://www.ta.no/pulsen/article3984562.ece (seemingly popular in Skien)
11th December Nøtterøy Kulturhus
13th December Tromsø Kulturhus - so far north, it is more or less in perpetual darkness in December! http://www.nordlys.no/kultur/article3991104.ece
14th December Oslo Gamle Logen AS http://tb.no/article/20081212/KULTUR/443990649/1011/NYHETER

On A Night Like This DVD

2008-09-15T12:00:00.006+01:00

A re-release on DVD of a Rats gig from 1985. Was previously available on VHS and also on the now deleted Someone's Looking DVD . I'd advise tracking that down rather than getting this, unless there are a host of previously unavailable extras.

Led by the inimitable Sir Bob Geldof (and totally overshadowed by his later charity work on the Band Aid and Live Aid projects), the Boomtown Rats were nevertheless an important and notable band who were a real force in the charts and active between 1975 and 1986. 5 of the band's Top 40 singles, including 2 Number 1's, are included in this rousing performance to a rammed crowd filmed at The Dominion Theatre, London in 1985.

Tracklist:

1. Elephant's Graveyard
2. Charmed Lives
3. Lucky
4. Neon Heart
5. Someone's Looking At You
6. Dave
7. Hold Of Me
8. I Don't Like Mondays
9. Talk In Code
10. Rat Trap
11. Drag Me Down
12. Looking After no 1

100 Club

2008-08-07T19:00:00.006+01:00

Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe were back, but this time they had two new recruits. Peter Barton and Darren Beale.

Peter Barton is a strong R'n'B vocalist who added depth to the vocals on a bunch of classic tracks. Barton even wore his pyjama bottoms lest anyone miss Fingers' sartorial style. He was aided and abetted by Darren Beale whose virtuoso guitar made up for the lack of horns, strings and keyboards. There was the majestic drumming of Simon Crowe holding it all together, and the authentic sound of Garry Roberts, providing the main riffs that made the Rats sounds from 1977 -1979.

The audience were treated to a run through of many of the Rats finest moment from the late seventies.

They played (Peter Barton on lead vocals except where stated) ....

Close As You'll Ever Be
Looking After Number One
Neon Heart
Mary of The Fourth Form
Joey's On The Street Again
Someone's Looking At You
I Can Make It If You Can
She Does It Right (Lead Vocals : Garry Roberts)
Like Clockwork
Riot in Cell Block #9 (Lead Vocals : Simon Crowe)
She's Gonna Do You In
All Through The City (Lead Vocals : Simon Crowe)
Rat Trap
She's So Modern
I Don't Like Mondays

Gerry Cott was also in attendance to watch his former band members going down a storm with the enthusiastic crowd.

It was brilliant! Go and see the Rats! Next stop Blackpool.

Key Street Music Bar, Clitheroe

2008-08-04T09:00:00.001+01:00

Monday 4th August - Key Street Music Bar, Clitheroe 01200 422 588. Doors 7.30pm

“We asked but Bob politely declined. He said he's doing his own thing now,” said Simon. “Bob's gone in a different musical direction and we're about taking it back to basics."

Simon wants to make sure I make it clear that it's just two of the original line-up reuniting — himself on drums and Garry Roberts on guitar. They're being joined by The Animals' Peter Barton on bass and Darren Beale on lead guitar.

“I wouldn't say 'just' two of us though,” said Simon. “We'll be playing the songs we used to play when we first started off in 1975 — all the early stuff that really defined the Rats, We're drawing the line after the second album.”

“Garry and I talked about it before but although we could have got a few pub gigs we didn't really have the contacts in the music business to make it work from a commercial sense,” said Simon.

Simon and Garry contacted the other Rats but they were all too busy.

“We thought we'd just carry on anyway,” said Simon. “The music comes naturally to me and Garry but the new guys have had to do a bit of homework. It's not been a problem though. They're such good musicians they've slipped into it.”

“We did a gig in Devon the other day and the place was hopping — it was absolutely electric. It was so long since it's happened like that I forgot the feeling.”

The band hope to record a new album in 2009 but they're not getting carried away.

“We're taking one step at a time,” said Simon. "We're just going to get out there and see what reaction we get. But the message is watch this space. We're back, we're in action and it could be Boomtime again.”

Rats first gig in 20 plus years in Devon.

2008-07-25T21:00:00.003+01:00

Hundreds were turned away and left outside the Pigs Nose Inn , East Prawl, Devon for the return of The Rats. A set comprising of early songs and Dr. Feelgood covers went down like a storm. A great night out for those who happened to be on vacation in that part of the world. The rest of us have a few opportunities to catch them in August and early next year.

Fingers Fest

2008-07-25T15:30:00.001+01:00

Seems like Johnnie is pretty busy way out east. No wonder he wasn't able to join The Rats.

Fuji Rock Line Up

BBC report

But while the event is unashamedly based on Glastonbury, Fuji Rock is a totally different experience.

"It might be inspired by Glastonbury, but done in a Japanese way," says the festival's international organiser, Johnnie Fingers.

Fingers' real name is John Moylett, but he is better known to many as a founding member of The Boomtown Rats. He has been working in the Japanese music scene for 15 years, and has been part of the Fuji Rock team for six of them.

'Fuji experience'

"We call it the Fuji experience. It is like Glastonbury, but has been perfected in that Japanese way," he says.

"The biggest difference is that is so clean. Everybody cleans up their own mess.

"It is also so secure and safe. People leave things out without worrying about theft."

Fingers adds Fuji Rock - named after the mountain which played host to the first festival in 1997 - has set itself apart by keeping sponsorship to a minimum, concentrating on the festival's spectacular setting in a steep mountain valley.

"Japanese people are so used to being surrounded by advertising and sponsorship, so we have tried to make this feel like a weekend away in the countryside," he explains.

The festival attracts a mainly Japanese crowd, with about 90% of revellers being local.

A final question for Johnnie Fingers - has he persuaded any of his old Boomtown Rats bandmates to visit Fuji Rock yet?

He shakes his head: "Not yet. Bob Geldof was over here recently and we had dinner. It was the first time I'd seen him in 20 years - but he mainly wanted to talk about the G8."

Bobby Geldog in the Wizard of Cott

2008-07-23T21:00:00.001+01:00

You just can't keep the Rats out of the news these days......

Daily Mail

GMTV Interview with Gerry Cott

Bobby the westie is hailed by critics as the real star of the capital's Wizard Of Oz show

Toto is played by Bobby, a West Highland terrier who has something of a showbusiness pedigree - he is the protege of former Boomtown Rats guitarist Gerry Cott.

Mr Cott, who founded the group with Bob Geldof but quit before their fifth album was released, has coached Bobby to perform tricks that leave audiences open-mouthed

Mr Cott, 55, who lives with his wife Cathy and sons Harry, 19, and Sonny, 11, near Leatherhead, said: 'He has integrated so well with the cast because he is so calm and relaxed.

Our method of training works on the dog's character and confidence, which means they can be comfortable even on stage in front of hundreds of people.

'It is a bit like, "Look at me, look at me,"' said Mr Cott.

'It was a little unfair of him to muscle in on such a lovely moment in the play.'

He and Harry, who is working as Bobby's chaperone during the show's run, spent a week integrating the dog with the cast and teaching Sian Brooke, who plays Dorothy, a series of silent cues to prompt his performance.

Mr Cott, who was born into an Irish farming family, said he enjoyed working with animals and that his time with the Boomtown Rats had helped him gear his training towards the film, music and television industries.

He said contrary to some rumours, Bobby was not named after Geldof.

The Cotts, who own dress designing company Phoenix Cobham as well as running Dog Training One2One and A-ZAnimals, have helped coach thousands of animals using an American training method Mr Cott refers to as 'dog whispering.'

Geldof plays the Pori Jazz Festival in Finland

2008-07-17T15:00:00.003+01:00

His last scheduled date this year. Unless he's planning to join the Rats......
Expect the usual of undue amounts of solo material and a rendition of I Don't Like Mondays.

Time:
15:00-21:00
[ 6011 ]
Place: Kirjurinluoto Arena
Performers:

• Ann Hampton Callaway & Novosibirsk Big Band
• Return To Forever: Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola & Lenny White
• Metro Special Edition feat. Randy Brecker & Dave Weckl
• Bob Geldof

Tickets: 55 eur

http://www.porijazz.fi/content/view/119/146/lang,eng/joe=esiintyja?lang2=en&artist_no=21803&venue_no=35832

Geldof goes to Halle

2008-05-28T21:00:00.002+01:00

Geldof and band played the Händels Open in Halle.

21.00 Uhr Halle (Hallmarkt) Bob Geldof und Band http://www.festevent.de/

Back at the Irish Pub in the middle of the fucking desert again.

2008-03-19T20:31:00.006Z

Geldof played The Irish Village, Garhoud, Dubai. Those guys must love him even if he didn't think too much of the venue first time around. Also a little safer than Libya. Also Geldof had a pretty dull interview in Dubai!

Geldof Backs Dustin For Europe

2008-02-23T20:00:00.000Z

Live on RTE1 from 8pm (if you can bear it!)

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0223/1203619293486.html?via=me

His participation in tonight's final may have already ruffled a few feathers, but Dustin the Turkey yesterday received the heavyweight backing of Bob Geldof in his bid for Eurovision glory.

The musician and co-founder of Live Aid said it would be nothing short of "rank poultryism" should "one of the greatest talents this country has ever produced" fail to be selected to represent "our glorious musical heritage" on the world stage.

"The mere fact of his being a turkey should give Ireland the edge," suggested Geldof.
He said it should not be claimed that "simply because this giant is a turkey he is somehow unfit to represent his country".If the Eurovision Song Contest was known for anything at all, he added, "it is the vast number of turkeys it produces each year . . . Sure won't he gobble them up!"

Asked to comment on Bob Geldof's support, Dustin said he was glad to have the support of someone who, "like meself does a little bit of charity work in his spare time". He added: "I really am chuffed. We couldn't get Christy Moore."

Geldof plays Germany

2007-12-07T19:00:00.000Z

7th Dec 2007 Columbia Club Berlin
8th Dec 2007 Hartenholm Festival
9th Dec 2007 Weltsalon Tollwood Winterfestival Theresienwiese, München

The gigs took place, an audience turned up and some reviews

I am Bob

2007-10-19T20:00:00.000+01:00

Best thing Geldof has done since, err, the Great Song of Indifference.

Geldof is abandoned by his chauffer at a remote pub in the north of England. A lookalike competition is taking place which Geldof competes in order to win the cash prize and get to Scotland. Geldof has to compete with a Geldof lookalike singing a duet of I Don’t Like Mondays, which would be a splendid promo in its own right, and answer questions on Geldof. With a running time of around 19 minutes, this is a little gem that is well worth taking a look at.

Watch it http://www.comedybox.tv/index.aspx?filter=picks&clip=10249

Review from the Times

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article2689689.ece

Geldof in Poland

2007-09-01T20:00:00.000+01:00

Not a lot I can add other than there were two free concerts, an audience turned up and Geldof did as well.

1-Sep Warsaw
2-Sep Lubin

http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/15646

Irish singer and charity campaigner Bob Geldof performed with Polish rock musician Lech Janerka at a Music for Peace concert on Warsaw's Teatralny Square Sept. 1. Geldof always wrote rock music with lyrics that never stayed indifferent to reality, and so his involvement in the Warsaw concert is no coincidence. Like Geldof's, Janerka's music is rebellious and expressive. With the Klaus Mitffoch band, which he formed in 1979, Janerka recorded an album titled after the name of the group that was hailed as one of the most important in the history of Polish pop and rock. The lyrics dealt with the reality of communist Poland in the 1980s, and many of the songs criticized the regime of the time.

Sept. 1, 8 p.m.
1 Teatralny Sq., free admission.

I Predict A Riot

2007-08-20T20:00:00.000+01:00

Geldof off causing trouble in Libya. Rumours that the rioting started when he gave some of his solo material an airing are grossly exaggerated! Those Libyans have exemplary musical taste :-) . Word to the wise, stick to the Rats material in the future.

No one knows why Geldof was out there for an unannounced concert at a politcal rally for Gadaffi's son. Maybe it was political, maybe just financial. The band almost lost their equipment to boot. I suspect the next time Geldof is back in that part of the world it will be in the Irish pub in the middle of the fucking desert.

http://www.jeuneafrique.com/partenariat/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN26087couacizahgn0&part=50

... the young people suddenly awoke with the arrival of Bob Geldof, the celebrated rocker and anti-poverty campaigner. Before starting, Geldof suggested the soldiers leave. Things then started to get nasty! The crowd chanted ("Libya! Libya! "), the spectators rained projectiles onto the stage, forcing Geldof and his musicians to wrap things up quickly.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/hisham_matar/2007/09/no_hope_for_change.html

... when Sir Bob Geldof then took to the stage to play a rock concert, talking in the language Libyans had been kept from learning and which they needed most in interacting and trading with the outside world, the crowd protested. Sir Bob tried to calm them, but their contempt grew even stronger. For days after streets were cordoned off in Benghazi, where many young men had been stirred.

What remains difficult to understand, however, is what was Geldof doing there in the first place? Accepting an invitation to play after the dictator's son's speech suggests support of a regime that has oppressed the Libyan people for 38 years.

Sir Bob Geldof's appearance on stage brought all this back; reminded us of what had been taken from us and was now being returned, by the very regime that had imposed this narrow interpretation of who we were, without apology or even an explanation, and in the grotesque form of a pop concert.

Geldof second on bill in Florence

2007-07-22T19:00:00.000+01:00

Geldof did turn up. I was holidaying in nearby France, but we didn't meet!

The Italia Wave Love Festival, to be held in Florence from July 17-22, features first-rate Italian and international guests such as Bob Geldof.

ITALY WAVE, 22 July 2007 http://www.arezzowave.com/italiawave/programma22.php

MAIN STAGE

[00.15] Carmen Consoli
[22.05] Bob Geldof (Ireland)
[20.20] Naturally 7 (USA)
[19.25] Julie Feeney (Ireland)
[19.00] Waines (Sicily)

Rock Goes To College - BBC 4 - 7.30pm

2007-07-05T19:30:00.000+01:00

Forty minutes of a great performance. Shame I missed it :-( Don't suppose anyone out there has a recording? on DVD?

He Bangs The Drum

2007-06-28T15:12:00.000+01:00

Simon Crowe is back on the road with Jiggerypipery with two dates in Scotland this weekend.

"I think the Boomtown Rats was a pop band really. We invented our own style – we were out to be successful, but not in the sense of wanting to be celebrities – though that was possibly an ambition of Sir Bob's. But we got to go around the world a couple of times – and we sold a lot of records!"
Highland Times Article

There are even some MP3s available so you can listen to what Simon is up to these days Listen to Jiggerypipery

Geldof at the Hay Festival

2007-05-30T04:45:00.000+01:00

A busy day or two for Geldof. He'll need to rest up before heading off to the G8 summit in Germany.

An interview with Mariella Frostrup (Video)

Bob Geldof in Concert
Featuring:
House band, back from Colombia and Spain, play infectious, danceable Irish folk-rock. Frontman talks the talk. Sponsored By: The Granary
Price: £17.00

www.hayfestival.com

Set List?

1. The Great Song of Indifference
2. Love or Something
3. A Sex Thing
4. When The Night Comes
5. Walking Back To Happiness
6. Banana Republic
7. Harvest Moon
8. One for Me
9. Mudslide
10. I Don't Like Mondays
11. Birthday Suit
12. Attitude Chicken
13. Someone's Looking At You
14. Joey's on The Street Again
15. Rat Trap
16. Room 19
17. Chains
18. Beat of the Night
19. Diamond Smiles

Geldof back at the Irish pub in the middle of the fucking desert

2007-03-17T06:00:00.000Z

Precious little I can say about this, other than to report it happened and it was a free gig. Next stop Hay-on-Wye in May.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/weekend/2007/March/weekend_March71.xml§ion=weekend&col=

Bob Geldof is back at the Irish Village in Dubai a year after his last visit. The event is free and the crowd thickens, but there is enough standing room for all. Some laze on the lawn and enjoy the breeze and the timeless voice wafting though it.
“The same old shirt, the same old suit, the same old place and the same old song,” says Geldof to an uproarious crowd. “I never thought we’d celebrate St Patrick’s Day in Dubai with a sandstorm,” he quips. “But it’s a balmy night.”
He croons to a crowd that can’t seem to get enough of him — some old favourite numbers, one that he wrote during a trip to a remote Africa, that was never recorded, and a nice mix of loud and fast numbers and soft and sensuous ones.

Geldof at Hay Festival Colombia

2007-01-26T04:30:00.000Z

They thought it was all over (well I did!) , but Geldof decided to continue with his music career in South America.

At $12.000 Colombian pesos a ticket it sounds expensive (probably is in Colombia), but equates to about £3.00 or $5.40. You could even have blown a tenner and rattled your jewellery at Geldof. 20% of the audience were students on a freebie, handy if you can't shift tickets.

"STUDENTS GO FREE TO BOB GELDOF'S CONCERT.Registration is open now. Enough places available" - On the day!

As for the gig itself, there was a crowd of 10,000 (gasp!), and he performed for around two hours. Among the songs reportedly played were I Don’t Like Mondays, This is the World Calling, The Beat of the Night, and Room 19 (Sha la la lee).

The following day, dressed like the man from Panama, he was presented with a a guitar fashioned from a decommissioned guerrilla AK47 at the Teatro Heredia.

And no hurricanes to spoil the spectacle this time.

It's possible there may be a podcast coming soon on the Hay Festival Archive site..... (don't hold your breath though)

http://www.hayfestival.com/archive/contact.aspx

http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2005281,00.html

http://www.eluniversal.com.co/hay-festival/

http://www.eskpe.com/secc_eskpe/musica_eskpe/otrasnoticias/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR_ESKPE-3394755.html

http://www.gematours.com/hayfestival/en/
20:30H, PLAZA DE LA ADUANA
Bob Geldof in concert
The Hay Festival is pleased to present, for the first time in Colombia, Bob Geldof, organiser of the legendary concerts Live Aid and Live 8 and founder of the band Boomtown Rats. Geldof’s music fuses an Irish sound with classic rock and he is one of the great international music stars.
TICKET PRICE: $12.000 Colombian pesos
VIP ZONE PRICE: $ 40.000 Colombian pesos

Alternatively, hear him speak!

12:00- 13:00h, Teatro Heredia (Heredia Theatre)
Bob Geldof in conversation with Peter FlorenceAs well as being an exceptional musician, Bob Geldof was one of the main organisers of the Live Aid (1985) and Live 8 (2005) concerts which attracted world attention towards the growing problem of poverty in Africa. In July 2005 the Live 8 concerts drew crowds of 3 billion people spread across ten different cities. Largely due to international pressure exerted by the attendance success at the concerts, members of the G8 agreed to significantly increase economic aid to several African countries. The charismatic rock star will talk to Peter Florence, Director of the Hay Festival, about music, Ireland and with regards to Africa, about the G8 leaders, aid programmes and trade tariffs. Simultaneous translation into Spanish will be provided..

Bootlegs! (Courtesy of HappyFanClub)

2007-01-04T14:31:00.000Z

A list of bootlegs - I haven't got any of them. All MP3s gratefully accepted.

BBC in Concert 1978
52.40
01. Intro 02. Mary Of The Fourth Form 03. Me & Howard Hughes 04. I Never Loved Eva Braun 05. Don't Belive What You Read 06. Rat Trap 07. Kicks 08. Joey's On The Street Again 09. Living On An Island1 0. She's Gonna Do You In11. Like Clockwork1 2. She's So Modern13. Looking After Number One14. Do The Rat

Live in Germany 1978
41.53
1. Close As You'll Ever Be 2. Never Bite The Hand That Feeds3. Kicks4. She's So Modern5. Joey's On The Street Again6. Don't Belive What You Read7. She's Gonna Do You In8. Do The Rat9. It's All The Rage1 0. Mary Of The Fourth Form11. Looking After Number One

Middlesex Polytechnic 1978
52.33
1. Mary Of The 4th Form 2. Me And Howard Hughes3. I Never Loved Eva Braun4. Don't Believe What You Read5. Rat Trap6. Kicks7. Living In An Island8. She's Gonna Do You In9. Like Clockwork1 0. She's So Modern11. Do The Rat

Live at Rainbow 1978
49.32
1. Mary of the 4th Form 2. I Never Loved Eva Braun3. Close as You'll Ever Be4. Late Last Night5. Me and Howard Hughes6. Like Clockwork7. Joey's on the Street Again8. Rat Trap9. Don't Belive What You Read1 0. So Strange11. She's So Modern1 2/13. Looking After N°1 14. Blind Date

Live Rarities 1978/79/84
64.11
track list Live at the Musiklanden 1978 1. Never bite the hands that feed 2. Kicks3. She’s so modern4. Joey’s on the street again5. Don’t belive what you read6. She’s gonna do you in7. Do the rat8. It’s all the rage9. Mary of the 4th form1 0. Looking after n°1 Live in Los Angeles 1979 11. Having my picture taken1 2. Rat trap13. Keep it up14. “Promo Radio” Live for The Tube 1984 15. Drag me down16. Rat trap

Live 1979
49.32
Live in Frankfurt 1. I don't like mondays 2. Like clockwork3. Nothing happened today4. Nice' n' neat5. Having my picture taken6. Rat trap7. Kicks8. Someone's looking at you Live at Hammersmith (London) 9. Like Clockwork1 0. Charmed lives11. Up all night1 2. I don't like mondays13. Rat trap

Live at Boston Mass ( 2 CDs) 1980
43.32 + 44.36
CD 1 1 Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero) 2 Like Clockwork3 Nothing Happened Today4 I Never Loved Eva Braun5 Nice 'n' Neat6 Having My Picture Taken7 Joey's On the Street Again8 I Don't Like Mondays9 Someone's Looking At You
CD 2 1 Keep it Up (very beginning cut) 2 Rat Trap3 Kicks4 Mary of the 4th Form (incl Band intros)5 Blind Date6 She's So Modern7 Looking After Number 18 Sleep (Finger's Lullaby)

Live at NHK-Hall Tokyo 1980
61.18
1. Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero) 2. Like Clockwork3. Nothing Happened Today4. I Never Loved Eva Braun5. Nice 'n' Neat6. Joey's On the Street Again7. I Don't Like Mondays (end cut)8. Rat Trap9. Mary of the 4th Form1 0. Blind Date11. She's So Modern1 2. Looking After Number 1 13. Diamond Smiles

Live at BBC College Concert 1982
51.48
1. Like Clockwork 2. Charmed Lives3. Up All Night4. House On Fire5. Nothing Happened Today6. Never In A Million Years7. Sleep (Finger's Lullaby)8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Having My Picture Taken1 0. Rat Trap11. Keep It Up

Live at BBC's Radio One 1982
62.38
1. As Close As You'll Ever Be 2. Like Clockwork3. Charmed Lives4. House On Fire5. Nothing Happened Today6. I Don't Like Mondays7. Joey's On The Street Again8. Having My Picture Taken9. Rat Trap1 0. Someone's Looking At You11. Keep It Up Bonus track:1 2. Looking After No. 1 - (live for Ireland - 1986)

London 1982
46.58
1. Like Clockwork 2. Charmed Lives3. Up All Night4. House On Fire5. Wild Chill Factor Minus Zero6. Never In a Million Years7. Sleep (Fingers' Lullaby)8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Having My Picture Taken1 0. Rat Trap

Live at Tenax 1982 Italy
71.45
1. Never Bite the Hand That Feeds 2. Living in an Island3. Stir It Up (B. Marley)4. Charmed Lives5. Wind Chill Factor (minus zero)6. Sleep (Finger's Lullaby)7. I Don't Like Mondays8. Joe's on the Street Again9. Having My Picture Taken1 0. Rat Trap11. Keep It Up1 2. Banana Repuplic13. Under Their Thrumb14. Someone's Looking at You

BBC Rock Hour / Westwood One 1982/83
51.13
track list BBC Rock Hour - (198 2) 1. Like Clockwork 2. Charmed Lives3. Up All Night4. I Don't Like Mondays5. Rat Trap Westwood One (1983) 6. Nothing Happened Today7. Never In A Million Years8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Having My Picture Taken1 0. Rat Trap11. Keep It Up

Sight & Sound 1984
38.53
1. Like Clock Work 2. Charmed Lives3. Lucky4. Tonight5. Talking in Code6. Someone's Looking at You7. Dave8. Rat Trap

BBC In concert 1985
57.43
track list 1. Intro 2. Charmed Lives3. Lucky4. Neon Heart5. Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)6. Dave7. A Hold Of Me8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Talking In Code1 0. Hurt Hurts11. Rat Trap1 2. Drag Me Down13. Looking After Number One

Aid & More! 1985/86
53. 29
track list Boomtown Rats - Self Aid1. Someone's Looking at You 2. Joey's on the Street Again3. Looking After N°1 B. Geldof - Will Shriner Show4. You Can't Be Too Strong Boomtown Rats - Unre. traks5. Say Hi to Mick6. Precious Time7. Walking Downtown Boomtown Rats - Live Aid8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Drag Me Down1 0. Rat Trap Boomtown Rats -Live at Tenax11. Do They Know it's Xmas?

Live in Glastobury 1986
time 58.59
track list 1. Introduction 2. Charmed Lives3. Lucky4. Neon Heart5. Wind Chill Factor6. Dave7. A Hold of Me8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Talking in Code1 0. Hurt Hurts11. Rat Trap1 2. Drag Me Down13. Looking After N°1

On a Night Like This 1986
56.33
track list 1. Elephants Graveyard 2. Charmed Lives3. Lucky4. Neon Heart5. Someone's Looking at you6. Dave7. Hold of Me8. I Don't Like Mondays9. Talk in Code1 0. Rat Trap11. Drag me Down1 2. Looking After N° 1

Ireland & Dubliners 1986
time 71.39
track list 01. C’MOON EVERYBODY / U 2 0 2. PRIDE / U 2 03. SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY / U 2 04. MAGGGIE’S FARM / COLD TURKEY/ U 2 05. THANKS THE INFORMATION / VAN MORRISON 06. HERE COMES THE KNIGHT / VAN MORRISON 07. A TOWN CALLED PARADISE / VAN MORRISON 08. SOMEONES LOOKING AT YOU / BOOMTOWN RATS 09. JOEY’S ON THE STREET AGAIN / BOOMTOWN RATS1 0. LOOKING AFTER N° 1 / BOOMTOWN RATS11. LEAVE MY KITTEN ALONE / ELVIS COSTELLO1 2. COMPLICATED / ELVIS COSTELLO13. MANY RIVER TO CROSS / ELVIS COSTELLO14. I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY NOW / ELVIS COSTELLO 15. PUMP IT UP / GLORIA / ELVIS

Geldof Moves Out To The Country With Jools Holland

2006-11-20T17:00:00.000Z

Bob Geldof's first recordings since Sex, Age & Death

For The Good Times and The Pilgrim

Geldof has always been a great fan of Kris Kristofferson, who wrote these songs, and when he went to see Kris performing in London, Geldof was blown away when Kris dedicated "The Pilgrim" to him.

Moving Out to the Country

Colours are Brighter

2006-10-17T23:45:00.000+01:00

Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, The Kooks and Four Tet are amongst the artists contributing to a collection of children’s songs curated by Belle and Sebastian, to raise funds for children’s charity, Save the Children. ‘Colours are Brighter’ will be released on Rough Trade on October 16th, with all profits and artist royalties from the record being donated to the charity.

Arrivederci amore, ciao

2006-10-04T04:00:00.000+01:00

Geldof played in Milan. A bigger audience this time! And with no more concerts scheduled and no album in the offing, this could be the last Geldof concert.

The MTV webcast is a mix of songs and interviews conducted in English with the questions/responses translated into Italian by the interviewer as she conducts the interview. She sits between Geldof and BobVince Loveday whilst conducting the interview. The latter looks like Johnny Vegas' dad!

The performance is at its best when Geldof dips into the Rats back catalogue; there is a storming version of Joey's on the Street Again in Part Three of both the video and podcast. Sadly the audience remaimed seated, though they looked to be tapping their feet and enjoying the free show!

Enjoy!

Video Audio Podcast

Broadcast Songs
The Great Song of Indifference
Love or Something
----------------------------
A Sex Thing
Walking Back to Happiness
Banana Republic
----------------------------
The Beat of the Night
I Don't Like Mondays
Joey's On The Street Again
----------------------------
Rat Trap
Encore....
A Hole to Fill
Attitude Chicken

Given he can't take his solo career any further, I don't suppose he would be tempted to have a 30th anniversary reunion with the rest of the Rats in Dublin next year, would he? Nah!

Garrick the Plumber Turns Nasty!

2006-09-26T13:26:00.000+01:00

Garrick Roberts is making his way as a plumber out in the wilds of Herefordshire
Garrick the Plumber
Anyway, now Garrick has come out of hiding, he has wasted no time in putting the boot in with regard to Geldof.
Roberts said: 'During the 1980s, we signed an agreement saying songwriting royalties would be split – with 50 per cent going to the writer and 50 per cent going to the other band members. But when the band split up none of us, bar Geldof, heard anything. We weren't given any control over the songs and haven't received a penny,'
'... we appointed solicitors to ask Bob Geldof and the accountants dealing with the band where the royalties have gone. Every time one of our songs appears on a greatest hits album, money is generated – but I haven't seen any of it.'
'He [Geldof] was always much more of a self publicist than the rest of us. He's learned to use his fame. It's what he's about now.'
Unpaid Royalties
Bob the Self Publicist
Tell it as it is! Even if the Rats never get to court, a reunion at Maddison Square Gardens could set them up for life! I'm backing Garrick, he always looked the hardest.

The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on....

2006-09-22T06:00:00.000+01:00

...Geldof!

The concert was aborted after 30 minutes due to a hurricane. There was an near capacity audience thanks to the free tickets and the massive presence of college students.

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2006/09/22/solidaridad/1158941837.html

http://www.hayfestival.com/segovia/en-prog-21.asp

22:00, Plaza del Azoguejo Square (Aqueduct bridge)

Bob Geldof in concert

Celebrate the Hay Festival with a concert by the founder of The Boomtown Rats and Live Aid. Bob Geldof's music fuses an Irish folk sound with classic rock and he is one of the great live performers, to dance to, to listen to and to enjoy

Tom Robinson stands up for Geldof

2006-07-26T00:41:00.000+01:00

Fair play to Tom Robinson. He had little to gain from supporting Geldof in this way, but he has stated that The Boomtown Rats were a significant band in their late seventies heyday. "Why all this bitter schadenfreude when it comes to Bob and the boys ?" Indeed, what did Geldof do that was so wrong? Always got it in the neck.

Still bit of a cheek for Tom to lump himself in with the Rats and Squeeze, he wasn't that good! Though he wasn't bad to be fair (Up Against The Wall, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, War Baby and Glad To be Gay).

Bigmouth Strikes Again

I'm appalled by the torrent of ignorant, spiteful bile directed towards Bob Geldof and his music in response to yesterday's post - typified by HowSoonIsNow's comment: "As a musician he's a dead loss: mountain of attitude, molehill of talent."

Blimey. An Italian promoter made a major miscalculation as to venue size and ticket price - a not uncommon occurrence - and suddenly it seems to be open season on Geldof's musical career and personal integrity.

To begin with the music: you don't have to like Bob's songs to at least respect the fact that others - including me - have liked them a lot. Here is a man who wrote 13 top-30 hits between 1977 and 1990, including two number ones.

Any fool with modest talent, reasonable looks and towering ambition can knock out one or two hits if they are lucky and pushy enough. Look at James Blunt. Or me, come to that. As Lady Bracknell might have said, to have written half a dozen hits may be regarded as good fortune; to have written more than a dozen looks like talent - at least from where I'm sitting.

Certainly, artists and their music fall in and out fashion. But album tracks such as The Beat of the Night (Deep in the Heart of Nowhere) and The New Routine (Sex, Age and Death) make regular appearances on my iPod - and radio playlists - on sheer musical merit alone.

And, contrary to Scrittipolitti's posting, the Boomtown Rats didn't have a "heyday" in 1981, when they may or may not have been "reassuringly shite": they had a genuine, measurable, shout-it-from-the-rooftops heyday in 1977-8, when they clawed their way from obscurity to the NME front pages with a series of blinding gigs that blew away all competition night after night. The songs were great, the band were hot and Geldof was a rivetingly charismatic frontman.

If they lost the plot later on under the pressures of success, it was no more than happened to contemporaries such as TRB, Squeeze, the Hot Rods, Graham Parker and countless others. So why all this bitter schadenfreude when it comes to Bob and the boys ?The uncharitable sneer from Correspondent Bob's solo career was "a half-hearted exercise which never took off and was over 20 years ago" is simply incorrect: Bob's hilariously defiant Great Song of Indifference made number 15 in 1990 and was widely covered in dozens of languages by recording artists across the globe - for the simple reason that people everywhere liked the song - on its own merits - very much indeed.

As to his subsequent lack of musical output, Bob's personal life, in case you've forgotten, was devastated by loss, strife and tragedy during the 90s in the full intrusive glare of the world's media, gleefully detailing every fresh blow. He told me three years ago that at times of crisis there would be an average of 40 reporters camped outside his house. A scooter from the Daily Mirror and a van from the News of the World with blacked out windows tailed him everywhere he went. Even when he escaped the pressure at the weekends in Paris with close friends, there would still be journalists waiting for him on the Eurostar home.The astonishing thing is not that it took him until 2002 to write another album - the critically acclaimed Sex, Age and Death - but that he managed to make one at all under such conditions.

Whatever it is Bob Geldof wants, I'll bet you a quiet family life comes top of the list and getting his picture in the papers is pretty close to the bottom. The problem is that, whether he likes it or not, he has one of the most recognisable faces on the planet, which gives him almost unique access to the world's media - and most powerful political leaders - whether he chooses to use it or not. Many of us feel that world debt and global trade barriers are a humanitarian scandal and Aids is an unfolding global catastrophe. But not many of us can do much about it beyond charitable giving, letter writing and attending the occasional demonstration. Let's suppose for a moment that Bob actually would like a quiet, easy life - News of the World permitting. What would you do in his place, knowing that simply picking up the phone might save dozens or even hundreds of lives? Put up the shutters, mutter "I've done enough" and tell the world to go fuck itself? Or would you be big enough to accept the facts, the horrible responsibility that circumstance had thrust in your lap? Would you have the strength to put yourself in the firing line all over again, resigned to the fact that the media would think and write the worst about you whenever possible; and that whether you sought to alleviate a little of the world's unnecessary suffering or simply sit on your arse like everyone else, armchair critics would rip you to shreds?
"Just think, all that self promotion and no one wants to know. Perhaps he should put up a montage of suffering Africans to get the punters in," wrote Xuitlacoche on yesterday's blog. Well, comment is free, and you are entitled to your opinion. Mine is that, on balance, the world is a better place thanks to Geldof's efforts than if simply sat down, shut up and crawled into a corner, as you would seem to prefer.
Bob himself expressed all this far more eloquently, and at greater length, in his review of 1985 for the Guardian last December.
Bigmouth strikes again? More power to his larynx.

Knobbled!

2006-07-23T23:09:00.000+01:00

Of course, there had to be a rational reason why 45 people turned up in a 12,000 seater venue...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2282704,00.html

Francesco Iacovone, the impresario who organised the concerts, said that he suspected sabotage. “We have been boycotted,” he said, though it was not clear why or by whom. It was incomprehensible that “an artist whose internet site has 19,000 visitors” and who had “fans throughout the world” had failed to arouse interest in Italy.

Signor Iacovone said that some internet sites had falsely claimed that tickets for the concerts were sold out, and that he was “considering legal action”.

...now whatever happened to that gig at Shepherd's Bush that was postponed?

No one loves Geldof (ok, maybe 45 people do!)

2006-07-23T00:31:00.000+01:00

Bob Geldof has been forced to cancel two concerts in Italy because of lack of public interest, after only 45 people turned up to see him perform in Milan, Italy's La Stampa newspaper reported on Saturday.

News24

Excuse the google translation, but

“On my passport he is written that I am musician."

i) They don't have occupation on a passport
ii) A musician!

La Stampa

Fort Manoel on Manoel Island, Malta

2006-06-29T09:00:00.000+01:00

Geldof played a late night/early morning gig in Malta.

Set list included I Don't Like Mondays, The Great Song Of Indifference, Harvest Moon, Banana Republic, Mary Of The Fourth Form, Rat Trap, Mudslide, My Birthday Suit & Scream In Vain.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/article.php?id=229082

Down By The Jetty

2006-06-26T23:54:00.000+01:00

Back in 1975, Canvey Island's finest released the album that would inspire a generation. Not only was it a major influence on The Boomtown Rats eponymous album, but also The Jam and other members of the class of 1976. What the Ramones did for stateside punk/new wave, The Feelgoods were doing this side of the pond. With its stark black and white cover, and recorded exclusively in mono, it was not of its time. So pay homage to Lee Brilleaux, Wilko Johnson, John 'Big Figure' Martin and John B. 'Sparko' Sparks!

Dr. Feelgood were absolutely central to the Boomtown Rats. When I heard Down by the Jetty, it just fcuking blew me away. The Feelgoods were in it for me. Our early live set used to be their entire first album. When I heard the line 'Stand and watch the towers burning at the break of day', which was about the Canvey Island burn-offs, I realised that it wasn't enough for music to sound good. It had to mean something, to reflect where you came from. - Bob Geldof

[From the sleevenotes - Down By The Jetty COLLECTORSEDITION]

You can listen to excerpts here http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=519143

I also recommend a visit to http://www.drfeelgood.de/albums.htm

Links to Rat Sites

2006-06-12T23:30:00.000+01:00

As Bob Geldof can no longer take the views of his fans and has disassociated himself from the forum, I thought I'd better provide a link from here...

Boomtown Rats & Bob Geldof Forum

Other good Boomtown Rats sites

UK

USA

Japan - Banana Republic

A small crowd at the back of an Irish pub in the middle of the fucking desert

2006-04-16T06:30:00.000+01:00

Geldof finds his level ;-)

Bob Geldof was in Dubai to speak at an DIHAD, an international development conference. He also found time to perform at The Irish Village, which is Ireland' own little corner of Dubai and sports a few Irish pubs and a large garden area. It's a pretty good venue with a capicity, by my estimate, of less than a 1,000 and decent acoustics given its outdoors. Geldof didn't quite see it that way, bemoaning the fact that his career had come to performing to 'a small crowd at the back of an Irish pub in the middle of the fucking desert'.

http://zalam.typepad.com/omar_salem/international_development/

Geldof gets IRMA award

2006-04-01T07:00:00.000+01:00

Bob Geldof is the third recipient of the IRMA Honours award.

The award, which is organised by the Irish Recorded Music Industry recognises the outstanding talent and contribution of an artist or individual to Irish music.

Previous award winners are Christy Moore and Larry Gogan.

"The last time I came back I was given the freedom of my home town and now the people that I grew up with are here tonight so I'll really be getting the prize from them. There is nowhere else on the planet I'd rather be and no other people that I'd want to be with than those here
"Thanks to the IRMA and the Rats who were a great band. It's great to be Irish and come back and see Ireland suddenly change for the better.
"Irish people used not to be taken seriously. Now we are, in terms of music, as Ireland has become a brilliant place for music.
"The music ones (awards) are the ones that count for me because that's what I think I do. I've got a lifetime achievement in Britain and America and Europe but I've never seen the people who I grew up with or who helped the Rats get started ever be part of one of these things.
"So the people who owned the record store in Dun Laoghaire ... people who helped us at the beginning get gigs, they are all here plus the bands that followed the Rats, like The Radiators, The Pogues, I suppose U2, The Thrills. To have a whole generation who helped make that change in music means more to me than being in London in a posh hotel with people who would be considered major, major stars
"Of course I understand that the Boomtown Rats unto themselves wouldn't get it, that the Boomtown Rats plus my solo thing wouldn't get it - I know that but don't forget that Live 8, Live Aid and Band Aid came out of music.
"I know how to do gigs and TV out of music, so if I hadn't been in this little band from Dun Laoghaire,that cranked up one summer afternoon 30 years ago none of this would have happened."

http://www.irma.ie

Freedom of Dublin for Geldof

2006-03-05T21:00:00.000Z

Bob Geldof was awarded with the Freedom of the City of Dublin. He was presented with a scroll and crystal globe during the ceremony outside the Mansion House.

"It's raining and it's cold but it's a beautiful day and I can't think of a more beautiful day or more beautiful city to hold this in than Dublin.

"If London made me, then Dublin formed me. To be a freeman of one of the most free cities on the planet is indeed something. When I say it is a free city, the atmosphere here, the ability to say and do what you want, is freer her than in most cities around the world.

I have lived all my life in this town, which in reality during my childhood was a little brown, little pinched, little parochial town on the edge of Europe. You now have this expansive city, one that sort of marries the generosities of a nation.

"And it didn't seem to connect at all with the world that I was hearing coming in on the radio and imagining coming in on my head. In 1975, myself and a group of friends got together to make a band that would articulate the possibility of a different Ireland.

"I am equally proud the first ever [Irish] rock 'n' roll number one, indeed the first in a new wave, was from an Irish band called the Boomtown Rats, and it was wrote about this city and it was called Rat Trap."

Geldof is Hero Of The Year!

2006-02-24T06:00:00.000Z

Unbelievable!

http://www.nme.com/news/bob-geldof/22329

ShockWaves NME Awards 2006 pay tribute to the Live8 man

Bob Geldof has been named the Hero Of The Year at the ShockWaves NME Awards 2006.Readers of NME and NME.COM voted for the singer ahead of Carl Barat, Pete Doherty, Liam Gallagher and Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner in the category.

Last year saw Geldof make a huge stand against global poverty with the staging of the Live 8 concerts across the world which were attended and watched by 3.8 billion people and featured performances from Paul McCartney, U2, The Killers, Coldplay, REM, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Destiny's Child, Razorlight, Kaiser Chiefs Madonna and the reformed Pink Floyd.

Following the concerts, the subsequent G8 summit promised to give $50 billion more aid per year by 2010, AIDS drugs to all those who need them, care for all AIDS orphans and debt cancellation for 18 countries.

And as if that wasn't enough!

http://www.nme.com/awards/news/22301

Live8 wins Best DVD prize

Bob Geldof collects the gong at the ShockWaves NME Awards 2006

Bob Geldof has accepted the Best DVD award for Live8 - and was introduced by his old pal Bono. The U2 singer presented Geldof with the award via a video link-up, where he said that he was glad Geldof hadn't told him to "fuck off" when the idea to re-create Live Aid was touted last year.

Live8 - which was held last July in London Hyde Park and other cities across the world, saw stars including Madonna, Pink Floyd, Razorlight and The Killers unite to call for debt relief.

The subsequent DVD set compiles 120 performances, adding unseen backstage footage, messages and documentaries.Other nominees in this category included 'Dig!', Green Day: Bullet In A Bible', 'Kaiser Chiefs: Enjoyment' and Morrissey: Who Put The M In Manchester?'.

Vote Geldof for the NME Hero of the year

2006-01-27T10:36:00.000Z

www.nme.com/awards

You have to register (as many times as possible), but this is an attempt to mobilise the masses and get Geldof a Brat to go with his Brit! Of course, there will be the added pleasure of wiping the smile of the smug NME jounalists.

The other contenders...

Carl Barat
Pete Doherty
Liam Gallagher
Alex Turner

PS You can also vote for Live 8 as best event/DVD, and if you ain't too familiar with modern music, just vote for Franz Ferdinand in all the relevant categories.

I Don't Like Mondays - Channel 4

2006-01-24T07:05:00.000Z

The story behind the song..... (repeated on More 4 Wednesday 25th Jan 10.00pm)

On the morning of Monday 29th January 1979, 16-year-old schoolgirl Brenda Spencer took the .22 calibre gun her father had given her as a Christmas present and aimed it at the school playground directly opposite her family home. She killed two men and injured eight children. All she would say at the time was "I don't like Mondays, it livens up the day." The incident inspired the Boomtown Rats' number one hit song. It was the first school shooting of its kind, a phenomenon that would spread across America and culminate in the infamous Columbine tragedy. This film examines allegations surrounding a seemingly ordinary suburban family behind the eerie detachment of Brenda Spencer's original statement. I Don't Like Mondays secured unique access to Brenda's prison parole hearing in September last year and includes exclusive and revealing interviews with members of Brenda's family as well as her victims. The film traces the bizarre events of that day and asks how and why it happened.

The program started and ended with the song. At the end, the Police chief condemned the song as idiotic, and the NBC reporter had similar comments. Most incredibly, one of the girls shot refered to the fact that she heard the song every Monday at about 2pm, when she started work and enjoyed it!

Most interesting was the interview of her father, Wallace, in the last part. He still lives in the same house that faces the school and the time of the interview was when the kids were leaving school. He was in total denial of his part in the incident (interestingly enough, he married his daughter's cell mate), and didn't believe the way he raised his daughter had anything to do with it. His ex-wife believed he was the one who should have been in jail.

Brenda Spencer was tried as an adult rather than a minor. She pleaded guilty to killing two people, and did not face a jury. This may have spared her the death penalty, Obviously, many of those who were shot or who lost a family member all wanted her dead and believed she would do it again if released. This was not a view shared by those detached from the incident.

Ultimately she is a fairly stupid girl/woman whose ambitions were to find any excuse to get out of jail and work on a fork lift truck. A lot of her parole hearing related the shooting to the abuse she suffered at the hands of the father, though that seems to be de rigueur for elicting sympathy these days.

The Spencers were as a family made disfunctional by a father who wanted to have affairs yet be able to return to his wife and thought nothing of the consequences of giving a 16 year old girl a rifle for Christmas.

I don't believe she would reoffend if released. In the context of the light sentences handed out to the happy slapper murderers in this country yesterday http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view.php?ArtID=1964, she seems to have had a bad deal. I guess it all depends on whether you believe prison is to rehabilitate or punish. Her notiriety, the first school spree killer, has ensured she is still behind bars.

Having watched the programme, I do feel that Mondays, unlike Bowling for Columbine which condemned the lax US gun laws, came across as a nasty opportunistic song. People were affected by this incident, and hearing the song must bring back a lot of bad memories.

I never felt the song was apt for either Live Aid or Live 8. It's never been one of my favourite songs, but watching this, made it seem even lesser. Maybe it's time to retire it.

Rats on BBC Radio 6

2006-01-24T06:00:00.000Z

The Boomtown Rats 1978 Peel session was broadcast tonight in its entirety! Starting with Like Clockwork at approximately 10.15pm and followed by Me & Howard Hughes at 11.10pm. Then just after midnight, came (Watch Out For) The Normal People and Living In An Island.

You can catch it for up to seven days at http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/dream_ticket/

Don't miss it!

Bootlegs

2006-01-07T14:45:00.000Z

A list of bootlegs - I done have any, all MP3s gratefully accepted.

Eric's Bootlist: Boomtown Rats / Bob Geldof.
Email: groenewo@tiscali.nl
URL: http://eric.wolweb.nl/boots/boots.htm
Last updated: 1 Aug 2003

the Boomtown Rats
Date #disks Artw Qual Show
-----------------------------------------------
1977? F Yes A Studio, BBC Evening session (3 songs, filler on request)
??/09/1978 1 Yes A Live Middlesex Polytechnic - Don't Believe What You Hear bootleg
??/09/1978 1 No A- Live Middlesex Polytechnic (same show as Don't Believe.. + 1 track)
05/01/1980 1 No A Live at NHK-Hall Tokyo, Japan
17/03/1980 2 No A Orpheum Th., Boston Mass)
23/03/1980 1 No B Chicago
1980 1 No A- Germany 1980
25/05/1980 1 No A- King Biscuit Flower Hour
17/03/1981 1 Yes B Seattle, Washington
25/07/1981? 1 No A- Parkpop, Den Haag?
17/04/1982 1 No B Newcastle Exhibition Park - England
25/04/1982 1 Yes A London Great Brittain
03/10/1982 1 No A B.B.C College Concert
1982 1 No A- Radio One, Frankfurt
25/05/1982 1 No A BBC Rock Hour
1983 1 No A Westwood One
1984 1 No A- On A Night Like This (from video)
11/02/1984 1 No A- BBC Sight & Sound
21/06/1985 1 No A- Glastonbury Festival

Bob Geldof
Date #disks Artw Qual Show
-----------------------------------------------
??/??/1986 1 Yes B+ Milan 1986
??/10/1990 2 Yes A Hamburg 1990
05/12/1992 1 Yes A- Oldenburg
05/12/1992 1 No A Oldenburg
30/08/1992 1 No B+ Greenbelt Festival
1993 1 No B Phoenix Club Toronto
mixed 1994 1 No B+/A- Live in Italy
20/06/1998 1 No B Wetzikon Switzerland
16/03/1999 2 No B+ Teatro Tendo Florence
08/07/2001 1 No B+/A- Rock Circus San Vittore Switzerland
08/02/2002 1 No B Trento, Italy
28/03/2002 1 Yes A Villa Berg Stuttgart

The Boomtown Rats - BBC Evening Session (1977)
01 Mary Of The 4th Form
02 Looking After Number One
03 Joey's On The Street Again
Studio recordings, date unknown

The Boomtown Rats - Live Middlesex Polytechnic (Sep 1978)
01 Mary Of The 4th Form
02 Me And Howard Hughes
03 I Never Loved Eva Braun
04 Don't Believe What You Read
05 Rat Trap
06 Kicks
07 Joey's On The Street Again
08 Living In An Island
09 She's Gonna Do You In
10 Like Clockwork
11 She's So Modern
12 Looking After Number One
13 Do The Rat
Length: 00:52:25
All tracks live at Middlesex Polytechnic, North London.
Source: FM>DAT>ANA>HD>CD Great quality (A-)!
Also available as "Don't Believe What You Hear" bootleg, lacking track 13
Length: 00:49:45; Soundboard;Quality: A+

The Boomtown Rats - Live at NHK-Hall (1980/05/01)
! Track 7 cut
01 Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)
02 Like Clockwork
03 Nothing Happened Today
04 I Never Loved Eva Braun
05 Nice 'n' Neat
06 Joey's On the Street Again
07 I Don't Like Mondays (end cut, tape flip)
08 Rat Trap
09 Mary of the 4th Form
10 Blind Date
11 She's So Modern
12 Looking After Number 1
13 Diamond Smiles
Source: MC(gen 1)>HD>CD
Quality: A

The Boomtown Rats - Orpheum Th., Boston Mass (17-03-1980) (2 CDR)
! A radio-reporter is talking in between some songs
CD 1
01 Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)
02 Like Clockwork
03 Nothing Happened Today
04 I Never Loved Eva Braun
05 Nice 'n' Neat
06 Having My Picture Taken
07 Joey's On the Street Again
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 Someone's Looking At You (very end cut)
CD 2
01 Keep it Up (very beginning cut)
02 Rat Trap
03 Kicks
04 Mary of the 4th Form (incl Band intros)
05 Blind Date
06 She's So Modern
07 Looking After Number 1
08 Sleep (Finger's Lullaby)
Source: MC(gen 1)>HD>CD
Quality: A

The Boomtown Rats - Chicago (23/03/1980)
01 Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero) [missing start of song]
02 Like Clockwork [flaw]
03 Nothing Happened Today
04 I Never Loved Eva Braun
05 Nice 'n' Neat
06 Having My Picture Taken
07 Joey's On the Street Again
08 I Don't Like Mondays
Quality: B
Length: 38:34

The Boomtown Rats - King Biscuit Flower Hour (25/05/1980)
01 I Don't Like Mondays
02 Like Clockwork
03 Nothing Happened Today
04 Nice 'n' Neat
05 Having My Picture Taken
06 Rat Trap
07 Kicks
08 Someone's Looking At You
Tracks 1 - 8: King Biscuit Flower Hour (25 May 1980)
Source: LP>HD>CD (I own the LP)

The Boomtown Rats - Germany 1980
01 I Don't Like Mondays (some hiss)
02 Like Clockwork
03 Nothing Happende Today
04 Nice 'n' Neat
05 Having My Picture Taken
06 Kicks
07 Someone's Looking At You
Quality: A-
Length: 29:42

The Boomtown Rats - Seattle Washington (17/03/1981)
01 I Never Loved Eva Braun [some dropouts]
02 Me And Howard Hughes
03 This Is My Room
04 Up All Night
05 Elephant's Graveyard
06 Nothing Happened Today
07 Having My Picture Taken
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 Someone's Looking At You
10 Keep It Up
11 Rat Trap
Quality: B (track 1: some dropouts)
Source: FM

The Boomtown Rats - Parkpop, Den Haag (25/07/1981)
01 Like Clockwork
02 She's So Modern
03 House On Fire
04 Never In A Million Years
05 Having My Picture Taken
06 Rat Trap
Tracks 1 - 06: Parkpop, Den Haag (25 Jul 1981) (Dutch show, venue and source not sure)
Source: FM>MC>HD>CD (I own the MC)
Quality: A+

The Boomtown Rats - Newcastle Exhibition Park; England (17/04/1982)
01 Close As You'll Ever Be
02 Like Clockwork
03 Charmed Lives
04 House On Fire
05 Nothing Happened Today
06 I Don't Like Mondays
07 Joey's On The Street Again
08 Having My Picture Taken
09 Rat Trap
10 Someone's Looking At You
11 Keep It Up
12 Looking After Number 1
Source: MC(gen 1)>HD>CD
Quality: A-

I also have a second source of this show, having first 11 tracks;
Quality: B, Lenght: 56:53

The Boomtown Rats - London Great Brittain (25/04/1982)
01 Like Clockwork
02 Charmed Lives
03 Up All Night
04 House On Fire
05 Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)
06 Never In A Million Years
07 Sleep (Finger's Lullaby)
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 Having My Picture Taken
10 Rat Trap

The Boomtown Rats - BBC Rock Hour (25/05/1982)
01 Like Clockwork
02 Charmed Lives
03 Up All Night
04 I Don't Like Mondays
05 Rat Trap
Tracks 1 - 5: BBC Rock Hour (25 May 1982)
Source: LP>HD>CD (I own the LP)

The Boomtown Rats - B.B.C College Concert (03/10/1982) (CDR)
01 Like Clockwork
02 Charmed Lives
03 Up All Night
04 House On Fire
05 Nothing Happened Today
06 Never In A Million Years
07 Sleep (Finger's Lullaby)
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 Having My Picture Taken
10 Rat Trap
11 Keep It Up
LP>HD>CD (I own the LP)
Quality: A+
Length: 51:42

The Boomtown Rats - Westwood One (1983)
01 Nothing Happened Today
02 Never In A Million Years
03 I Don't Like Mondays
04 Having My Picture Taken
05 Rat Trap
06 Keep It Up
Tracks 1 - 12: Westwood One (1983)
Source: LP>HD>CD (I own the LP)
Quality: A+

The Boomtown Rats - On A Night Like This (1984)
01 Elephant's Graveyard
02 Charmed Lives
03 Lucky
04 Neon Heart
05 Someone's Looking At You
06 Dave (Rain)
07 Hold Of Me
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 Talk In Code
10 Rat Trap
11 Drag Me Down
12 Looking After Number 1
Quality: A- Very small disturbances inbetween songs: probably a TAO recording corrected to DAO

The Boomtown Rats - BBC Sight & Sound (11-02-1984)
! some minor disturbances in track 1 and 2
! dropout in track 6
01 Like Clockwork
02 Charmed Lives
03 Lucky
04 Tonight
05 Talking In Code
06 Someone's Looking At You
07 Dave
08 Rat Trap
source: FM
Quality: A-
Length: 38:53

The Boomtown Rats - Glastonbury Festival (21/06/1985)
01 Charmed Lives
02 Neon Heart
03 Wind Chill Factor
04 Dave
05 I Don't Like Mondays
06 Talking In Code
07 Hurt Hurts
08 Rat Trap
09 Drag Me Down
10 Looking After Number 1
Source: FM>ANA>CDR
Quality: A

Bob Geldof - Milan (1986)
01 Redemption Song (B.Marley)
02 In The Pouring Rain
03 Me And Howard Hughes
04 This Heartless Heart
05 Good Boys In The Wrong
06 The Beat Of The Night
07 Intermezzo
08 Hurt Hurts
09 Love Like A Rocket
10-11 This Is The World Calling
12 When I Was Young
13 Joey's On The Street Again
14 audience
15 Diamond Smiles
Lenght: 73:58
Quality: B+
Source: audience

Bob Geldof - Hamburg (Oct 1990)
CD 1
01 The Great Song Of Indifference
02 The Chains Of Pain
03 A Gospel Song
04 A Rose At Night
05 Love Or Something
06 Moving Slow
07 The Heat Of The Night
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 Walking Back To Happiness
10 Looking After Number 1
11 Let It Go
12 Rat Trap
13 Big Romantic Stuff
CD 2 encores
01 The Great Song Of Indifference - reprise
02 Love Like A Rocket
03 Hole To Fill
All tracks live at Hamburg, oct 1990.
Quality: sndb
Note: I also have another copy of this show, only having the first 13 tracks.

Bob Geldof - Oldenburg 1 (05/12/1992) (CDR)
I have two different copies of this show
! track 10 cut at the end
01 Too Late God
02 A Hole To Fill
03 A Gospel Song
04 Love Or Something
05 I Don't Like Mondays
06 Room 19
07 The Happy Club
08 The Great Song Of Indifference
09 Roads Of Germany
10 Walking Back To Happiness [cut]
11 The Great Song Of Indifference (reprise)
12 Love Like A Rocket
13 A Hole To Fill
Quality: A-

Bob Geldof - Oldenburg 2 (05/12/1992)
01 backstage interview
02 The Great Song Of Indifference
03 Too Late God
04 A Hole To Fill
05 A Gospel Song
06 Love Or Something
07 I Don't Like Mondays
08 Room 19
09 Walking Back To Happiness
10 Let It Go [cut at beginning]
11 The Happy Club
12 The Great Song Of Indifference
13 Roads Of Germany
Length: 62:45
Quality: A

Bob Geldof - Greenbelt Festival (30/08/1992)
01 The great song of indifference
02 Too late God
03 The chains of pain
04 A Gospel Song
05 Love Or Something
06 The Beat Of The Night
07 I Don't Like Mondays
08 Room 19
09 Let It Go
10 The End Of The World
11 Rat Trap
12 Big Romantic Stuff / The Great Song Of Indifference ( reprise )
All tracks live at the Greenbelt Festival;30 Aug 1992
Quality: audience, B+

Bob Geldof - Phoenix Club Toronto 1993
01 The Great Song Of Indifference
02 Too Late God
03 The chains of pain
04 A Gospel Song
05 Love Or Something
06 The Beat Of The Night
07 I Don't Like Mondays
08 Walking Back To Happiness
09 Rat Trap
Source: audience
Quality: B
Total: 48:34

Bob Geldof - Live in Italy 1994
01 The Great Song Of Indifference 5:36
02 Crazy 4:32
03 I Don't Like Mondays 5:12
04 Bob Interview 2:23
05 Crazy 5:06
06 Love Or Something 3:49
07 The Beat Of The Night 5:59
08 I Don't Like Mondays 5:01
09 Crazy (acoustic version) 3:59
10 I Don't Like Mondays 4:33
11 The Great Song Of Indifference 3:57
12 Crazy (acoustic version) 5:50
13 Too Late God 4:07
14 I Don't Like Mondays 2:55
Length: 63:01
Tracks 1 - 3 Rome; 1 May 1994
Tracks 4 - 8 Gimmi's; Milan; 2 May 1994
Tracks 9 - 11 Roxy Bar; Bologna(?) May 1994
Track 12 M Costanzo Show; Rome May 1994
Tracks 13 - 14 Recanati; May 1994
Quality B+/A-, mostly fm

Bob Geldof - Wetzikon Switzerland (20/06/1998)
! start missing
01 The Great Song Of Indifference
02 Too Late God
03 The Chains Of Pain
04 Inside Your Head (version 1
05 A Gospel Song
06 Love Or Something
07 The Beat Of The Night
08 My Hippy Angel
09 I Don't Like Mondays
10 Banana Republic
11 Room 19
Source: audience
Quality: B
Total: 52:40

Bob Geldof - Teatro Tendo Florence (16/03/1999)
CD 1
01 The Great Song Of Indifference
02 Too Late God
03 The Chains Of Pain
04 A Gospel Song
05 A Sex Thing
06 Love Or Something
07 The Beat Of The Night
08 My Hippy Angel
09 I Don't Like Mondays
CD 2
01 Banana Republic
02 Room 19
03 Attitude Chicken
04 The End Of The World
05 Rat Trap
06 Inside Your Head (version 2)
07 Huge Birdless Silence
08 A Hole To Fill
Length: 45:45 + 39:08
Source: audience
Quality: B+

Bob Geldof - Rock Circus , San Vittore Switzerland (08-07-2001)
01 The Great Song Of Indifference
02 Too Late God
03 The Chains Of Pain
04 A Gospel Song
05 A Sex Thing
06 One For Me
07 Inside Your Head
08 Mudslide
09 I Don't Like Mondays
10 My Birthday Suit
11 Room 19
12 Attitude Chicken
13 A Hole To Fill
14 The End Of The World
15 Rat trap
16 Pale White Girls
17 Huge Birdless Silence
18 The Great Song Of Indifference
Length: 78:04
All tracks live at Rock Circus, San Vittore;Switzerland;8 July 2001
audience recording
Quality B+/A-

Bob Geldof - Trento (08/02/2002)
! fade in start
01 Too Late God
02 The Chains Of Pain
03 A Gospel Song
04 A Sex Thing
05 Walking Back To Happiness
06 One For Me
07 Mudslide
08 I Don't Like Mondays
09 My Birhtday Suit
10 Room 19
11 Attitude Chicken
12 Inside Your Head
Source: audience
Quality: B
Total: 55:08

Bob Geldof - Villa Berg Stuttgart (28/03/2002)
01 radio intro
02 The Great Song Of Indifference
03 A Gospel Song
04 A Sex Thing
05 Walking Back To Happiness
06 introducing new songs
07 One For Me
08 Mudslide
09 I Don't Like Mondays
10 radio outro
Quality A

Geldof Live - London - POSTPONED

2005-12-13T04:00:00.000Z

This show has been postponed.

Bob Geldog (sic)

2005-12-04T14:01:00.000Z

http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16444375&method=full&site id=64736&headline=bobby-geldog--name_page.html

BOB GELDOG
Boomtown Rat trains pups
By Raymond Hainey

GERRY COTT found fame as a guitarist with Bob Geldof's punk band Boomtown Rats - now he's teamed up with another Bobby in a bid for big-screen success.

Gerry added: "I shared a twin room with Bobby in a hotel near the castle so we only had to walk a few hundred yards to work.
"It was a dream job - if I live to be 90, I'll look back on it as a very special period.'

Is That It?

2005-11-18T13:14:00.000Z

Perhaps the only book that tells the story of the Boomtown Rats, from their beginnings through to post In The Long Grass. The first edition of this book ends post-Live Aid. Available again in paperback.

Paperback 448 pages
Publisher: Pan
Language: English
ISBN: 0330442929

Great Songs of Indifference - Geldof Solo Anthology 1986 - 2001

2005-11-14T17:00:00.001Z

Great Songs of Indifference - The Anthology 1986 - 2001 Mercury/Universal 983 376-8

The more or less complete solo recordings of Bob Geldof to date. There are a handful of tracks that are only available on the singles (see Solo Discography) , the most notable omission being Crazy, but this covers the four albums with a smattering of b-sides, previously unreleased tracks, and a version of Sunny Afternoon that only previously appeared on the Ruby Trax compilation. For reference, I have included the original UK/US catalogue number.

As for the albums themselves, maybe I should dig them all out and have a proper listen to them before passing opinion, but it is generally acknowledged that Sex, Age & Death is the most critically acclaimed, and Vegetarians of Love the most commercially successful reaching number 21 in the UK album charts in August 1990 (none of the others charted in the UK).

Deep in the Heart of Nowhere (November 1986) MERCURY 830 607-2/ATLANTIC 7567-81687-1

This Is The World Calling
In The Pouring Rain
August Was A Heavy Month
Love Like A Rocket
I Cry Too
When I Was Young
This Heartless Heart
The Beat Of The Night
Truly True Blue CD only
Pulled Apart By Horses CD only
Words From Heaven
Good Boys In The Wrong CD only
Night Turns To Day
Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere
Dig A Ditch previously unreleased
Friends For Life Love or Something b-side
Life Is The Hardest Thing previously unreleased
August Was A Heavy Month - Instrumental previously unreleased

NOTE : On it's original release as an LP and a CD, there were three tracks that only appeared on CD.

The Vegetarians of Love (August 13, 1990) MERCURY 846 250-2/ATLANTIC 7 82041-2

Gospel Song
Love Or Something
The Great Song Of Indifference
Thinking Voyager 2 Type Things
Big Romantic Stuff
Crucified Me
Chains Of Pain
Rose At Night
No Small Wonder
Walking Back To Happiness
Let It Go
End Of The World
Out Of Order Love or Something b-side
Hotel 75 The Great Song Of Indifference b-side
One Of The Girls Love or Something b-side
The Original Miss Jesus from US Sex, Age & Death KOK-CD-8415
Vegetarians Of Love A Gospel Song b-side
Sunny Afternoon from Ruby Trax - The NME'S Roaring Forty (November 1992) NME40CD/NME40MC
La Chanson De L'indifference from MERCURY 1385

The Happy Club (April 20, 1993) Vertigo 512 896-1/Polydor 314 519 132-2

Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee)
Attitude Chicken
The Soft Soil
A Hole To Fill
Song Of The Emergent Nationalist
My Hippy Angel
The Happy Club
Down On Me
Too Late God
Roads Of Germany (After BD)
Sex Thing
House At The Top Of The World
Shine On previously unreleased
Huge Birdless Silence Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee) b-side
Maybe Heaven My Hippy Angel b-side

NOTE :Yeah, Definitely which is not here, appeared on the US release (and as a one track promo single). A Hole To Fill on the US release is an alternative version with different lyrics. The US release has a very different running order.

Sex, Age & Death (May 1, 2002) EAGLE EAGCD187/KOCH KOK-CD-8415

One For Me
$6,000,000 Loser
Pale White Girls
New Routine
Mudslide
Mind In Pocket
My Birthday Suit
Scream In Vain
Inside Your Head
10.15
Summer Day (London '95) previously unreleased
Sighs And Whispers previously unreleased
Voodoo Child previously unreleased
Two Dogs previously unreleased
Harvest Moon previously unreleased
Summer Night (London '95) previously unreleased
Pale White Girls (French Mix) previously unreleased
Cool Blue Easy from US Sex, Age & Death KOK-CD-8415
Pity The Poor Drifters previously unreleased

NOTE : Cool Blue Easy and The Original Miss Jesus both appeared on the Koch US release.

This demo also accompanied the release. This is a UK 10-track promotional only CD on Mercury Records packaged in custom card sleeve.

s.a.d too (Cat#GSOI 1)

Summer Day (London '95) previously unreleased
Sighs And Whispers previously unreleased
Voodoo Child previously unreleased
Two Dogs previously unreleased
Harvest Moon previously unreleased
Summer Night (London '95) previously unreleased
Pale White Girls (French Mix) previously unreleased
Cool Blue Easy from US Sex, Age & Death KOK-CD-8415
The Original Miss Jesus from US Sex, Age & Death KOK-CD-8415
Pity The Poor Drifters previously unreleased

Crowded World

2005-09-06T15:28:00.000+01:00

I know very little of this, but Mataya Clifford recorded this with Geldof and it was released on Black Magic Records

Artist: Mataya Clifford
Release date: 06/09/2005
Genre: Reggae
Label: Black Magic Records

Gerry Cott Speaks Out!

2005-08-03T14:00:00.000+01:00

http://www.ias.org.uk/resources/publications/alcoholalert/alert200501/al200501_p12.html

Gerry Cott was a founder member, with Bob Geldof, of the Boomtown Rats. He gave up the life of a pop star and almost accidentally fell into a career as an animal behaviourist and animal filming consultant. His clients including 20th Century Fox, Disney, BBC, ITV, CH4 and many international advertising brands. He lives with his wife, Cathy, and their children in a Surrey village.
A comfortable, pleasant life you might think but the idyll was shattered by the noise coming from the local pub which is right next to the Cotts house. It is easy to think of the problem of alcohol-related nuisance being an urban phenomenon and it may be that the majority of trouble is experienced in inner cities but increasingly the by-products of the binge drinking culture are being felt in the countryside.
Gerry Cott was led into the field of alcohol policy by the particular difficulties he was facing in his home. In the process he was led to conclusions about the problems posed by the industry to society in general.
“Tony Blair says binge drinking is the new British Disease”. “Wrong Tony”, says Cott! “Government sponsored corporate greed from Big Alcohol is the new British Disease – Binge drinking is just a symptom of that disease. Think again Tony, before you destroy the country!”

Rats sue Geldof

2005-06-14T17:00:00.000+01:00

Bob Geldof is to face a legal challenge from four former members of the Boomtown Rats who claim he owes them unpaid royalties.

The dispute came to light in a statement issued by Gerry Cott, who quit the band in 1981, John Moylett, the pyjama-clad pianist who performed under the name Johnny Fingers, Simon Crowe, and Garrick Roberts.

"We jointly confirm that with the utmost regret we are pressing ahead with our claims against Bob Geldof and others for our rightful entitlement to a proper share of recording, publishing and merchandising income," the statement said.

''We have retained the London solicitor Angel and Co to act on our behalf and anticipate that proceedings will have to be issued shortly. We have no further comment at this stage."

The four musicians have listed their grievances in letters to the Performing Right Society (PRS), which collects licence fees for the public performance and broadcast of music, and the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS), which collects and distributes royalties.

They have also asked for financial information from Universal Music, who released re-mastered versions of the Boomtown Rats' six albums in February.

Geldof is credited as the sole writer on many of the songs. However, the other band members claim that their input into the records has not been recognised. They also claim it was agreed that all band members should benefit from record sales. Under this arrangement, the principal writer (or writers) receive half the proceeds from individual songs while the remaining 50 per cent is shared amongst the rest.

Rats are 26th in People's Choice Top 100 Irish albums...

2005-03-09T09:00:00.000Z

What an injustice!

http://www.hotpress.com/top100albums/

The Boomtown Rats
Tonic For the Troops
(26/100 The People's Choice)
(Mulligan)

E O'Connor, hotpress.com:

"My older brother got A Tonic For The Troops free with a hotpress subscription back in 1978 and we just played it like crazy. This was the sound of Ireland and the world as we knew it in ‘78. I still play it today – the songs are great and it brings back memories of a simpler time. Walk, don’t walk, Talk, don’t talk!"

Ja Walsh, hotpress.com:

"When you’re young, innocent and naive, you have to look to your elders to see what’s really going on, and in 1978, A Tonic For The Troops was it. For a wet-behind-the-ears pre-teen (even before the term existed!) these songs were all classics. Every word was learnt off and every copybook was adorned with a picture to represent each song. But best of all was that, in singing these songs, you could say things that you would never get away with in normal conversation. God bless Sir Bob and the Rats for this gem. For a record of its time, it's now timeless."

Live At Hammersmith Odeon, 1978 DVD

2005-03-07T14:00:00.006Z

Though this has been released in a variety of guises on VHS down the years (mono/stereo with a variety of covers and titles) now it is finally released on DVD. It differs from the original VHS video, in the visual mixing, but the original concert is pretty much intact, and that's what matters.

The one thing that strikes you is how good the Rats were live at that time. In many cases, the live versions are better than the studio versions. She's Gonna Do You In and Kicks are just stupendous live.

Essentially this concert is Tonic for the Troops live. It's a shame the Surfacing tour was never recorded for posterity.

Reminise on Pete Briquette's Wilco Johnson impressions, and how cool Gerry Cott was. Fag hanging out the side of his mouth while he reels off a fantastic guitar solo. And as for Geldof's red trousers. Was that a sock in his pocket or was he just pleased to see the cameras? His flies even burst open at one point; there wasn't much room in there.

A rare chance to see the Boomtown Rats at what was more or less their peak. Cherish it!

Tracklist:

1. Blind Date
2. I Never Loved Eva Braun
3. Me And Howard Hughes
4. She's Gonna Do You In
5. Rat Trap
6. Kicks
7. Joey's On The Street Again
8. She's So Modern
9. Don't Believe What You Read
10. Like Clockwork
11. Do The Rat
12. Looking After No.1

'Neon Heart' - bonus audio track
'Living On An Island' - bonus audio track
'Mary Of The Fourth Form' - bonus audio track
Promo videos for Pale White Girls and One For Me from Bob Geldof's solo album Sex, Age And Death

The Boomtown Rats - UK Singles Discography

2005-02-19T15:00:00.003Z

I Don't Like Mondays re-entered the charts today! OK, it was the download charts, but at a respectable position of 31. The following week it climbed to 22, but dropped out the following week. Twenty weeks later it made another appearance at 32 in the wake of the Live 8 concert.

Sadly Rat Trap - Live at the Dominion Theatre 1985 did not accompany Mondays into the chart.

I Don't Like Mondays
Entry Date - 19/Feb/2005
Highest Chart Position - 22
31-{22}-32R(20)
3 weeks on chart

To celebrate the return of the Rats to the UK charts, here's the 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

ENY4 Looking After No.1/Born To Burn/Barefootin' (live) (NL Mercury 6008 507)
27-Aug-1977
11
47-28-17-13-{11}-14-15-34-25
9 weeks

ENY9 Mary of the 4th Form/Do The Rat (NL Mercury 6008 513)
19-Nov-1977
15
44-23-20-{15}-15-16-16-21-36
9 weeks

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

ENY14 Like Clockwork/How Do You Do ? (NL Mercury 6008 526) FLEXIPOP3 D.U.N. L.A.O.G.H.A.I.R.E.*
17/June/1978
6
54-26-13-8-{6}-6-6-8-15-26-36-52-73
13 weeks

ENY16 Rat Trap/So Strange (NL Mercury 6008 530)
14/Oct/1978
1
22-9-7-3-2-{1}-1-2-5-13-28-28-37-50-73
15 weeks

1979

ENY30 I Don't Like Mondays/It's All The Rage (NL Mercury 6008 550)
21/July/1979
1
15-{1}-1-1-1-2-2-8-16-24-55-74
12 weeks

ENY33 Diamond Smiles/Late Last Night (NL Mercury 6008 553)
17/Nov/1979
13
35-23-{13}-15-16-27-27-43-53-72
10 weeks

1980

ENY34/ENY3412 Someone's Looking at You/When The Night Comes (NL Mercury 6008 555)
26/Jan/1980
4
45-14-8-{4}-7-14-22-50-62
9 weeks

BONGO1 Banana Republic/Man at the Top
22/Nov/1980
3
23-9-{3}-5-7-11-11-13-30-52-74
11 weeks

1981

BONGO2 The Elephants Graveyard (Guilty) /Real Different
31/Jan/1981
26
40-{26}-27-32-42-46
6 weeks

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 Ugly
MERX91 House on Fire (dub mix)/Europe Looked Ugly
20/Mar/1982
24
66-44-30-{24}-26-29-42-71
8 weeks

MER106 Charmed Lives/No Hiding Place
MER1062 Nothing Happened Today (Live)/A Storm Breaks (Instrumental)
MERX106 Charmed Lives/A Storm Breaks (Instrumental)
FAILED TO CHART

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
05/May/1984
50
90-81-56-{50}-66
5 weeks

MER179/MERT179/MERX179 Dave/Hard Times/Banana Republic (Live)**/Close As You'll Ever Be (Live)**
24/Nov/1984
81
{81}-84-96
3 weeks

1985

MER184/MERX184 A Hold of Me/Never In A Million Years/Say Hi To Mick**
09/Feb/1985
78
84-{78}
2 weeks

1994

VERCD87 I Don't Like Mondays/Looking After No.1/Mary of the 4th Form/She's So Modern
VERDD87 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
02/July/1994
38
{38}-53
2 weeks

* - 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.

Tracks in italics have mixes/lyrics that differ from the re-released album.

Rats Albums in the US/UK Charts

2005-02-19T09:33:00.000Z

Today saw the re-entry of the Best of in the UK charts at number 46. None of the re-releases made the official top 200, despite all making a good showing on the Amazon Hot 100. Though of course they all did chart on their original release.

UK ALBUMS

BOOMTOWN RATS

Date: 17/09/1977
Run: 53-31-*18*-23-23-19-27-41-46-49-58 (11 wks)

TONIC FOR THE TROOPS

Date: 08/07/1978 -
Run: 21- *8*-10-8-12-16-17-24-24-30-34-38-42-0-40-43-24-16-13-14-12- 9-10-12-13-13- 11-17-13-22-21-33-44-37-41-59-68-0-71
(37 weeks)
Re-entry: 18/08/1979
Run: 70-57-47-54-56-70-0-70 (7 wks)
Total # of weeks: 44 (Top 10: 5, Top 20: 18 Top 40: 30)

THE FINE ART OF SURFACING

Date: 03/11/1979
Run: *7*-9-14-22-28-27-28-32-32-35-30-28-35-34-28-22-26-24-30-38-50-70-62-66-68-66
(26 wks)

MONDO BONGO

Date: 24/01/1981 -
Run: 9-11- *6*-11-31-58-74 (7/2-1c wks) US:#116/8

V DEEP

Date: 03/04/1982 -
Run: 65-66-70-*63*-95 (5 wks)

LOUDMOUTH - THE BEST OF

Date: 09/07/1994 -
Run: *10*-21-42 (3/1 wks)

BEST OF

Date: 08-05-2004
Run *44*-59
(2 wks)
Re-entry: 19-02-2005
Run 46
(1 wk)

US ALBUMS

TONIC FOR THE TROOPS

Date: 03/03/1979 -
Run: 128-118-116-120-116-115-113-*112*-122-129-135-155-156
(13 wks)

THE FINE ART OF SURFACING

Date: 01/12/1979 -
Run: 132-124-113-113-113-108-130-126-124-130-110-*103*-103-104-162-177
(16 wks)

MONDO BONGO

Date: 21/02/1981
Run: 168-152-137-126-*116*-116-141-181
(8 wks)

IN THE LONG GRASS

Date: 25/05/1985 -
Run: 194-189-189-*188*
(4 wks)

Geldof on Parkinson - ITV

2005-02-13T07:00:00.000Z

Great Interview! Full transcript here.... http://www.bobgeldof.info/Articles/parkinson.html

Rat Trap was very good! Far better than Brits. More rock 'n' roll (no orchestra).
Diamond smiles was abridged (the Barbara Cartland & the low voltage noise verses were not there, but seemed a better song without the over fussy keyboards and a shortened wind up.

But how can a man with four daughters get away with hair like that? I only have a mum, sisters, a wife and a 7-month old daughter and they won't accept me having the odd grey hair! (to be fair, my daughter just wants to pull all my hair out!)

On Film 1976-1986 - Someone's Looking At You DVD

2005-02-07T17:00:00.000Z

1. Looking After No.1
2. She's So Modern
3. Like Clockwork
4. Rat Trap
5. I Don't Like Mondays
6. Diamond Smiles
7. Someone's Looking At You
8. Banana Republic
9. The Elephant's Garveyard
10. Never In A Million Years
11. House On Fire
12. Dave
13. Tonight
14. Drag Me Down
15. A Hold Of Me

One Night Like This - Live from the Hammersmith Apollo:

1. Intro
2. The Elephant's Graveyard
3. Charmed Lives
4. Lucky
5. Neon Heart
6. Someone's Looking At You
7. Dave
8. A Hold Of Me
9. I Don't Like Mondays
10. Talk In Code
11. Rat Trap
12. Drag Me Down
13. Looking After No.1
14. Credits

The Music Machine - 1977
Looking After No.1 - 1977
Mary Of The 4th Form - TOTP 1977
News Flash - 1980
Arnold Layne - 6.55 Special 1982
Do They Know Its Xmas - The Tube 1985
Keep It Up - Live
Like Clockwork - Live
Joey's On The Street Again - Self Aid 1986

Dwnload-only Single - Rat Trap: Live At The Dominion Theatre 1985

2005-02-07T14:34:00.000Z

The Boomtown Rats embrace the digital age with their debut download-only single.

Available at all good download stores near you!

iTunes and http://www.hmvdigital.com/

Fingers Speaks!

2005-02-07T13:54:00.000Z

http://www.metro.co.uk/metro/interviews/interview.html?in_page_id=8&in _interview_id=1016

Johnny Fingers

by James Ellis, February 7th, 2005

Famous for wearing his pyjamas on stage, Johnnie Fingers was keyboard player in Irish rock band, The Boomtown Rats. Formed in 1975 the Rats - whose lead singer was Sir Bob Geldof - were together for a decade. After they disbanded Fingers moved to Japan where he works as a DJ and A&R for a dance label. All six Rats albums are re-released on Monday.

Does listening to old Boomtown Rats albums bring back good or bad memories?
I haven't heard any of them for years. I have no idea, but a friend of mine who works for Universal sent me a DVD of Live Aid. It was quite fun, actually. I was surprised. It sounded quite good.

Despite your commercial success, the Rats seemed to be critically underrated. Would you agree with that analysis?
Never thought about it. Didn't care. I think, as a live band, we were the best that was around because we had a lot more experience than the new age punk bands. Most of them had only played three or four gigs - ten at the max. But we'd actually played for about a year and a half before, or something like 150 gigs, and so we were very full on.

You were incredibly tight for a band at that time and very good at playing your instruments.
Yeah. Because we were very energetic, people used to say: 'Take a load of speed and go see the Rats.' I remember our sound guy saying: 'A lot of people at the back are on speed.'

What was the drug de jour for the band at the time?
We used to smoke dope, like everyone else. I wasn't a drinker really.

So you guys were really laid back at the front while they were all speeding at the back?
We thought we were laid back.

What was your best memory of life in the band?
I have loads of different memories. The most obvious are of myself and Bob touring America together, doing promotional trips. The rest is a blur - touring, playing live, recording. We had a funny, strange lifestyle - doing a 30-day promotional trip across the States or two weeks across Europe.

Why was it just you and Bob doing those promotional trips across America? Did the rest of the band not fancy coming along?
Because Bob is very good at interviews, and I was the visual look of the band, it was the obvious thing to do. You can't bring the whole band out on a promotional trip.

Some of the themes - the loneliness of being in a big city as described in Rat Trap - may have been similar to the London punk themes.
Maybe lyrically, yes, but musically, no. It was quite different.

You were famous for wearing your pyjamas. How did that visual look come about? It came about because I wanted to be recognised more than anything and a band that was very visual had the same kind of kink like Boy George had when he appeared on the scene.

Did you ever feel left out of the London scene when you first moved over from Ireland?
We weren't part of the London scene at all. We came over when the punk thing had just hit big and we were in this kind of hippy house in Surrey. It was owned by Virgin Records, although we didn't sign with them. Henry VIII had built it for his mistresses and it was a strange place. Living there we felt quite separate from the rest of London. The first band we went on tour with was the Ramones, who didn't feel part of the London scene either. In fact they quite hated it.

Whose idea was it to rip up the poster of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta on Top Of The Pops?
Mine. I think I put a hanger on my head on the next programme and people used to come to the gigs with hangers on their heads thinking that was quite relevant and important.

Do you still see any other members of the band?
When I go over for business in London I will probably go and see Gerry [Cott, Rats guitarist].

Is Bob the saint he's made out to be?
Certainly not. I don't think anyone believes that for a minute.

What do you think about him getting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Brits this year?
Good for him.

How much money would they have to throw at the Rats to get them back on tour again?
It wouldn't be to do with money really. It sounds like a cliché but it's to do with whether we'd all like to play together again. It would have to be the right moment and everyone would feel right about it.

Could you see it happening at all or is it a definite no-no?
I don't think it's a definite no-no.

Would you get the pyjamas back out if you did do the tour?
That's where the money would come in. I often think when I see bands like The Beach Boys and they don't wear those stripy shirts that I feel ripped off.

Geldof gets his Brit!

2005-02-03T11:24:00.000Z

Geldof collected his Outstanding Contribution to Music award tonight. Sadly, his performance was a little wanting. It was like a cabaret act with all the strings and horns. And he wore a suit! Came across as a pretty cool guy though. Pete Briquette played and was thanked between songs. Really good to do that.

I heard Rat Trap in HMV the other day and it sounded great, but at the Brits it wasn't. Mondays sounded dull and lifeless as well. The audience looked underwhelmed as well, given the sparkling performances from Franz Fredinand, Scissors Sisters and Green Day earlier on. OK, I don't expect Geldof to be like he was 25 years ago, but the songs lacked any sense of excitement. Geldof looked a bit bored by them. If I were say 16 and never heard of the Boomtown Rats, the performances wouldn't have made me want to find out much more about them.

He got quarter of an hour and two songs (no one else got that time). Jools Holland gave him the award, and lots of oldies praised him (Bono, Sting, Annie Lennox, Pete T, Elton...). Even his acceptance of the award was unusually modest!

Not the first Brit for Geldof either, he picked up a special award in 1985 along with Midge Ure for teh Band Aid single.

Past winners

2004 Duran Duran
2003 Tom Jones
2002 Sting
2001 U2
2000 Spice Girls
1999 Eurythmics
1998 Fleetwood Mac
1997 Bee Gees
1996 David Bowie
1995 Elton John
1994 Van Morrison
1993 Rod Stewart
1992 Freddie Mercury
1991 Status Quo
1990 Queen
1989 Cliff Richard
1988 The Who
1987 Eric Clapton
1986 Wham & Elton John
1985 The Police
1984 George Martin
1983 The Beatles
1982 John Lennon
1977 L.G. Wood/The Beatles (Joint )

John Peel Radio Sessions

2004-10-25T22:00:00.000+01:00

Gerry Cott - UK - Thursday, 28th October 2004
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.

Recorded - 26th July 1977
Transmission - 3rd August 1977
Producer - Jeff Griffin
Engineer - Mike Robinson
Studio - Maida Vale 4

TRACKLIST

Joey's on the Street Again
Mary of the Fourth Form
Looking After Number One
Neon Heart

LINE UP
Simon Crowe (Drums, Backing Vocals)
Bob Geldof (Lead Vocals)
Johnny Fingers (Keyboards, Backing Vocals)
Garry Roberts (Guitar, Backing Vocals)
Gerry Cott (Guitar)
Pete Briquette (Bass)

This session has been released on CD. The first three tracks were b-sides on the Geldof single Crazy, and Neon Heart appeared on the recent re-issue of A Tonic for the Troops

Recorded - 15th May 1978
Transmission - 26th May 1978
Producer - Tony Wilson
Engineer - Neil Burn
Studio - Maida Vale 5

TRACKLIST

Like Clockwork
Me And Howard Hughes
Living In An Island
(Watch Out For) The Normal People

LINE UP
Simon Crowe (Drums, Backing Vocals)
Bob Geldof (Lead Vocals)
Johnny Fingers (Keyboards, Backing Vocals)
Garry Roberts (Guitar, Backing Vocals)
Gerry Cott (Guitar)
Pete Briquette (Bass)
Neil Burn (Backing Vocals (Track 4 Only))

Broadcast on BBC Radio 6 Monday 23 January 2006 in three parts. Living in an Island also contained a blast of DUN LOAGHAIRE on the fade out.

46664

2004-04-05T21:00:00.000+01:00

CDs

46664: The Mandela Concerts Part 1 - African Prayer
Label: Warners
ASIN: B0001MXPHW

2. Bob Geldof - Speech
3. Bob Geldof - Redemption Song

46664: The Mandela Concerts Part 3 - Amandla
Label: Warners
ASIN: B0001MXPIG

7. Bob Geldof - The Great Song Of Indifference
8. Bob Geldof - (What So Funny ‘bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

DVD

46664 - Nelson Mandela Concert [2003]

Classification: Exempt
Studio: Warner Music Vision
Run Time: 377 minutes
DVD Features:
Main Language: English
Available Audio Tracks: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Sub Titles: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Disc Format: DVD 9
Jukebox 5 Track Selection Feature
Behind The Scenes Documentary
Press Conference
Artist Interviews
Photo Gallery Slideshow
Freedoms Coming Track
A Minute For Aids 12 Short Films
ASIN: B0001DI51M

Book

46664 The Concert (Hardcover)

Language English
ISBN-10: 0316730173
ISBN-13: 978-0316730174

http://46664.tiscali.com/

The Best of the Boomtown Rats

2003-10-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

The Ultimate Rats Compilation!

UK Highest Chart Position: 44
Total number of weeks on chart : 3
Entry (Umtv 9819145): 8th May 2004
Run: 44-59 (2 wks)
Re-entry (Mercury 9870227): 19th February 2005
Run: 46 (1 wk)

Mercury 9870227 / Umtv 9819145 / Eagle EAGCD202

1. She's So Modern
2. Mary Of The 4th Form
3. Rat Trap
4. Lookin' After No. 1
5. When The Night Comes
6. Someone's Looking At You
7. Joey's On The Streets Again
8. Banana Republic
9. Dave
10. I Don't Like Mondays
11. Like Clockwork
12. (I Never Loved) Eva Braun
13. Neon Heart
14. Never In A Million Years
15. Diamond Smiles
16. Drag Me Down
17. I Can Make It If You Can
18. The Elephants Graveyard
19. Fall Down

After twenty years in the making, The Boomtown Rats finally got the retrospective they deserved.

The two most familiar tracks are Rat Trap and I Don't Like Mondays, from the Boomtown Rats heyday in 1978-1979. The two number one singles that were sandwiched between the Grease phenomenon and the advent of the Police. For a short period, The Boomtown Rats, and in particular, Geldof and Paula Yates, were foremost in the nation's consciousness.

Before this thought, the Rats made some great songs including Joey's on the Street Again, Looking after Number One, Mary of the Fourth Form, She's So Modern and Like Clockwork; these tracks gave the Rats their early chart success. Neon Heart, I Never Loved Eva Braun, and I Can Make It If You Can also come from that prolific period. It is worth noting the version of I Can Make It If You Can on this CD is a live version rather than the studio version from their eponymous debut album.

Post I Don't like Mondays, the band started to lose affection from the public mainly, but unfairly, due to Geldof's celebrity. Diamond Smiles was released to indifference (it is possibly the weakest track on this collection), but there were further top five hits with the marvellous Someone's Looking at You and Banana Republic (Geldof's description of Ireland pre Celtic Tiger), before the Rats chart success went on the wane.

The melancholic Fall Down would make this CD worth the purchase price on its own had it not being abridged and sumptuous woodwind solo removed (Fortunately, the full version was latterly on the re-released Mondo Bongo) .

Nevertheless, the Rats continued to plug away and make some great music, including the fantastic House on Fire, one of their greatest moments, which is omitted from this collection.

In their last days, the Rats showed an impressive return to form with a great triumvirate of singles including Dave, a masterpiece that deserved a bigger audience.

Like any retrospective, it lacks some of the better album tracks (Howard Hughes, Kicks, Go Man Go), at the expense of some weak singles (Diamond Smiles, Never In a Million Years and Elephant's Graveyard), but that does not detract from the overall quality of this release.

All the tracks bar the live version of I Can Make It If You Can are on available on the remastered albums. It is probably only essential for less commited admirers who wouldn't consider obtaining all the remastered albums or for newer fans who want to delve beyond I Don't Like Monday and Rat Trap. A fantastic retrospective of what was acknowledged at the time to be the best new wave band.

Geldof Solo - UK Single Discography

2003-03-04T09:50:00.000Z

Essentially this is the UK single discography. Please note that this merely lists all the tracks on the various singles and doesn't delve into the the particular format (7"/12"/CD) the tracks appear on. Please email with any known omissions.

1986
BOB101
This Is The World Calling(Extended Version)/Talk Me Up/This Is The World Calling
BOB102
Love Like A Rocket/Pulled Apart By Horses/This Is The World Calling 7"/Truly, True Blue/Love Like A Rocket(Extended 12" Mix)
BOB103
I Cry Too/Let`s Go
1990
BOB(CD/X)104
The Great Song Of Indifference/Hotel 75/In The Pouring Rain
BOB(CD/X)105
Love Or Something/Out Of Order/Friends For Life/One Of The Girls/The Great Song Of Indifference (Barmitzvah Wedding & Party Mix)
BOB(CD/X)106
A Gospel Song/Vegetarians Of Love/The Warmest Fire
1992
BOB(CD/X)107
Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee)/Huge Birdless Silence/The Great Song Of Indifference/Swear For You
BOB(CD/X)108
My Hippy Angel (Edited Version)/My Hippy Angel(Full Length Version)/Maybe Heaven/Love Or Something
1993
VERTIGO 864 907-2
The Happy Club/The Great Song Of Indifference/This Is The World Calling/Roads of Germany (after BD)
1994
VERCX85 [Note : Tracks 2-4 are credited to The Boomtown Rats]
Crazy/Mary Of The 4th Form (Live)/Looking After Number 1 (Live)/Joey's On The Street(Live)
VERCD85
Crazy/Room 19 (Live)/The Beat Of The Night (Live)/Rat Trap (Live)
2003
EAGXS220
Pale White Girls(New Mood mix)/Pale White Girls(New Moodier mix)/Pale White Girls(Original album version)

Songbook - Loudmouth. The Best of Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats

1999-04-13T13:25:00.000+01:00

One of two sheet music books of Rats songs. On the spine the title is given as Loudmoth(sic).

I Don't Like Mondays
This is the World Calling
Rat Trap
The Great Song of Indifference
Love Or Something
Banana Republic
Crazy
The Elephant's Graveyard
Someone's Looking at You
She's So Modern
House On Fire
The Beat of the Night
Diamond Smiles
Like Clockwork
Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee)
Mary of the Fourth Form
Looking After Number One

The songs listed correspond directly to the UK release, and there is the odd picture within the book.

Have a look at the book here! Use CTRL-Print Screen to get the pages off. And you too can play Banana Republic.

http://my.linkbaton.com/get?lbCC=q&nC=q&amp;genre=book&item=0825614295

Publisher: Music Sales Corporation (April, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN: 0825614295

Rat Trap makes number one in Ireland with Dustin the Turkey!

1996-11-25T17:58:00.000Z

Rat Trap topped the Irish Charts on this day. Oddly enough, it failed to do so back in 1978 with the Rats but this frivolus version did! Dustin the Turkey sings with Bob Geldof, and makes fun of Geldof throughout.

Also Geldof collaborated with Dustin on a version of Walk This Way which appears on Dustin's Unplucked

More on Dustin if you can bear it.

Loudmouth - The Best of The Boomtown Rats & Bob Geldof

1994-07-09T19:43:00.001+01:00

UK Highest Chart Position: 10
Total number of weeks on chart : 3
Entry: 9th July 1994
Run: 10-21-42 (3 wks)

Vertigo 522 283-2

I Don't Like Mondays - Boomtown Rats
This Is The World Calling - Bob Geldof
Rat Trap - Boomtown Rats
The Great Song Of Indifference - Bob Geldof
Love Or Something - Bob Geldof
Banana Republic - Boomtown Rats
Crazy - Bob Geldof
Elephant's Graveyard - Boomtown Rats
Someone's Looking At You - Boomtown Rats
She's So Modern - Boomtown Rats
House On Fire - Boomtown Rats
The Beat Of The Night - Bob Geldof
Diamond Smiles - Boomtown Rats
Like Clockwork - Boomtown Rats
Room 19 (Sha La La La Lee) - Bob Geldof
Mary Of The 4th Form - Boomtown Rats
Looking After No 1 - Boomtown Rats

The original greatest hits collection which is spoiled somewhat by Geldof's inferior solo material, The Great Song of Indifference excepted, and the total neglect of In The Long Grass. Still you can always program your CD player or just exclude them from your iPod.

The original release was subtitled The Best of The Boomtown Rats & Bob Geldof, whereas a later version (18th March 1996) was subtitled The Best of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats with a new cover with just Geldof on. A strange emphasis, given that the Geldof solo tracks take up just a third of the album.

Probably more of a curiousity than an essential purchase given the release of the superior Best of the Boomtown Rats . All the Boomtown Rats tacks here are also present there, bar the excellent House On Fire. There is no review of this album as all the individual tracks are covered in the album reviews.

Listen to excerpts here http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=597849

This album has been released in a variety of guises, and was re-titled as Great Songs of Indifference - The Best of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats in other countries.

The most notable of these are -

Canada - Vertigo 314 522 822 2 - Great Songs of Indifference - The Best of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats

Never In a Million Years, Up All Night and Rain replace Love Or Something, House On Fire and The Beat Of The Night. This is also the only known appearance of Rain on CD.

US - CK 64999 Columbia/Legacy - Great Songs of Indifference - The Best of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats - April 22 1977

Crazy is excluded from this US release, otherwise the track listing is as the UK version.

There is also an unconfirmed accompanying video release. I have never seen this on sale anywhere, so I can't confirm the track listing or any details. Please email with details if you have a copy.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004S0J9/026-0303171-8537248

Boomtown Rats - Greatest Hits

1990-10-25T16:35:00.000+01:00

Columbia 40615

Track Listings

1. I Don't Like Mondays
2. Rat Trap
3. She's So Modern
4. Banana Republic
5. Skin on Skin
6. Up All Night
7. Joey's on the Street Again
8. Elephant's Graveyard
9. House on Fire
10. Never in a Million Years

Interestingly enough, this was the first ever Rats compilation. Released in the US in 1987 (and on CD in 1990), it gathers together ten songs, of which only three or four could truly be considered to be hits, never mind greatest hits. It is skewed towards the latter years, six of the tracks coming from the weaker albums Mondo Bongo/V Deep, with only four from the preceding albums.

Avoid, unless you really have to have everything!

Gung~Ho

1987-06-10T17:59:00.000+01:00

Simon Crowe and Johnny Fingers formed Gung~Ho featuring Simon on lead vocals in 1987.
They released a single, Play To Win, which was pretty good though it failed to have any impact on the charts.

And followed it up with Remember, which was less than memorable! (couldn't resist)

An album called 10 was d recorded and ready for release, but Magnet, their record company, went bust and the album disappeared bar a few demos that made their way into collector's hands (not mine, I hasten to add).

However, many years later the album appeared on mp3.com with extra tracks on a CD with both the audio and the mp3 version of the album. Frankly, they should have stopped with the Play To Win single. The abum was very insipid and maybe it was a good thing Magnet went bust.

Obviously for Boomtown Rats completists, this was a very important release, but for me it would rank even lower than Deep in the Heart of Nowhere in the post-Rats repertoire that I have heard.

It was a collection of unmemorable songs with very simplistic arrangements.

It's more or less impossible to get hold of this these days, Gung~Ho having disappeared from mp3.com.

Simon and I had a lot of good times making this album. It was fun. The song writing came effortlessly. It was a great relief not to have to rehearse songs at a band practice, which can be brain damage at the best of times. Also, Yoko had never been in a studio and so she created a lot of extra energy. Bob Clearmountain called and said he loved the songs and could mix some tracks between Bruce Springstein's album and David Bowie's new record. This made Simon and myself feel a little embarrassed, as we had decided to produce the album ourselves and being scheduled between two musical icons didn't boost our egos but worked in reverse, making us feel a little shy and nervous.We hopped around various cheap studios in London. We were mobile, just the three of us. Yoko seemed to always find a cheap Japanese restaurant nearby. By the time we started mixing the album at The Right Track Studios in New York with Bob Clearmountain, we were very proud of the album. Clearmountain fortified this confidence, I must add. Chuck New mixed the remaining tracts at Battery Studios.A week later , we went to Thailand to do " THE VIDEO" , convincing the director it was the only place in the world where the lighting was right. Mind you it didn't take him long to agree. About one millisecond...... I think.

Kind regards,

Johnnie

The Last Live Performance

1986-05-17T13:15:00.000+01:00

The last time the Boomtown Rats played live was at Self Aid at the RDS Showgrounds, Simmonscourt, Dublin, Ireland on May 17th 1986.

Set List

Someone's Looking At You
Joey's On The Street Again
Looking After #1

This was broadcast on RTÉ Television, and on the Best of DVD, you can see the Rats perfoming Joey's On The Street Again with a verse or two of an old union-organizing song, "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister" thrown in for good measure.

The concert itself was followed by the release of Live for Ireland. Both Joey's On The Street Again and Looking After #1 appear on this, however there are a myriad of formats

MCA MCA-42113 1988 LP has Joey's On The Street Again

http://www.music.com/release/live_for_ireland/1/ - For an audio clip of Joey's on the Street

MCD06027 / DMCG6027 / WMCG6027 has Looking After No. 1

There is also a bootleg with the whole set on!

Ireland & Dubliners(bootleg vinyl LP) Bandito Records - B005

http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/discography/v_dubliners.html

'The Day Rock and Roll Changed the World'

1985-07-13T12:00:00.000+01:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/thelive8event/liveaid/history.shtml

The Boomtown Rats were the third band to appear after Status Quo and The Style Council. Apparently they were due to appear further down the bill, but Geldof switched the order so they could perform to Prince Charles & Princess Diana! They played I Don't Like Mondays, Rat Trap (which was plauged by sound issues) and Drag Me Down. Geldof provided one of the most memorable moments of the whole day with his pause midway through Mondays on the completion of the line "The lesson today is how to die".

Artists who performed at Wembley (in order of appearance):

Status Quo
Style Council
Boomtown Rats
Adam Ant
Ultravox
Spandau Ballet
Elvis Costello
Nik Kershaw
Sade
Sting
Phil Collins (also with Sting)
Howard Jones
Bryan Ferry
Paul Young (also with Alison Moyet)
U2
Dire Straits (also with Sting)
Queen
David Bowie
The Who
Elton John (also with Kiki Dee and Wham)
Freddie Mercury with Brian May
Paul McCartney

Rats at Glastonbury CND Festival

1985-06-21T12:00:00.000+01:00

The Boomtown Rats played the Glastonbury Festival along with Aswad,Clannad, The Colour Field, Ian Dury, King, The Pogues, Midnight Oil, Thompson Twins, Misty In Roots and Maria Muldaur. The Boomtown Rats were pelted with mud by an unappreciative audience! Worthy farm was considered too small to accommodate the Festival so the neighbouring Cockmill farm land was purchased to enlarge the site by a further 100 acres. The sheer size of the newly enlarged site meant that communications were stretched to the limit - the ultimate test for any organisation. With tractors the only possible means of towing people off the site in seriously bad weather. Michael Eavis was pleased that, “we have had the mud bath and proved we can still cope with the conditions”. £100,000 was raised for CND and local charities. Attendance: 40,000.Tickets: £16. Programme: 90p.

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/aboutus/index.asp?id=38

3 day tickets for just £16!!

Set List included

Charmed Lives
Neon Heart
Wind Chill Factor
Dave
I Don't Like Mondays
Talking In Code #
Hurt Hurts
Rat Trap
Drag Me Down
Looking After Number 1

Just a comment / observation. I was at Glastonbury in 1985 (in the mud!) when the Boomtown Rats played. (Saturday afternoon, I think!) - the second time I'd seen them, the first being at the White Rock, Hastings, about 1982. Glastonbury was one month before Live Aid and they performed 'Mondays' JUST like they did at Wembley - the big pause. That pause blew my socks off then, without the power of the message that came across at Live Aid. I've often said that Bob was rehearsing it when he did it at Glastonbury; we'll never know, but it was a blinding song when I was 14 at school - and still makes my hairs stand on end now!- Gary, Saffron Walden, England

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=698

A BBC Transcription of this does exist. (I don't have it before you ask!)

Record Label:
BBC TS
Catalogue No:
CN4658/S
Country of Origin:
UK

In The Long Grass

1985-05-25T09:00:00.000+01:00

What's the story?

UK Highest Chart Position: n/a
US Highest Chart Position: 188
Total number of weeks on chart : 4
Entry: 25th May 1985
Run: 194-189-189-188

Dave
Over And Over
Drag Me Down
A Hold Of Me
Another Sad Story
Tonight
Hard Times
Lucky
An Icicle In The Sun
Up Or Down
Dave (Single Version)
Walking Downtown
Precious Time
She's Not The Best

Just when you least expected it, The Boomtown Rats returned with another great album! With barely enough money to make the album, and following the less than wonderful Mondo Bongo and V Deep, In the Long Grass marked a return to form. Though not commercially successful, it spawned some great singles (none of them were hits), and was the most consistent album from the Rats since the Fine Art of Surfacing.

The first single off the album, Tonight has a reggae beat, some lower key vocals and a sassier attitude than would have been expected from the Rats. Not as overt as say Banana Republic or House on Fire, it promised a lot from the forthcoming album. Horns dominate the music, showing the Rats with just a single guitarist had other means of filling out their songs. Of course, no one bought it!

Drag Me Down was another great single. Geldof and Crowe exchange vocals in the introduction before a swirling keyboard kicks the song into life. Some great horns kick in at the end of the verses. One of the most driving songs from the Rats, with really good guitar work for Garry Roberts. The horns that play out at the end are similar to those on House on Fire.

Dave was one of the best singles the Rats ever made. It plays as a plea to a suicidal friend to reconsider, and implores him to keep going. That it never troubled the charts is purely down to low regard the Rats were held in by the press & public, and a shambolic re-release involving singles with embedded tickets! In America, they had to rewrite the lyrics, as the notion of a man singing about another man was deemed as faggy by the record company, and turned it into a song about Rain. Oh dear!

There are two tracks penned by Johnnie Fingers. A wistful sax and tinkling piano begin Another Sad Story, before the sax blasts in. A story about Johnnie and Susan, though not of the ilk of Geldof’s earlier Dublin trilogy, but much more generic. The middle eight is from Bowie’s Let’s Dance period, Geldof affecting his best Anthony Newley voice. The sax solos break up this song, and provide a link back to Joey and Billy of yesteryear.

Also from Fingers and starting off with a guitar from Atomic.Lucky has Geldof telling you how lucky you are if time remembers you. The song namechecks JFK, and tells you what went wrong for him! This isn’t an Eva Braun, as the song is more personal than that addressed directly to the listener. The ‘work’ chants remind you of Chain Gang, and the song finishes with some dubbed horns.

Aaaaah, not Chic’s Good Times, but The Rats’ Hard Times! There are some yeah yeahs from the Beatles in there, and a simple little Depeche Mode little keyboard (think Just Can’t Get Enough, not Personal Jesus!). The songs builds and builds and then bursts into life with Geldof singing over some female oriental backing vocals (Molly & Polly!). Hard Times sound good with The Boomtown Rats!

Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe contribute the wonderful Up and Down. The Chic guitar is there, and the vocals are urgent, and it even gets ska-like at points, probably more Police (Material World) than Specials but it’s certainly there. Twice it breaks into the glorious ‘lying in the sun’ with the horns blasting out. The song comes down when nothing seems to changes, but only to get on with some urgent ad-libbing.

There is a low key start to Over and Over with Geldof mumbling before it breaks into a joyous chorus with some great tenor harmonies. A lovely flamenco interlude reminds you of Zorro! A shimmering low key fade outs the song. Another gem!

With its Latin intro, Icicle in the Sun starts off as if it dares to take us back to Please Don’t Go from Mondo Bongo. It turns out to be a far more pleasant experience. Possibly the most eighties sounding track on here with its funky guitars and keyboards interjecting throughout. At one point, the song threatens to break into a good old pub sing song, but keeps on track.

But the last word on this album is A Hold of Me. The song fades in gently and builds to Geldof cutting in with "What’s the Story?…" The song builds and builds with a series of questions, layering the sound until the chorus arrives and then the song dips again. In many ways this is the song that Never in the Million Years should have been. As Geldof implores "I’m for people, I’m for life!" it’s the perfect bookend to the Rats’ singles career. This song marks the arrival of selfless crusader who has long left his selfish youth behind.

Garry Roberts now had a guitar sound for the band, and the songs were all well written, performed and produced. More ideas than narrative in the songs, but there isn’t a bad track to be found. This was the realisation of the experimentation of Mondo Bongo and V Deep. The sound was less produced but no worse for that, and this was a more mature album than any that had gone before.

Sadly, this album was also the last The Boomtown Rats recorded. A great swan song, but lack of commercial success and the aftermath of Band Aid and Live Aid, led to Geldof striking out as a solo artist.

CD Review

The single version of Dave is the original album version! I’m pretty sure it is, as it sounds the same as my vinyl version. The album version is the version from the Best of. Add in Rain,which is not here, and there are a few versions of this track knocking around. However, for all that, the single version is the best! The album version is a more drawn out affair and doesn’t flow as well as the single version. Both versions here are well worth listening to, whereas you’d not miss anything by never hearing Rain!

Walking Downtown returns to the jazz-by-numbers of The Little Death, and is little better. Part Mood Mambo, part jazz, there is the gnawing feeling that this was another attempt at something that was beyond the Rats. The piano in the song puts me in mind of Singing in the Rain! I have never really liked jazz anyway, and this song is of little appeal. P

recious Time is a track that would have been a great addition to In the Long Grass. Doo do dos courtesy of the Rolling Stones and a Pete Briquette bass line get the song going along with Chic-like guitars are also there. On the two middle eights, Geldof drifts into a Bowie tribute again, aping China girl. The instrumental gets funky, so much so it does sound like Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards had a hand in the production. The guitars that play out as from the Let’s Dance Bowie period as well.

There’s not a great deal to She's Not The Best (Home Demo). It sounds like an idea for a song with Geldof playing acoustic guitar and sounding like Bob Dylan. A nice curiosity, and more like something from Geldof’s recent past than a Rats song. Perhaps the seed of the solo career!

Just to complete the story, alternative versions of Drag Me Down and Lucky exist. Fortunately, they aren’t here. This is good news as they sound like Huey Lewis & the News! The production was changed for the US, but the originals which appear on this re-release are far superior.