Mary of the Fourth Form

• 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

The second single from the Boomtown Rats was all about Mary Preece the object of Geldof's teenage affections....

"Her name was actually Mary Preece. We used to hang out in a coffee bar and record shop in Dun Laoghaire called Murray's. After school, she'd come down and she'd have rolled up her skirt and she had legs for days. She was drop dead beautiful and I just wanted her so much and knew that I'd never be able to get her. Actually, I did "get off with her" - to use the parlance of the day - at the Killiney Tennis Club Dance. It was deeply passionate in a grabby, feely way. Anyway, Mary subsequently became the personal assistant to the Irish Prime Minister and lives beside my father, bizarrely enough. She's got two or three kids. But God, she was a major babe." - Geldof

Did he get off with her? Methinks not!

"Yeah, she became the PR to the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern. Us Dun Laoghaire kids go far! We played in Vicar Street in Dublin a couple of years ago, and there she was: still gorgeous and still wouldn't shag me. She's married, but I didn't feel that should be an impediment. I mean, I'm an international rock star, for fuck's sake!" - Geldof

Poor Mary, no matter what she does she'll always be known as a teenage temptress...

And yet another Mary was living it up last week, namely Mary Preece, a senior civil servant in the Department of the Taoiseach.
Magnificent Mary did the opening honours at the special retirement bash in Dublin Castle last Friday for Walter Kirwan - deputy secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach for the last 30 years.
Six hundred people turned up to wish Walter well, among them Bertie, Garret, John Hume and the aforementioned sex-bomb Mary.
For those of you too old to remember, Mary was, of course, the inspiration behind Bob Geldof's famous Mary of the Fourth Form hit for the Boomtown Rats in 1977 - Irish Independent - Sunday July 18th 2004

Sittin' in the front row
Mary of the fourth form
Turnin' all the boys down
She's turnin' all their heads around
Hitchin' up her short skirt
Stretchin' out her long legs
Pullin' up her stockings
She's combing out her black hair
Starin' at the teacher
Openin' her lips wide
Shiftin' in her seat. Yeah,
She slowly moves her hips aside

But in the middle of the night
She wakes her Mom to turn out the light
Her make-up's on and her jeans are skin tight
And she's heading to the Pillar Bar

Johnnie looks alright tonight she thinks
He gives her a smoke and he buys her a drink
He shoots a frame and they head off into the night.

Teacher's losing control
Thankfully the bell rings
Mary's left all alone
With no one but the teacher
She quickly drops her pencil
And slowly bends to get it
Teacher is a natural man
His hand moves out to touch her
She straightens and looks around, yeah
She laughs and leaves the room, yeah
Heartbreak for the teacher
Sweet dreams for young Mary

But in the middle of the night
She wakes her Dad to turn out the light
Her make-up's on and her jeans are skin tight
And she's headed to the Pillar Bar

Johnnie looks great tonight, she thinks
He gives her a smoke and he buys her a drink
Shoots a frame and they head off into the night.