The Boomtown Rats were one of the most important bands of the last thirty years, even if they are one of the least appreciated. The Boomtown Rats gave the punk/new wave movement commercial credibility and also opened the door for other talented Irish bands, like U2!
Whilst peers like Blondie, Elvis Costello, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Jam, The Clash, The Damned, The Undertones, The Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers have all garnered accolades for their part in the punk/new wave explosion in the late seventies, The Boomtown Rats are always absent despite being the most commercially successful band at that time.
The Boomtown Rats attained the first new wave number one, and also the first UK number one by an Irish band (Dana with All Kinds Of Everything in April 1970 was the first Irish act to make number one).
The Boomtown Rats were also a formidable live band. They were more accomplished musicians than many of their contemporaries having been together for a couple of years before coming to the UK.
Their commercial success was inversely proportional to their critical acclaim. Many people were side-tracked by the Bob/Paula circus that accompanied the Rats as far as the music and popular press were concerned and the music at times took second place.
Whilst peers like Blondie, Elvis Costello, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Jam, The Clash, The Damned, The Undertones, The Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers have all garnered accolades for their part in the punk/new wave explosion in the late seventies, The Boomtown Rats are always absent despite being the most commercially successful band at that time.
The Boomtown Rats attained the first new wave number one, and also the first UK number one by an Irish band (Dana with All Kinds Of Everything in April 1970 was the first Irish act to make number one).
The Boomtown Rats were also a formidable live band. They were more accomplished musicians than many of their contemporaries having been together for a couple of years before coming to the UK.
Their commercial success was inversely proportional to their critical acclaim. Many people were side-tracked by the Bob/Paula circus that accompanied the Rats as far as the music and popular press were concerned and the music at times took second place.
