The Boomtown Rats were one of the most successful Irish rock bands of the late seventies and early eighties. Led by singer Bob Geldof, the band released a series of British hit singles between 1977 and 1980.
Formed in 1975 by Geldof; Johnnie Fingers (keyboards); Gerry Cott (guitar); Garry Roberts (guitar); Pete Briquette (bass); and Simon Crowe (drums), The Boomtown Rats moved from their native Ireland to London in October 1976, releasing their debut single, “Lookin’ After No. 1” a year later. It was the first of nine consecutive singles to make the U.K. Top 40.
Their debut album, ‘The Boomtown Rats’ (1977) was released at the height of the Punk rock movement, a movement that the band had become associated with after their move to London, but they shook off the punk tag with the release of their second album, ‘Tonic for the Troops’ (1978), which spawned their first number one hit single “Rat Trap” and was followed in the summer of 1979 with their second straight U.K. number one, “I Don’t Like Mondays”, which was contained on the Rats’ third album, ‘The Fine Art of Surfacing’ (1979).
The Boomtown Rats released their fourth album, ‘Mondo Bongo’, in January 1981, shortly after which, guitarist Gerry Cott left the group. The band continued as a quintet for their fifth album, ‘V Deep’ (1982). Their final album ‘In The Long Grass’ was released in 1984, and the group eventually split in 1986.
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