The Boomtown Rats

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Biography

Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland (1976 – 1986)

The Boomtown Rats (1976-1986) were a rock / group led by Bob Geldof (Full name: Robert Fredrick Zenon Geldof, born October 5th 1951).

All six members (Gary Roberts, Pete Briquette, Gerry Cott, Simon Crowe, Bob Geldof and Johnny “Fingers” Moylett) were originally from Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland. Originally called ‘The Nightlife Thugs’. The name The Boomtown Rats comes from a gang of down-and-outs from Woody Guthrie’s autobiography, Bound for Glory. They became known as a notable band whose record is overshadowed by the charity work on behalf of famine relief of their lead singer, Bob Geldof named ‘Bob The Gob’ by the media for his big mouth.

They scored several Top Ten hits in the UK charts (c.1978-79), their most famous being ‘Rat Trap’ (UK #1) and their biggest hit, ‘I Dont Like Mondays’ (UK #1). This was written on a tour of the US (1979) when Bob Geldof heard a telex machine spouting the story of Californian schoolgirl Brenda Ann Spencer’s wild shooting spree at a San Diego high school. She justified her killing spree with the excuse “I don’t like Mondays”.

Bob Geldof has been gifted with the art of story-telling through songs. Lyrics are mostly in third person, have clever double entendre meanings, often relating some story or incident, eg “Dave”. Geldof’s charity work has been centred around the issue of famine relief, and includes being the organiser for the Band Aid single
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