The Boomtown Rats (Bob Geldof, Garry Roberts, Pete Briquette, Simon Crowe)

The Boomtown Rats (Bob Geldof, Garry Roberts, Pete Briquette, Simon Crowe)

After storming of the Isle of Wight Festival stage in 2013 an exhilarated Bob Geldof said "It's weird. I'd forgotten how powerful a band The Rats are!" Others hadn't. What was only meant to be a brief "re­grouping" turned into the The Boomtown Rats’ triumphant second coming.

Formed in 1975 in Dublin The Boomtown Rats exploded out of Ireland in ’76 and their fast, loud, furious music and their fast, loud, furious attitude meant they became part of the burgeoning punk scene. Singer Bob Geldof’s defiant motormouth arrogance and flagrant disrespect for authority endeared him and his band to every youth who felt weighed down by the heavy handed blandishments of church and state.

In the UK The Boomtown Rats first toured with the Ramones and Talking Heads rocking and mocking the status quo alongside the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam and The Stranglers. They became one of the biggest bands of the late
70s/80s with a string of top ten hits and platinum albums, earning them Brit Awards, Ivor Novellos and Grammy Awards. Making history as the first Irish band to have a UK no 1 hit with ‘Rat Trap’, they went on to top the charts in 32
Countries with ‘I Don't Like Mondays’ and racked up six era­defining albums.


WHAT THE PAPERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE RATS REUNION

"In a 'mega' snakeskin suit...the Peter Pan of post­punk flung himself into the show in the manner of an enraged stick insect, a blur of jerking limbs and fervent lip­curls.

...the Rats articulated contemporary fears and furies better than almost any of their new wave peers.

...the performance never felt like an exercise in nostalgia. After all he has been through and achieved Geldof's ability to tap the inchoate rage of his youth was remarkable."

DAILY TELEGRAPH


An alarmingly strong set. The Rats blast through the hits...
…combining Mick Jagger and Nick Cave...Geldof is every inch the hyperkinetic ball of sexual tension he was in his youth.'
MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘The Rat Pack were given a massive ovation and returned for an encore of chanting their own name. No wonder they don't like Mondays when they have so much fun on weekends.’
DAILY MIRROR

‘The Boomtown Rats are immediate, childish and sloppy, doused in the punk nonchalance that made them legends in the 80s. As far as reunions go, this is a gleaming example… It's a glorious return.’
THE 405

‘(Isle Of Wight festival) Best moment: Boomtown Rats performing together for the first time in 27 years was pretty spesh…’
COSMOPOLITAN

‘Bob Geldof became a proper rock star again, bouncing on the spot as he played with The Boomtown Rats for the first time since 1986.’
DAILY STAR

‘…in the late Seventies, The Boomtown Rats were the most interesting pop group in Britain, scoring hit after hit with sharp­witted, punk inflected, new wave tunes, chock full of bright ideas, crammed with sparky hooks, and delivered in attention­ grabbing style’
DAILY TELEGRAPH