The Boomtown Rats new EP ‘The Back Of Boomtown’ – out now
THE BOOMTOWN RATS – NEW EP ‘OUT THE BACK OF BOOMTOWN’ – OUT NOW
The Boomtown Rats – Bob Geldof on vocals, Pete Briquette on bass, Simon Crowe on drums and Garry Roberts on guitar – who headline London’s Palladium this Thursday 14th October, have released a new EP entitled ‘Out
The Back Of Boomtown’ to celebrate the significant birthday of their shy and retiring lead singer. The EP features five new Rat tracks from the sessions for the band’s acclaimed new studio album ‘Citizens of Boomtown’, their first for 36 years, which was released in March 2020 moments before the world went into lockdown.
The Boomtown Rats’ ‘Out The Back Of Boomtown’ EP is available on all respectable digital platforms now. The full tracklisting of the EP is:
- And I Do
- Against The World
- Man Like Me
- Three Dogs
- The Zone
You can hear the EP here: https://Boomtown-Rats.lnk.to/BackPR
All songs are written by Bob Geldof apart from ‘Three Dogs’, which is written by Geldof, Simon Crowe and Pete Briquette, and ‘The Zone’ which is a Geldof/Briquette co-write.
Formed in 1975 in Dublin The Boomtown Rats 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 and Ivor Novellos. 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 6 era-defining albums: ‘The Boomtown Rats’ (’77), ‘A Tonic For The Troops’ (’78), ‘The Fine Art Of Surfacing’ (’79), ‘Mondo Bongo’ (’80), ‘V Deep’ (’82) and ‘In The Long Grass’ (’84). In 1984, inspired by a TV report on the famine in Ethiopia, Bob Geldof organized the star-studded Band Aid and co-wrote “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” one of the biggest-selling singles in history. The next year he organised Live Aid.
WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT ‘CITIZENS OF BOOMTOWN’
‘Rambunctious return from New Wave icons…the crunching glam riffs, foot-stamping choruses and lip-smacking vocals – delivered with trademark gusto by Bob Geldof – tell you that the Rats’ first studio album in 36 years was a ton of fun to make.’ UNCUT
‘…preposterous and rather wonderful. This is as it should be….they return with a set that is as goofy as it is contagious, clearly having a ball….Imagine the Rolling Stones crossed with the KLF at their most energized….An unexpected pleasure.’ iNEWS
‘…an album of irreverent glam rock and dirty rhythm and blues….Homespun and retro, its strength lies in a sense of unfinished business finally being attended to…the sound of four old friends rediscovering their mojo. In the Chinese year of the Rat, that feels about right.’ 4* DAILY MAIL
‘…trashy, early-Seventies sounds…Doors-meets-Beatles boogie…and…straight up garage punk…an album that blasts along with age-inappropriate irrepressibility.’ 4* THE TIMES
‘…an old-fashioned blast…stompy, windmilling…channeling the Who and Bruce Springsteen, it finds Geldof in good voice hollering about rock and roll and Saturday nights…garage rock… ruled by cheerful nostalgia not civic duty.’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘…a raw, punky celebration of garage rock…’ DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘…a riotous affair, a good time record…’ RECORD COLLECTOR
‘…Ziggy era Bowie and other glittery Seventies staples…their finest since 1978’s classic ‘Tonic For The Troops’’ MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘…an entertaining, and wholly unanticipated, comeback.’ CLASSIC POP