Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats were an Irish rock band that scored a series of British hits between 1977 and 1980, and were led by singer Bob Geldof, who organized the Ethiopian relief efforts Band Aid and Live Aid. Collection includes: A Tonic for the Troops (1978); The Fine Art Of Surfacing (1979); Mondo Bongo (1981); V Deep (1982).

Seven years after Bob Geldof reunited with The Boomtown Rats for the first time since their 1986 split, the group release a new album Marking 2020 — the Year of the Rat — with a new 10-song collection called Citizens of Boomtown, the band’s first LP since 1984.

This collection features the Dublin band’s six original albums – The Boomtown Rats (1977), A Tonic For The Troops (1978), The Fine Art Of Surfacing (1979), Mondo Bongo (1980), V Deep (1982) and The Fine Art Of Surfacing (1984) – and all come packaged in card wallets. The CDs will feature the bonus material included with previous reissues.
The Boomtown Rats were at their peak in the late 1970s when they notched up two UK number one singles with Rat Trap and I Don’t Like Mondays, but by 1984 their popularity was declining rapidly and Bob Geldolf would subsequently become more famous for Band Aid and Live Aid than as a member of the Boomtown Rats.
Despite this, Geldolf announced earlier this year that the Rats have reformed and they will be touring the UK and Ireland in October and November 2013. This box set and a new ‘best of’ – Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits – are released to coincide with the tour.

With guests including Bono, Sinead O’Connor, Dave Stewart, Jools Holland, David Mallet and Sting, as well as music writers, photographers and historians, this film explores the musical and social legacy of Ireland’s first rock superstars The Boomtown Rats, who changed their own lives, helped to change Ireland and, with Bob Geldof’s Live Aid, changed the world. In this entertaining, dramatic and absorbing film, director Billy McGrath digs deep into the band’s history and remarkable songbook and highlights the key moments of its huge success and subsequent fall in 1985. And after over 30 years, why did the band regroup in 2013?

Loudmouth: The Best Of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats is a 1994 compilation by Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats which features his work with the band that made him plus some of his solo material. This was released unofficially in Russia by CD Media in 1997.

Best Of The Boomtown Rats is a 2004 compilation CD by British rock band The Boomtown Rats. This features all of their hits plus misses. Universal made this.

Seven years after Bob Geldof reunited with The Boomtown Rats for the first time since their 1986 split, the group release a new album Marking 2020 — the Year of the Rat — with a new 10-song collection called Citizens of Boomtown, the band’s first LP since 1984.