Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

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Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby copehead » 26 Jan 2015, 10:19

The most successful British ( and Irish ) punk band? Perhaps only beaten by The Police.

Not even a punk band, again like The Police.

Written out of the history of the period, again like The Police.

Overshadowed by Live Aid.

This isn't going to be a hagiography, they are what they were, but they are ignored now when in fact they were, after The Police, the biggest band to come out of that period, and with good reason, great songs.

With hindsight obvious bandwagon jumpers, but Geldorf was just as angry and cynical as John Lydon, and he wrote better songs.

To a young teen in backwater Britain the only two punk bands with any visibility in 1977 were the Rats and the Pistols, but the only ones with musical visibility were the Rats because from the very start - Looking After Number One August 1977 Number 11 in the charts - they were on Top of the Pops and wonderful Radio 1.



The punkiness was toned down quickly, although the anger and cynicism never were. Geldorf was, and still is, a wonderfully charismatic front man:



Bit of Jagger, bit of Iggy, bit of Johansen, all the best.

They had the number 1 singles and a platinum album. 9 Top 20 hits in 4 years.

they released one of the greatest albums of the period in the Fine Art of Surfacing



I was with guitarist Gerry Cott with the cod reggae of Mondo Bongo and we both ditched them.

Although the anger and bile were even turned up a notch whilst the cod reggae lilted in the background.



Then he became became St Bob and tragedy stalked him to this day and the fact that he and his band were brilliant seems all but forgotten.

I wonder what the punk cognoscenti make of them now, bury the hatchet? In Geldorf's back?

Difficult to forgive hi jacking the punk bandwagon and riding it to the top of the charts and him and Sting are never allowed to forget it
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Deebank » 26 Jan 2015, 11:13

Copehead wrote:The most successful British ( and Irish ) punk band? Perhaps only beaten by The Police.

Not even a punk band, again like The Police.

Written out of the history of the period, again like The Police.

Overshadowed by Live Aid.



Overshadowed by The Police first I'd argue.
Sting and the boys took The Rats' place as kid-friendly new wave band du jour, at which point The Rats brought out their cod reggae LP. funny that.

They are however as central to the last couple of years of the '70s as The Professionals, Kenny Everett and the winter of discontent.
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby NMB » 26 Jan 2015, 11:15

I agree, they're unjustly overlooked but they were a great pop band not a punk one. Accusations of bandwagon jumping my be justified but lots of acts have got their break as part of a scene and then transcended it and the Rats did just that. The last record that even pretended to be punk was the 3rd single She's So Modern.

I disagree with you about the best album, I'd choose A Tonic For the Troops, but all 6 are well worth hearing.
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Geoff » 28 Jan 2015, 00:47

I loved the Rats & still do. They played Montreal twice & were fabulous live. I still have the promo glossies that were distributed in the theatre for one of those shows. I bought their first 2 LPs (& only releases at the time) without hearing a note; I'd read an interview with Geldof in the Trouser Press & found him hilarious & outrageous. I remember too before one of the Montreal gigs he dropped by a local rock station for promo purposes. The deejay took calls. I was the first one through. We had a nice long chat about Springsteen ('I met him in in an elevator, Geldof said; Bruce said, "You're the guy that hates me!"') & Van Morrison. The deejay kept wanting to end the call but Geldof wouldn't let him. Nothing but good memories of that band. I hope the reformed unit comes through town.
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby trans-chigley express » 28 Jan 2015, 04:14

I've always liked them and use to have a bunch of their singles but never heard an album. I wouldn't say no to a Greatest Hits set.

I remember being torn between buying the single of I Don't Like Mondays or Are "Friends" Electric because I didn't have enough pocket money for both. I opted for Tubeway Army that day but eventually got the Rats single a week or two later. Money was tight then

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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby copehead » 28 Jan 2015, 10:59

Geoff wrote:I loved the Rats & still do. They played Montreal twice & were fabulous live. I still have the promo glossies that were distributed in the theatre for one of those shows. I bought their first 2 LPs (& only releases at the time) without hearing a note; I'd read an interview with Geldof in the Trouser Press & found him hilarious & outrageous. I remember too before one of the Montreal gigs he dropped by a local rock station for promo purposes. The deejay took calls. I was the first one through. We had a nice long chat about Springsteen ('I met him in in an elevator, Geldof said; Bruce said, "You're the guy that hates me!"') & Van Morrison. The deejay kept wanting to end the call but Geldof wouldn't let him. Nothing but good memories of that band. I hope the reformed unit comes through town.


I saw them just over a year ago and they were excellent, Gerry Cott joined them for encores but Fingers was in Japan, so nearly the original line up.

They were excellent, hit after hit after hit, indisposed with great album tracks like Eva Braun.

I would thoroughly recommend them, great night out.

They arrived at a time when authenticity was considered very important and they were considered to have none, a few years before or after and I think they would have had an easier ride of it critically.

But success, and immediate success at that, was difficult to forgive at that time, especially on the back of plastic punk like Mary of the Fourth Form.

Tonic for the Troops and The Fine Art of Surfacing should be reclassified as classic albums though, both just about perfect with no clunkers, both with 3 big hits on, both seemingly being forgotten when that period is considered,
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Goat Boy » 28 Jan 2015, 12:07

Some of the worst music ever
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby copehead » 28 Jan 2015, 12:09

Goat Boy wrote:Some of the worst music ever


But enough about your record collection what about the Rats?
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby naughty boy » 28 Jan 2015, 14:05

Goat Boy wrote:Some of the worst music ever


:lol:
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby sloopjohnc » 28 Jan 2015, 17:49

Tonic for the Troops and Fine Art of Surfacing are nearly great albums. I dumped 'em after that until In the Long Grass, up to par with the second and the third.

I always thought they were trying to blend the energy of punk with Springsteen. Geldof has pretty much said the same, but in 10x the amount of words.
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Graham Murakami » 28 Jan 2015, 20:45

I suppose I am meant to refer to them as a guilty pleasure, but I like the Boomtown Rats and loved every minute when I saw them live a couple of years ago.

Tonic for the Troops is a great album: the right length, packed with tunes, and the backing vocals make you sing along. Smash Hits said they just copied David Bowie, but I could never quite put my finger on where, and Rattrap may have a hint of the Springsteens about it, but Bruce never had it in him to get to number 1.

I've never actually listened to The Fine Art of Surfacing as I was too disappointed by Diamond Smiles, but Mondo Bongo has its good bits, and Never in a Million Years ended their career on a high.

As 11-year-olds we knew they weren't punks but part of the New Wave. Looking back they shouldn't be written out of musical history, taking their place on the victorious side in the war against the old wave.

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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Deebank » 19 Feb 2015, 15:06

Stupid Giraffe wrote:
Goat Boy wrote:Some of the worst music ever


Fucking harsh, man.

I'm sure you're too young, Dougie, but back in the day the Rats were cool and we loved Bob as a more theatrical Jagger with lots to say and an exciting way to say it. And one of them wore pyjamas.

If you don't like Rat Trap you might as well turn your badge in and switch over to Radio Three and Diamond Smiles, Always Someone Looking At You and Banana Republic are great too - And Don't Like Mondays was a fucking event, man.

(Incidentally, I think it was about four years ago when I finally realised that Pete Briquette wasn't his real name. :oops: )


Less than that, and after considerable exposure to Irish culture for me :oops:
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Deebank » 19 Feb 2015, 15:13

Stupid Giraffe wrote::lol: I feel better now!


It was one of those rare moments of spontaneous (but utterly unimportant) enlightenment. This also happened more recently when I was thinking about someone from my school who was on Friends Reunited as Jenny Talwarts.
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby Rayge » 15 Jan 2018, 18:57

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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby The Modernist » 15 Jan 2018, 22:14

I've got to agree with GB on the whole. They were chancers who were peddling something pretty derivative and uninspired. Rat Trap probably still holds up, but that's about it.

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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby copehead » 15 Jan 2018, 23:21

The Modernist wrote:I've got to agree with GB on the whole. They were chancers who were peddling something pretty derivative and uninspired. Rat Trap probably still holds up, but that's about it.


Oh G! They wrote some the biggest and best hits of the post punk period.

Anyone of the right age has then burned into their memory and if you are talking about them at their most derivative and uninspired then that is Rat Trap, that is why it got to number 1, they did so much that was so much better.

And Geldorf was honestly angry and bitter as Rotten but actually managed to do something positive with all that hatred of the ruling classes.

He is a mensch
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby The Modernist » 15 Jan 2018, 23:53

Rotten was an artist, Geldof was a journalist and would be businessman. One thought about what he could do to disrupt the system, the other thought about what he could do to become famous.
Honestly the only remarkable thing about Geldof was the extent of his personal ambition.

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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby ChrisB » 16 Jan 2018, 00:01

Total bollocks

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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby copehead » 16 Jan 2018, 02:46

The Modernist wrote:Rotten was an artist, Geldof was a journalist and would be businessman. One thought about what he could do to disrupt the system, the other thought about what he could do to become famous.
Honestly the only remarkable thing about Geldof was the extent of his personal ambition.


But in the final analysis Geldorf changed the world whereas Rotten pimped English Butter to scrape the money together to make another disappointing album.

I think most people would prefer to listen to the Rats rather than P.I.L. as well.

Rotten is a 20th century icon no doubt, but Geldorf gets belittled and overlooked when he has left a far greater cultural and political legacy.

He has been as uncompromising and angry as Rotten but actually did something rather than sit on the side lines sneering.
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Re: Beyond the BCB 130 - The Boomtown Rats

Postby The Modernist » 16 Jan 2018, 03:33

Copehead wrote:But in the final analysis Geldorf changed the world whereas Rotten pimped English Butter to scrape the money together to make another disappointing album.


Lydon changed my world a lot more
Copehead wrote:I think most people would prefer to listen to the Rats rather than P.I.L. as well.


I doubt it. Their period of popularity was brief -18 months or so (by 1980 it was all over) and they are semi-forgotten today.
Copehead wrote:Rotten is a 20th century icon no doubt, but Geldorf gets belittled and overlooked when he has left a far greater cultural and political legacy.
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[/quote]
The politics bit might be true in terms of greater awareness of poverty in Africa, the cultural bit is certainly not. Lydon was the central figure in punk and post-punk, whilst Geldof, and this is probably being charitable, was a bit player. If you can't understand why 'God Save the Queen','Holidays in the Sun', Public Image' or 'Poptones' are important and vital records in a way that 'Banana Republic' or 'Diamond Smiles'were never, then I really can't help you.


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