Beginnings The band was formed in 1975 with five of the six members having come from
Dún Laoghaire, while
Pete Briquette was originally from
Ballyjamesduff,
County Cavan, Ireland. At the break in the middle of that first gig, Bob Geldof scrubbed The Nightlife Thugs from the blackboard beside the stage where their name was displayed and replaced it with 'The Boomtown Rats'. In the summer of 1976, the group played their first UK gig as well as gigs in Amsterdam, and Groningen in The Netherlands before moving to London where they signed with
Ensign Records later that year. Their first album
The Boomtown Rats was released the following month and included another single, "
Mary of the 4th Form" reached No. 15 in December. The second single "
Like Clockwork" reached the UK Top Ten at No. 6 in July. The album was released shortly after, while in early November, the third single "
Rat Trap" became the first rock song by an Irish band to reach
No. 1 in the UK. The U.S. version of the album (with a slightly different selection of tracks) came out the next year on
Columbia Records. It was the band's only song to reach the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 and was included in the band's third album,
The Fine Art of Surfacing released in November of that year. The band's fifth album,
V Deep, again produced by Visconti, was released in February 1982. The same year Geldof appeared in the film
Pink Floyd – The Wall directed by
Alan Parker.
Break up After Live Aid, the band was on hiatus while Geldof focused on the
Band Aid Trust. The band's final performance came at
Self Aid, a May 1986 concert at the
RDS in Dublin, to raise awareness of unemployment in Ireland. Their rendition of "Joey's on the Street Again" was 12 minutes long, with an extended
bridge, during which time Geldof ran among the crowd. It also included a rendition of
Woody Guthrie's song "Greenback Dollar", which provided circularity and closure. Following this performance, Geldof addressed the crowd, saying, "It's been a great ten years; rest in peace". The band then performed "
Looking After No.1". Following the band's break-up, Geldof launched a solo career with
Pete Briquette continuing to work alongside him. On 20 September 2011, Gerry Cott guested with Geldof's band at The Cadogan Hall, London. They played three Boomtown Rats songs prior to the encores. Cott returned to the stage for the final encore playing on two Geldof solo songs.
The Boomtown Rats reform Bob Geldof,
Gary Roberts,
Pete Briquette, and
Simon Crowe reunited as The Boomtown Rats in 2013, joined by Alan Dunn (longtime member of Geldof's band) on keyboards and Darren Beale (who played with Roberts & Crowe in The Rats) on guitar. Bob Geldof said, "Playing again with the Rats and doing those great songs again will be exciting afresh. We were an amazing band and I just feel it's the right time to re-Rat, to go back to Boomtown for a visit." In June 2013, it was announced that the band would be embarking on a UK and Ireland tour supported by a new compilation album,
Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits. The group performed at the
Brentwood Festival in 2016, where Geldof attracted controversy for criticising the audience. In April 2017, the band returned to the studio to record new material for their first studio album since
In the Long Grass in 1984. In March 2020, they released a new album,
Citizens of Boomtown, and a lead single, "Trash Glam Baby". In 2025 The Boomtown Rats reformed for a 12-date, 50th anniversary tour of the UK. A two-album compilation on vinyl and CD,
The First 50 Years: Songs of Boomtown Glory, was released on 19 September 2025. ==Members==