BOOMTOWN VINYL!
There’s a new Boomtown Rats album out. Citizens of Boomtown (BMG) arrives with an explicit lyrics warning… and opens with the fabulous declamation, “Oh no! Another sh*t Saturday night.” Indeed, if the offending number, “Trash Glam Baby,” sounds like something Suede might have dropped onto their second or third LP, all that really does is remind us how all-pervading the early Rats’ influence was, years after they’d been forgotten.
Because they were forgotten. Between 1977-1983, the Rats were one of the most reliable hit makers in Europe. “Rat Trap” and “I Don’t Like Mondays” were both U.K. number ones; “Looking After Number One,” “Like Clockwork,” “Mary of the 4th Form”… the smashes just piled up; “Someone’s Looking At You” remains the finest anthem paranoia has ever enjoyed; “House on Fire” was a reggae-fied tour de force. And then… two further albums might as well not have existed for all the impact they
