Early '80s Song of the Week...
For the week of Septmber 28 - October 4, 1997

I Don't Like Mondays
The Boomtown Rats
from the album The Fine Art of Surfacing
1979

The Boomtown Rats were at US a radio station for an interview when the story of Brenda Spencer came over the news wire. The 16 year old California high school student made headlines when she grabbed her father's gun and opened fire on her school from a house across the street, injuring eight students and killing the school's principal and custodian. When later asked why she'd gone on the shooting spree, she responded "I don't like Mondays."

As a loud mid '70s rock band, the Boomtown Rats were (respectfully if not completely accurately) branded punks by the media. As the Sex Pistols and the Clash became the voice of young London punks, The Boomtown Rats carried the flag for the youth of Dublin. After their debut album saw respectable sales in 1978, they recorded "I Don't Like Mondays," their most successful and most enduring hit despite the fact that many US radio stations refused to play it.

The Boomtown Rats' popularity never rose beyond their successes of the late '70s, and after the weak sales of their 1982 album "V Deep" the band had reached its end. Singer Bob Geldof embarked on a solo career, and while not finding pop huge success he has made his mark on pop culture by playing the lead role in Pink Floyd's The Wall. His shining moment came in the mid '80s, co-writing Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" with Midge Ure and putting together the highly successful Live Aid concert.