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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 17, 2020 11:35:55 GMT
Well done for putting yourself through that PU  A lot of groups of the era couldn't make the transition from punk to something else. The Clash were one of the few who managed it. Plus, in those days, groups were on a treadmill of touring/recording/touring and, without much of a break, quality often suffered |
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Post by personunknown on May 23, 2020 17:56:55 GMT
Just seen. Documentary on the Rats tonight. BBC2 9.20 pm.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on May 24, 2020 7:18:34 GMT
Was it any good PU? If so I might give a view on iPlayer
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Post by personunknown on May 24, 2020 8:55:05 GMT
Was it any good PU? If so I might give a view on iPlayer It was alright. The formative years and their successful rise are discussed by the likes of Charles Shaar Murray and Alan McGee. My interest waned by the Bob and Paula and Live Aid years. |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on May 27, 2020 9:42:29 GMT
I watched the doc. I enjoyed it. It cleverly managed to gloss over the years of shite after their heyday - and didn't dwell too much on Live Aid etc.
I was quite surprised by just how gushing the praise was for them - especially from Charles Shaar Murray. They were pretty good for a while I suppose but I thought a lot of it was quite overstated. Still they were massive for a couple of years, so they must have had something - and I've never heard any of their albums
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Post by personunknown on May 27, 2020 10:29:23 GMT
Albums are patchy, probably Tonic for the Troops is the standout because it has both Rat Trap and I Never Loved Eva Braun, the latter being one of the cleverest lyrics of modern times. Sung in the first person by Adolf Hitler.
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Post by andyloneshark on May 27, 2020 14:31:09 GMT
The Documentary was thinly disguised as a massive promotional excercise for their new album... but that said, i found it really interesting.
Especially all the comments and archive about growing up in N. Ireland, how the band were hated by the authorities there,
also all the fantastic footage especially from America, how they were failed to crack it big time there.
Uncool they might be, but i think Tonic For The Troops and The Fine Art Of Surfacing are really good albums.
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Post by jsm on May 27, 2020 22:44:43 GMT
^ So what's the verdict on the first album? It's the only thing by them I have ever owned
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Post by andyloneshark on May 28, 2020 13:43:06 GMT
^ So what's the verdict on the first album? It's the only thing by them I have ever owned I like the first album, it's a good mixture of Punky Pop and punchy R & B but as a complete collection of songs it is not as strong as Tonic For The Troops, where their songwriting got way more ambitious. And the attempts at Springsteen pastiche are rather weak. |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Feb 18, 2021 15:29:28 GMT
Albums are patchy, probably Tonic for the Troops is the standout because it has both Rat Trap and I Never Loved Eva Braun, the latter being one of the cleverest lyrics of modern times. Sung in the first person by Adolf Hitler. ^ So what's the verdict on the first album? It's the only thing by them I have ever owned I like the first album, it's a good mixture of Punky Pop and punchy R & B but as a complete collection of songs it is not as strong as Tonic For The Troops, where their songwriting got way more ambitious It's certainly unusual - reminds me of Sparks a bit It's a "Yes" from me The Boomtown Rats - (I Never Loved) Eva Braun (1978) |
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Post by stu77 on Feb 18, 2021 16:05:12 GMT
To ten year old me anything dubbed punk was dangerous and thrilling
I think this was the second or third single I ever bought
This is a very good song.
I will always hate I Don't Like Mondays though
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Post by andyloneshark on Feb 18, 2021 16:07:41 GMT
In my favourite local Charity Shop, their third album "The Fine Art Of Surfacing" was in the racks going cheap, and as i never bought it at the time
and knew the big hits from it "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Some One's Looking At You" i picked it up.
It's a good record, maybe the last solid album they made - this was a minor hit from it, that didn't get much in the way of daytime Radio play due to the subject matter, perhaps...
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Post by doug61 on Feb 19, 2021 14:53:53 GMT
Albums are patchy, probably Tonic for the Troops is the standout because it has both Rat Trap and I Never Loved Eva Braun, the latter being one of the cleverest lyrics of modern times. Sung in the first person by Adolf Hitler. I played Tonic not too long ago for the first time in decades and was immediately struck at how tinny the production was. Some good pop tunes. |
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Post by Billy Idle on Feb 20, 2021 10:16:07 GMT
The documentary on BBC last year is worth catching
Not thought about them for decades
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jul 5, 2021 10:59:39 GMT
This is wonderfully entertaining. Bob Geldof has some great stories...
Nobody is better qualified to talk about music as he's seen it from every angle. Bob Geldof broke into the Beatles' hotel room aged 12. He saw Dylan and the Stones when he was 13. Radio Luxembourg sent him messages from the ether. He worked out why the great lyrics work ("and the best opening line"). He studied the stagecraft of a host of musicians and formed a band of his own. He felt the lure of "screaming stadium whores and sex on tap". He staged Live Aid. And he ended up a close friend of many of "the people at the top of pop's Mount Olympus". This extraordinary interview has revelations about what's required to be a rock star you may never have imagined. And he nominates some Greatest Records Ever Made.
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