The Boomtown Rats discography
# The Boomtown Rats discography

The discography of Irish new wave group The Boomtown Rats consists of seven studio albums, seven compilation albums, 23 singles and three video albums. The Boomtown Rats' debut release was the 1977 single "Lookin' After No. 1" which was originally written by frontman Bob Geldof in 1975 while waiting for his local unemployment office to open in his native Dun Laoghaire then a major port an hour south of central Dublin. The group's next single "Mary of the 4th Form" was released in the same year, along with their self-titled debut album.

## Albums

### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Title | Album details | AUS | AUT | CAN | GER | NED | NZ | NOR | SWE | UK | US | Certifications |
| The Boomtown Rats | Released: 17 September 1977 Label: Ensign | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | UK: Silver |
| A Tonic for the Troops | Released: 8 July 1978 Label: Ensign | 95 | — | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | 8 | 112 | UK: Platinum |
| The Fine Art of Surfacing | Released: 3 November 1979 Label: Ensign | 11 | — | 6 | 35 | 33 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 73 | CAN: Platinum UK: Gold |
| Mondo Bongo | Released: 24 January 1981 Label: Mercury | 24 | 19 | 22 | 16 | — | 50 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 116 | UK: Gold |
| V Deep | Released: 3 April 1982 Label: Mercury | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | 27 | — | 64 | 103 | |
| In the Long Grass | Released: May 1984 Label: Mercury | — | — | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 188 | |
| Citizens of Boomtown | Released: 13 March 2020 Label: BMG | — | 73 | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | 48 | — | |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |||||||||||||

### Live albums

| Title | Album details |
| - | - |
| Live in the UK 2013, Dublin | Released: 2013 Label: Concert Live |
| Live in the UK 2013, London | Released: 2013 Label: Concert Live |
| Rewind Festival - Aug 17 2014 | Released: 2014 Label: Concert Live |
| Live Germany 78 | Released: 2016 Label: Let Them Eat Vinyl |

### Compilation albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Title | Album details | IRE | SCO | UK | Certifications |
| Ratrospective | Released: 1983 Label: Columbia | — | — | — | |
| The Boomtown Rats' Greatest Hits | Released: 1987 Label: Columbia | — | — | — | |
| Loudmouth | Released: 27 June 1994 Label: Vertigo | — | 33 | 10 | |
| The Best of The Boomtown Rats | Released: 2003 Label: Universal | 75 | 41 | 43 | UK: Silver |
| 20th Century Masters: The Best of The Boomtown Rats - Millennium Collection | Released: 2005 Label: Mercury | — | — | — | |
| Back to Boomtown: Classic Rats Hits | Released: 9 September 2013 Label: Virgin EMI | 35 | — | — | |
| So Modern – The Boomtown Rats Collection | Released: 2014 Label: Spectrum Audio | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. ||||||

### EPs

| Title | Album details |
| - | - |
| Ratlife 1. "The Boomtown Rats" (5:14) 2. "Back to Boomtown (The Remix)" (4:05) 3. "Ratlife" (4:49) 4. "Ratified" (4:12) | Released: 21 October 2013 Label: Mercury |

## Singles

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Year | Title | IRE | AUS | CAN | GER | NED | NZ | NOR | SWE | UK | US | Certifications | Album |
| 1977 | "Lookin' After No. 1" | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | — | | The Boomtown Rats |
| 1977 | "Mary of the 4th Form" | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | — | | The Boomtown Rats |
| 1978 | "She's So Modern" | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | | A Tonic for the Troops |
| 1978 | "Like Clockwork" | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | UK: Silver | A Tonic for the Troops |
| 1978 | "Rat Trap" | 2 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | UK: Gold | A Tonic for the Troops |
| 1979 | "I Don't Like Mondays" | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 73 | CAN: Gold UK: Gold | The Fine Art of Surfacing |
| 1979 | "Diamond Smiles" | 3 | 42 | — | — | 42 | — | — | — | 13 | — | | The Fine Art of Surfacing |
| 1979 | "Someone's Looking at You" | 2 | — | 86 | — | 48 | — | 6 | — | 4 | — | | The Fine Art of Surfacing |
| 1980 | "Banana Republic" | 3 | 18 | 47 | 3 | 35 | — | 3 | 7 | 3 | — | UK: Silver | Mondo Bongo |
| 1981 | "The Elephants Graveyard (Guilty)" | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 26 | — | | Mondo Bongo |
| 1981 | "Up All Night" | — | — | — | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Mondo Bongo |
| 1981 | "Go Man Go" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Mondo Bongo |
| 1981 | "Never in a Million Years" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 62 | — | | V Deep |
| 1982 | "House on Fire" | 19 | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | | V Deep |
| 1982 | "Charmed Lives" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | V Deep |
| 1984 | "Tonight" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 73 | — | | In the Long Grass |
| 1984 | "Drag Me Down" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 50 | — | | In the Long Grass |
| 1984 | "Dave" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 81 | — | | In the Long Grass |
| 1985 | "A Hold of Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 78 | — | | In the Long Grass |
| 1994 | "I Don't Like Mondays" (re-issue) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 38 | — | | Loudmouth |
| 2020 | "Trash Glam Baby" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Citizens of Boomtown |
| 2020 | "There's No Tomorrow Like Today" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Citizens of Boomtown |
| 2020 | "Here's a Postcard (Hot Mix)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Citizens of Boomtown |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released in that territory. ||||||||||||||

## Videography

### Video albums

| Title | Album details |
| - | - |
| The Boomtown Rats on Film 1976–1986: Someone's Looking At You | Released: 7 February 2005 Label: Mercury Formats: DVD |
| Live at Hammersmith Odeon 1978 | Released: 8 March 2005 Label: Eagle Vision Format: DVD |
| On a Night Like This | Released: 15 September 2008 Label: Cherry Red Formats: DVD |
| Live in Germany '78 (DVD/CD) | Released: 8 June 2015 Label: Gonzo Formats: DVD/CD |

### Music videos

| Title | Year | Director(s) |
| - | - | - |
| "Rat Trap" | 1978 | David Mallet |
| "I Don't Like Mondays" | 1979 | David Mallet |
| "Diamond Smiles" | 1979 | David Mallet |
