Citizens of Boomtown: The Story of the Boomtown Rats

Directed by Billy McGrath, Citizens of Boomtown features exclusive interviews with the four members of the re-grouped Boomtown Rats (Bob Geldof, Garry Roberts, Pete Briquette, and Simon Crowe). The documentary also includes compelling insights from special guests including Bono, Sting, Sinead O’Connor, Jools Holland, and Dave Stewart.

Citizens of Boomtown offers a very personal insight into The Boomtown Rats, revealing the highs and the lows of the first Irish band ever to reach No.1 in the UK charts – not once, with Rat Trap, but twice with the global top seller I Don’t Like Mondays. Bob Geldof also revolutionized global music broadcasting with his hugely successful Live Aid concert in 1985. The band broke up a year later in their native Dublin then re-united in 2013 to play a triumphant set at the legendary Isle of Wight Festival. The Boomtown Rats released their latest album, Citizens of Boomtown, in 2020.

Citizens of Boomtown will be introduced by Professor Eoin Devereux, Co-Director of CSPMPC @UL, who will speak about the Boomtown Rats and their influence on music in Ireland and internationally.

CERT: 12A

Presented by: UCH and Centre for the Study of Popular Music and Popular Culture @UL