Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats reuniting for new album and tour in 2020
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Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats reuniting for new album and tour in 2020

BOB GELDOF and The Boomtown Rats are reuniting for their first new album in almost four decades

Citizens of Boomtown will be the Dublin punk band’s first new studio album since 1984’s In The Long Grass.

Due to be released on March 13, 2020, the new 10-track album will see Bob Geldof return alongside Garry Roberts, Simon Crowe and Pete Briquette.

The first single from the album, titled Trash Glam, Baby, will be released in January.

Speaking in a statement announcing the plans, Geldof said: “So why a new record? Because that’s what bands do. They make records. Songwriters write songs.

“There’s so much to respond to in this new and different febrile atmosphere that we live in.

“I think The Boomtown Rats have always shown that rock ’n’ roll is a form of musical activism.

“The music has intent and purpose even if that is just the sound, about boy/girl, nothing particularly at all, everything in general, or pointed polemical… Whatever.”

In addition to the new album, a new book titled Tales of Boomtown Glory is set to be released.

Penned by Geldof himself, the book will feature lyrics and behind-the-scenes stories from the band’s heyday as part of a compilation celebrating their impact on the Irish music scene.

The Boomtown Rats are also set to head out on a UK-wide tour in support of the album in 2020, with dates set for Newcastle, London, and Liverpool.

Boomtown, a documentary featuring Geldof and his reformed Boomtown Rats is also set to premiere at some point next year.