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"'''I Don't Like Mondays'''" is a song by Irish group ] about the ] in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, '']''. The song was a number one ] in the ] for four weeks during the summer of 1979,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book | first=David | last=Roberts | year=2006 | title=] | edition=19th | publisher=Guinness World Records Limited | location=London | isbn=1-904994-10-5 | pages=370–1 }}</ref> and ranks as the sixth biggest hit of the UK in 1979.<ref name="top-source1979">{{cite web|url=http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1979.shtml |title=Top 100 1979 - UK Music Charts |publisher=Uk-charts.top-source.info |date= |accessdate=2015-10-20}}</ref> Written by ] and ], the piano ]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laweekly.com/music/10-underrated-80s-bands-you-need-to-hear-now-7856935|title=10 Underrated ’80s Bands You Need to Hear Now|first=Andy|last=Hermann|date=25 January 2017|website=L.A. Weekly}}</ref> was the band's second single to reach number one on the UK chart. "'''I Don't Like Mondays'''" is a song by Irish group ] about the ] in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, '']''. The song was a number one ] in the ] for four weeks during the summer of 1979,<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book | first=David | last=Roberts | year=2006 | title=] | edition=19th | publisher=Guinness World Records Limited | location=London | isbn=1-904994-10-5 | pages=370–1 }}</ref> and ranks as the sixth biggest hit of the UK in 1979.<ref name="top-source1979">{{cite web|url=http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1979.shtml |title=Top 100 1979 - UK Music Charts |publisher=Uk-charts.top-source.info |date= |accessdate=2015-10-20}}</ref> Written by ] and ], the piano ]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laweekly.com/music/10-underrated-80s-bands-you-need-to-hear-now-7856935|title=10 Underrated ’80s Bands You Need to Hear Now|first=Andy|last=Hermann|date=25 January 2017|website=L.A. Weekly}}</ref> was the band's second single to reach number one on the UK chart.


==Background and writing== == Background and writing ==

According to Geldof, he wrote the song after reading a ] report<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038428z|title=BBC Radio 6 Music - Classic Singles, I Don't Like Mondays|website=BBC}}</ref> at ]'s campus radio station, ], on the shooting spree of 16-year-old ], who ] at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, on 29 January 1979, killing two adults and injuring eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime; her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/mondays.asp | title=Urban Legends Reference Pages: Music (I Don't Like Mondays) | first=Barbara | last=Mikkelson | date=29 September 2005 | work=snopes.com }}</ref> Geldof had been contacted by ] to play a gig for Apple, inspiring the opening line about a "silicon chip".<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> The song was first performed less than a month later. According to Geldof, he wrote the song after reading a ] report<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038428z|title=BBC Radio 6 Music - Classic Singles, I Don't Like Mondays|website=BBC}}</ref> at ]'s campus radio station, ], on the shooting spree of 16-year-old ], who ] at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, on 29 January 1979, killing two adults and injuring eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime; her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/mondays.asp | title=Urban Legends Reference Pages: Music (I Don't Like Mondays) | first=Barbara | last=Mikkelson | date=29 September 2005 | work=snopes.com }}</ref> Geldof had been contacted by ] to play a gig for Apple, inspiring the opening line about a "silicon chip".<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> The song was first performed less than a month later.


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Geldof had originally intended the song as a B-side, but changed his mind after the song was successful with audiences on the Rats' US tour.<ref name="Clarke" /> Spencer's family tried unsuccessfully to prevent the single from being released in the United States.<ref name="Clarke" /> Geldof had originally intended the song as a B-side, but changed his mind after the song was successful with audiences on the Rats' US tour.<ref name="Clarke" /> Spencer's family tried unsuccessfully to prevent the single from being released in the United States.<ref name="Clarke" />


In later years, Geldof admitted that he regretted writing the song because he "made famous".<ref></ref>
⚫ ==Chart performance==

⚫ == Chart performance ==

Despite reaching number-one in the United Kingdom, it only reached number 73 on the US ].<ref>{{cite book | title=Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 | first=Joel | last=Whitburn | year=2000 | publisher=] Inc | page=65 | isbn=0-89820-139-X }}</ref> The song was played regularly by album-oriented rock format radio stations in the United States throughout the 1980s, although radio stations in San Diego refrained from playing the track for some years in respect to local sensitivities about the shooting. Despite reaching number-one in the United Kingdom, it only reached number 73 on the US ].<ref>{{cite book | title=Top Pop Singles 1955-1999 | first=Joel | last=Whitburn | year=2000 | publisher=] Inc | page=65 | isbn=0-89820-139-X }}</ref> The song was played regularly by album-oriented rock format radio stations in the United States throughout the 1980s, although radio stations in San Diego refrained from playing the track for some years in respect to local sensitivities about the shooting.


Revision as of 21:29, 8 April 2019

1979 single by The Boomtown Rats
"I Don't Like Mondays"
Single by The Boomtown Rats
from the album The Fine Art of Surfacing
B-side"It's All the Rage"
Released13 July 1979 (UK)
October 1979 (US)
RecordedTrident Studios
Length4:19 (LP)
3:47 (single/video)
LabelEnsign (UK)
Columbia (US)
Songwriter(s)Bob Geldof
Producer(s)Phil Wainman
The Boomtown Rats singles chronology
"Rat Trap"
(1978) 		"I Don't Like Mondays"
(1979) 		"Diamond Smiles"
(1979)
Music video
"I Don't Like Mondays" on YouTube
Audio
"I Don't Like Mondays" on YouTube

"I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish group The Boomtown Rats about the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, The Fine Art of Surfacing. The song was a number one single in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks during the summer of 1979, and ranks as the sixth biggest hit of the UK in 1979. Written by Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers, the piano ballad was the band's second single to reach number one on the UK chart.

Background and writing

According to Geldof, he wrote the song after reading a telex report at Georgia State University's campus radio station, WRAS, on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children in a school playground at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, on 29 January 1979, killing two adults and injuring eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime; her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day". Geldof had been contacted by Steve Jobs to play a gig for Apple, inspiring the opening line about a "silicon chip". The song was first performed less than a month later.

Geldof explained how he wrote the song:

I was doing a radio interview in Atlanta with Fingers and there was a telex machine beside me. I read it as it came out. Not liking Mondays as a reason for doing somebody in is a bit strange. I was thinking about it on the way back to the hotel and I just said 'silicon chip inside her head had switched to overload'. I wrote that down. And the journalists interviewing her said, 'Tell me why?' It was such a senseless act. It was the perfect senseless act and this was the perfect senseless reason for doing it. So perhaps I wrote the perfect senseless song to illustrate it. It wasn't an attempt to exploit tragedy.

Geldof had originally intended the song as a B-side, but changed his mind after the song was successful with audiences on the Rats' US tour. Spencer's family tried unsuccessfully to prevent the single from being released in the United States.

In later years, Geldof admitted that he regretted writing the song because he "made famous".

Chart performance

Despite reaching number-one in the United Kingdom, it only reached number 73 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was played regularly by album-oriented rock format radio stations in the United States throughout the 1980s, although radio stations in San Diego refrained from playing the track for some years in respect to local sensitivities about the shooting.

In the UK the song won the Best Pop Song and Outstanding British Lyric categories at the Ivor Novello Awards.

Weekly singles charts

Chart (1979-80) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 3
Canada (RPM) 4
songid field is MANDATORY FOR GERMAN CHARTS 6
Ireland (IRMA) 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 3
Norway (VG-lista) 3
South Africa (Springbok Radio) 1
Spain (AFYVE) 7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 6
UK Singles (OCC) 1
US Billboard Hot 100 73
US Cash Box Top 100 84

Year-end charts

Chart (1979) Position
Australia 6
Canada 117
New Zealand 25
South Africa 11
UK 4
Chart (1980) Position
Canada 55

Live performances

On 9 September 1981, Geldof was joined on stage by fellow Boomtown Rat, Johnnie Fingers, to perform the song for The Secret Policeman's Ball sponsored by Amnesty International. A recording of that performance appears on the 1982 album, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball.

The Boomtown Rats performed the song for Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985. This was the band's final major appearance. On singing the line, "And the lesson today is how to die", Geldof paused for 20 seconds while the crowd applauded on the significance to those starving in Africa that Live Aid was intended to help.

At a concert in London in 1995, almost ten years later to the day, Bon Jovi covered the song after being joined on stage by Geldof at Wembley Stadium. This recorded performance features on Bon Jovi's live album One Wild Night Live 1985–2001, as well as on the bonus 2-CD edition of These Days. Bon Jovi was again joined by Geldof for a performance of the song at The O2 Arena on 23 June 2010, the 10th night of their 12-night residency. Geldof himself performed a version of the song while hosting the Live 8 concert in London, on 2 July 2005.

"I Don't Like Mondays" was subsequently covered by Tori Amos on her 2001 album Strange Little Girls and later by G4 on their 2006 album Act Three.

References

  1. "The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays". 45cat.com. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  2. "Record World" (PDF). 20 October 1979. p. 36. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 370–1. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. "Top 100 1979 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. Hermann, Andy (25 January 2017). "10 Underrated '80s Bands You Need to Hear Now". L.A. Weekly.
  6. ^ "BBC Radio 6 Music - Classic Singles, I Don't Like Mondays". BBC.
  7. Mikkelson, Barbara (29 September 2005). "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Music (I Don't Like Mondays)". snopes.com.
  8. ^ Clarke, Steve (18–31 October 1979). The Fastest Lip on Vinyl. EMAP National Publications Ltd. pp. 6–7. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. Will teen maniac who 'didn't like Mondays' soon walk free? Girl, 16, is up for parole 40 years after she opened fire on her school to 'liven the day', killing two and inspiring the Boomtown Rats' hit
  10. Whitburn, Joel (2000). Top Pop Singles 1955-1999. Record Research Inc. p. 65. ISBN 0-89820-139-X.
  11. "I Don't Like Mondays". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  12. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  13. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  15. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  16. "Chart Track: Week 29, 1979". Irish Singles Chart.
  17. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays". Top 40 Singles.
  19. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays". VG-lista.
  20. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  21. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  22. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays". Singles Top 100.
  23. "The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays". Swiss Singles Chart.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  25. Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  27. "Top Selling Singles of 1979 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 31 December 1979. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  28. "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1979". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  29. "Top 100 Singles of 1979" Record Mirror 5 January 1980: 30

External links

The Boomtown Rats
Studio albums
Singles
Other albums
Related articles

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