"Rat Trap" was a single by The Boomtown Rats which reached #1 in the UK singles chart for two weeks in November 1978, the first single by a punk or new wave act to do so. It is a rock ballad telling the tale of a boy called Billy who feels the depressing town he lives in is a "Rat Trap".
It was written by Bob Geldof and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange.
It replaced "Summer Nights", a hit single for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from the soundtrack of Grease, at number one in the UK charts after Summer Nights' seven week reign at the top.
When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song) in 1978, the band members began by tearing up pictures of Travolta and Newton-John. Alan Homes did not appear; Geldof mimed the saxophone part on a candelabra, a jest referring to the TOTP practice of bands miming to a backing track.
In the music video, various members of the band are seen reading copies of the novel "Rat Trap" by Welsh author Craig Thomas, although the book has no connection to the song. The lyric about "puss and grime..." was changed to "blood and tears pour down the drains and the sewers".
One of the more popular Boomtown Rats songs, it was performed by them at Live Aid and is still performed by Geldof to this day.
In 1996 Geldof recorded a self-mocking cover version of the song with Dustin The Turkey.
"Rat Trap" was a single by The Boomtown Rats which reached #1 in the UK singles chart for two weeks in November 1978, the first single by a punk or new wave act to do so. It is a rock ballad telling the tale of a boy called Billy who feels the depressing town he lives in is a "Rat Trap". It was written by Bob Geldof and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It replaced "Summer Nights", a hit single for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from the soundtrack of Grease, at number one in the UK charts after Summer Nights' seven week reign at the top. When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song) in 1978, the band members began by tearing up pictures of Travolta and Newton-John. Alan Homes did not appear; Geldof mimed the saxophone part on a candelabra, a jest referring to the TOTP practice of bands miming to a backing track. In the music video, various members of the band are seen reading copies of the novel "Rat Trap" by Welsh author Craig Thomas, although the book has no connection to the song. The lyric about "puss and grime..." was changed to "blood and tears pour down the drains and the sewers". One of the more popular Boomtown Rats songs, it was performed by them at Live Aid and is still performed by Geldof to this day. In 1996 Geldof recorded a self-mocking cover version of the song with Dustin The Turkey.