Fifty years. That’s half a century of snarling riffs, political bite, and rock’n’roll rebellion. In 2025, The Boomtown Rats aren’t commemorating their legacy, they’re reigniting it. With a blistering UK theatre tour, a new documentary, and a definitive career-spanning collection, the Rats are proving that punk with purpose never dies. It just gets louder.
Each date on the 2025 tour is a two-part experience: first, a screening of a brand-new documentary packed with unseen footage, backstage grit, and cultural context. Then, the main event — a live show that pulls from every era of the band’s incendiary career. From the raw urgency of “Looking After Number 1” to the glam-punk chaos of “Trash Glam Baby,” the setlist is a sonic time machine with its fists still clenched.
“You don’t go to a Boomtown Rats gig to admire the awards. You go because you still don’t like Mondays.”
To mark the milestone, the band has released a definitive anthology: The First 50 Years: Songs Of Boomtown Glory. Available as a 2LP (24 tracks), 2CD (27 tracks), and across all streaming platforms, it’s a fan-and-band-curated journey through the Rats’ evolution. Highlights include:
“Looking After Number 1” (1977)
“She’s So Modern”
“Rat Trap”
“I Don’t Like Mondays”
“There’s No Tomorrow Like Today” (2023)
“The Boomtown Rats,” “K.I.S.S.,” and “Trash Glam Baby” from the Citizens of Boomtown era
Here’s where the Rats will be raising hell this autumn.
October 10 – Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
October 11 – Birmingham, Symphony Hall
October 17 – Aberdeen, Music Hall
October 18 – Glasgow, Barrowland
October 24 – Sheffield, City Hall
October 25 – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
October 31 – London, Eventim Apollo (50th Birthday Concert Night)
November 1 – Southampton, O2 Guildhall
November 7 – Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
November 8 – Gateshead, The Glasshouse
November 14 – York, Barbican
November 15 – Liverpool, Olympia
Tickets available HERE
The Halloween show at London’s Eventim Apollo marks exactly 50 years since their first-ever gig in Ireland — expect fireworks, fury, and a full-circle moment.
The Boomtown Rats shaped and soundtracked a generation. Touring with The Ramones and Talking Heads, inspiring U2, and helping mobilise Live Aid, they’ve always been more a movement than a band. Their DNA runs through every act that dares to mix music with meaning.