A Tonic for the Troops was The Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...

' second album and included the hit singles "She's So Modern", "Like Clockwork" and "Rat Trap

Rat Trap

"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...

".

The album featured dark themes in an often upbeat, pop-punk style. One of the album's tracks, "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun" was described by one critic as "the happiest, cheeriest, best upbeat song about Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 ever written." Other tracks featured subject matter including suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 ("Living in an Island") and euthanasia

Euthanasia

Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....

 ("Can't Stop").

"She's So Modern" reached number 12 on the British pop charts. The album's title was taken from a line in this song: "And Charlie ain't no Nazi

Nazism

Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

/ she likes to wear her leather boots/ 'cuz it's exciting for the veterans and/it's a tonic for the troops."

The most commercially successful track on the album is "Rat Trap," which made it to Number 1 on the British pop charts. "Rat Trap" was the final cut on the UK version of the album and the opening cut on the US version.

British version

1. "Like Clockwork
   Like Clockwork
   "Like Clockwork" is a single by The Boomtown Rats. It was the band's first to break the top ten in the British charts reaching number 6. Described as simple, cool,...
   
   " (Bob Geldof, Pete Briquette, Simon Crowe)
2. "Blind Date"
3. "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun"
4. "She's So Modern
   She's So Modern
   "She's So Modern" is a single by The Boomtown Rats. It was the first song taken from the band's second album A Tonic for the Troops whose title comes from a line in this song: Charlie ain't no nazi, she just likes to wear her leather boots, 'cos it's exciting for the veterans and it's a tonic for...
   
   " (Geldof, Johnny Fingers
   Johnny Fingers
   Johnnie Fingers is a pop pianist, and was a founding member of the new wave band, The Boomtown Rats. He was notable for his stage costume of striped pyjamas as well as his melodic piano style.-Background:...
   
   ) (Track 6 – 1 on Side 2 – on the European version)
5. "Don't Believe What You Read"
6. "Living in an Island"
7. "Me and Howard Hughes"
8. "Can't Stop"
9. "(Watch Out For) The Normal People"
10. "Rat Trap
    Rat Trap
    "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...
    
    "
11. "Lying Again" (CD bonus track)
12. "How Do You Do?" (CD bonus track)
13. "So Strange" (CD bonus track)

American version

1. "Rat Trap"
2. "Me and Howard Hughes"
3. "(I Never Loved) Eva Braun"
4. "Living in an Island"
5. "Like Clockwork" (Geldof, Briquette, Crowe)
6. "Blind Date"
7. "Mary of the Fourth Form" (from the UK The Boomtown Rats
   The Boomtown Rats (album)
   The Boomtown Rats was The Boomtown Rats' first album and included the Rat's first hit single, "Lookin' After No. 1", as well as the subsequent single, "Mary of the 4th Form".-Track listing:All songs were written by Bob Geldof.# "Lookin' After No...
   
   )
8. "Don't Believe What You Read"
9. "She's So Modern" (Geldof, Fingers)
10. "Joey's on the Street Again" (from the UK The Boomtown Rats)

Personnel

• Bob Geldof
  Bob Geldof
  Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
  
   – vocals, saxophone
• Pete Briquette
  Pete Briquette
  Pete Briquette is the stage name of Patrick Cusack . His pseudonym refers to the fact that he hails from the Irish countryside; peat briquettes are a type of refined turf burned in fires instead of coal.-Boomtown Rats:He was the bass guitarist, backing vocalist, occasional songwriter, and sometime...
  
   – bass, vocals
• Gerry Cott
  Gerry Cott
  Gerry Cott was a guitarist and songwriter with the Irish new wave band, The Boomtown Rats.He started playing flamenco guitar when he was 11 years old....
  
   – guitar
• Johnnie Fingers – keyboards, vocals
• Simon Crowe
  Simon Crowe
  Simon Crowe was the drummer for the Irish new wave bandThe Boomtown Rats.The original name of the Boomtown Rats was the "Nightlife Thugs". The name Boomtown Rats was taken from a novel entitled Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie.The Boomtown Rats had eighteen hit singles in the UK, including "Rat...
  
   – drums, vocals
• Garry Roberts
  Garry Roberts
  Garry Roberts is the former lead guitarist with the Irish band, The Boomtown Rats, which came into being in 1976...
  
   – guitar, vocals