I Don't Like Mondays (song)
Encyclopedia
"I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by the Boomtown Rats that was a UK number one single
for four weeks during the summer of 1979. Written by Bob Geldof
and performed by The Boomtown Rats
, it was the band's second number one single.
's campus radio station, WRAS, on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer
, who fired at children playing in a school playground at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California on 29 January 1979. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays; this livens up the day." The song was first performed less than a month later. Geldof explained how he wrote the song:
Geldof had originally intended the song as a b-side, but changed his mind after the song went down well with audiences on the Rats' US tour. Spencer's family tried unsuccessfully to prevent the single from being released in the United States. Despite being a major hit in the United Kingdom, it only reached #73 on the US Billboard Hot 100
, partly due to Geldof's antagonistic attitude towards U.S. radio stations. 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 still refrained from playing the track for some years in respect to local sensitivities about the shooting. The song became Number One in the UK single charts in July 1979. In the UK it won the prestigious Best Pop Song and Outstanding British Lyric categories at the Ivor Novello Awards
. It was subsequently covered by Tori Amos
on her 2001 album Strange Little Girls
and later by G4
on their 2006 album Act Three
.
At a concert in London in 1995, just before the tenth anniversary of Live Aid
(during which Geldof himself performed the song in the Boomtown Rats' final major appearance), 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 were 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 an impromptu version of the song while hosting the Live 8
concert in London, on 2 July 2005.
".
The song appeared in the television series House
in the episode "Half-Wit". Dr. House (Hugh Laurie
) played the elegant piano introduction to the song for a patient (Dave Matthews
), a musical savant
with dystonia
, who then repeated it perfectly (with House adding the distinctive hand claps between the last two phrases).
VH1 rated the song at #67 on its list of the top 100 one hit wonders of the '80s, despite the song being released in 1979 and the Boomtown Rats having several other hits in Great Britain and Ireland.
In 2006 while presenting the NME Awards
, Russell Brand
made the joke, "Really, it's no surprise he's (Geldof) such an expert on famine, he has after all been dining out on 'I Don't Like Mondays' for thirty years". This was a response to Geldof calling him a "cunt".
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
for four weeks during the summer of 1979. Written by 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...
and performed by 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...
, it was the band's second number one single.
History
According to Geldof, he wrote the song after reading a telex report at Georgia State UniversityGeorgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
's campus radio station, WRAS, on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer
Brenda Ann Spencer
Brenda Ann Spencer is a convicted American murderer who carried out a shooting spree from her home in San Diego, California, on January 29, 1979. During the shooting spree, she killed two people and injured nine others at Cleveland Elementary School, which was located across the street from her home...
, who fired at children playing in a school playground at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California on 29 January 1979. She killed two adults and injured eight children and one police officer. Spencer showed no remorse for her crime, and her full explanation for her actions was "I don't like Mondays; this livens up the day." 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 'Silicone (sic) 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 went down well with audiences on the Rats' US tour. Spencer's family tried unsuccessfully to prevent the single from being released in the United States. Despite being a major hit in the United Kingdom, it only reached #73 on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, partly due to Geldof's antagonistic attitude towards U.S. radio stations. 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 still refrained from playing the track for some years in respect to local sensitivities about the shooting. The song became Number One in the UK single charts in July 1979. In the UK it won the prestigious Best Pop Song and Outstanding British Lyric categories at the Ivor Novello Awards
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
. It was subsequently covered by Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
on her 2001 album Strange Little Girls
Strange Little Girls
Strange Little Girls is a concept album released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female's point of view. Amos created female personae for each track and was photographed as...
and later by G4
G4 (band)
G4 were a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in ITV's talent show The X Factor in 2004. The members met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which the name G4, standing for "Guildhall 4", derives.-The X Factor:G4 auditioned for the...
on their 2006 album Act Three
Act Three
Act Three was the third and final album to be released by X Factor runners-up G4. The album included a duet with Stephen Gately on the song "No Matter What", Gately having sung the lead on the original version of the song with his band Boyzone. This was the third album of rock, pop and...
.
At a concert in London in 1995, just before the tenth anniversary of Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
(during which Geldof himself performed the song in the Boomtown Rats' final major appearance), Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
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
These Days (Bon Jovi album)
These Days is Bon Jovi's sixth studio album, released on June 27, 1995. This was the first album Bon Jovi released after the departure of bassist Alec John Such. Hugh McDonald unofficially replaced Such as bassist...
. Bon Jovi were 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 an impromptu version of the song while hosting the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert in London, on 2 July 2005.
In popular culture
In "20 Hours in America, Part II", the second episode of season 4 of The West Wing, the song (covered by Tori Amos) was featured during the aftermath of a fictional bombing at a university, the story behind the song having been told in the previous episode: "20 Hours in America, Part I20 Hours in America, Part I
"20 Hours in America" is a double episode of The West Wing .-Plot:...
".
The song appeared in the television series House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
in the episode "Half-Wit". Dr. House (Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
) played the elegant piano introduction to the song for a patient (Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
), a musical savant
Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome , sometimes referred to as savantism, is a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations...
with dystonia
Dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The disorder may be hereditary or caused by other factors such as birth-related or other physical trauma, infection, poisoning or reaction to...
, who then repeated it perfectly (with House adding the distinctive hand claps between the last two phrases).
VH1 rated the song at #67 on its list of the top 100 one hit wonders of the '80s, despite the song being released in 1979 and the Boomtown Rats having several other hits in Great Britain and Ireland.
In 2006 while presenting the NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
, Russell Brand
Russell Brand
Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
made the joke, "Really, it's no surprise he's (Geldof) such an expert on famine, he has after all been dining out on 'I Don't Like Mondays' for thirty years". This was a response to Geldof calling him a "cunt".