Most people think of two things when they hear the name Boomtown Rats, Sir Bob Geldof and 'I Don’t Like Mondays'. This DVD, filmed at The Hammersmith Odeon in 1978, is a reminder that before Live Aid Bob Geldof was the very Jagger-like frontman of a successful rock band.

Both the sound and vision have been restored to bring the raw energy of the gig to this DVD and this comes over very well.

'Rat Trap' sounds great, She’s Gonna Do You In' has a feel of the New York Dolls about it and 'Kicks' is another song that sounds great, whilst 'Looking After No 1' has all the raw punk energy it needs.

There are 3 tracks in the bonus material that were not filmed on the night ('Neon Heart', 'Living on an Island' and the single 'Mary of the Fourth Form') as well as the promo videos for 'Pale White Girls', a slower moving number and 'One for Me', both taken from Geldofs 'Sex, Age & Death' album.

With Bob Geldof recently winning the Lifetime Achievement award at this years Brits, this DVD is a good introduction to the Boomtown Rats and a snapshot of them at their best.

****

Review by Nikk Gunns

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly