The band was formed in 1975 with five of the six members having come from Dún Laoghaire , while Pete Briquette was originally from Ballyjamesduff , County Cavan , Ireland. Geldof initially managed the band but took over the lead vocals from Garry Roberts . Initially known as The Nightlife Thugs, the group changed their name to The Boomtown Rats, which Geldof had taken from the name of Woody Guthrie ‘s boyhood gang mentioned in Guthrie’s autobiography Bound for Glory . The name change came during their first gig on Halloween Night, which took place at Bolton St College of Technology, Dublin (known now as TU Dublin Bolton Street). At the break in the middle of that first gig, Bob Geldof scrubbed The Nightlife Thugs from the blackboard beside the stage where their name was displayed and replaced it with ‘The Boomtown Rats’.
Formation and first gig
Written by
in