| "Banana Republic" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Boomtown Rats | ||||
| from the album Mondo Bongo[1] | ||||
| B-side | "Man at the Top"[2] | |||
| Released | 14 November 1980 [3] | |||
| Genre | New wave, reggae[4] | |||
| Length | 3:24 (album version 5:01) | |||
| Label | Ensign Records (UK)[2] Columbia Records (USA) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Briquette, Bob Geldof[2] | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Visconti[2] | |||
| The Boomtown Rats singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Banana Republic" was the first single from The Boomtown Rats' album Mondo Bongo.[1] It peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart.[5]
Breaking from the band's previous new wave sound, the song opens with a ska-reggae hook (that repeats at the close of the much longer album version).[6] However, the song itself is a more mainstream piece musically. The 'banana republic' which the song describes is actually a deliberately scathing portrait of the Republic of Ireland, the band's country of origin, and was written in response to the band being banned from performing there.[7] This in turn was reputedly because of Geldof's "denunciation of nationalism, medieval-minded clerics and corrupt politicians" in a memorably controversial 1977 interview/performance on Ireland's The Late Late Show with Gay Byrne.[8][9]
- ^ a b William Ruhlmann. "The Boomtown Rats | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Boomtown Rats, The - Banana Republic (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ "Boomtown Rats singles".
- ^ Hermann, Andy (25 January 2017). "10 Underrated '80s Bands You Need to Hear Now". L.A. Weekly.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 71. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "The Boomtown Rats: January 1981". Theboomtownrats.blogspot.com. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ [1] Archived July 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Boomtown Rats: In and out of the rat trap (article) by John Van der Kiste on AuthorsDen". Authorsden.com. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ^ [2] Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine