Like Clockwork

"Like Clockwork"
Single by The Boomtown Rats
from the album A Tonic for the Troops
B-side	"How Do You Do?"[1]
Released	June 1978 (UK)[1]
Format	7" vinyl
Genre	New wave, post-punk
Length	3:45
Label	Ensign Records (UK) Columbia Records (US)
Writer(s)	Bob Geldof - lyrics Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe - music[1]
Producer(s)	Robert John "Mutt" Lange[1]
The Boomtown Rats singles chronology
"She's So Modern" (1978) "Like Clockwork" (1978) "Rat Trap" (1978)

"Like Clockwork" is a single by The Boomtown Rats. It was the band's first to reach the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 6.^[2][3]

Described as "simple, cool",^[4] in concerts supporting A Tonic for the Troops, the song's agitated, staccato bassline made it a common show opener. The B-side, "How Do You Do?" was a fast-paced punk/new-wave song, in the mould of the band's earlier work. However, the Irish version of the single, released on Mulligan Records, substituted the B-side with "D.U.N L.A.O.G.H.A.I.R.E", a tongue in cheek samba, discussing the spelling of the band's home town, written Dún Laoghaire but pronounced Dunleary.^[5] The latter was later released in the UK as a free flexi disc, distributed by Flexipop in January 1981.^[6]

Personnel

• Bob Geldof – vocals, saxophone
• Pete Briquette – bass, vocals
• Gerry Cott – guitar
• Johnnie Fingers – keyboards, vocals
• Simon Crowe – drums, vocals
• Garry Roberts – guitar, vocals

References

1. "Boomtown Rats, The - Like Clockwork (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
2. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 71. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. William Ruhlmann. "The Boomtown Rats | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
4. "A Tonic For The Troops Album Review". Boomtownrats.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
5. "The Boomtown Rats Discography". Boomtownrats.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
6. "The Boomtown Rats - Dun Laoghaire". YouTube. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2013-06-01.