Mondo Bongo

Mondo Bongo
Studio album by The Boomtown Rats
Released	29 December 1980 (UK)[1] February 1981 (US)
Genre	Rock, new wave[2]
Label	Mercury (UK) Columbia (US)
Producer	Tony Visconti The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats chronology
The Fine Art of Surfacing (1979) Mondo Bongo (1980) V Deep (1982)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Mondo Bongo was The Boomtown Rats' fourth album.^[2] It peaked at No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1981,^[4] and No. 116 in the US Billboard 200.^[5]

It included the hit singles: "Banana Republic", which had reached No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1980 and "The Elephants Graveyard (Guilty)" which made No. 26 in January 1981.^[4]

Reception

The album received mixed reviews in the press, with American critics being generally more positive than their British counterparts. New Musical Express put down the record as "hollow pop, quaking under a plethora of poorly integrated rip-offs", while Sounds called it "self-indulgent" and lacking in depth or emotion.^[6] Rolling Stone, however, praised it as "an intoxicating mixture of pop and punk", and Trouser Press called it "an enormously enjoyable LP, with hardly a dry patch on it".^[6]

Track listing

All songs were written by Bob Geldof, except where noted.

1. "Mood Mambo" (Geldof, Pete Briquette) – 4:06
2. "Straight Up" – 3:15
3. "This Is My Room" (Geldof, Simon Crowe) – 3:35
4. "Another Piece of Red" – 2:35
5. "Go Man Go!" – 3:52
6. "Under Their Thumb Is Under My Thumb" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Geldof) – 2:41
7. "Please Don't Go" – 3:34
8. "The Elephants Graveyard" – 3:43
9. "Banana Republic" (Geldof, Briquette) – 4:55
10. "Fall Down" – 2:26
11. "Hurt Hurts" – 3:05
12. "Whitehall 1212" – 3:43^[2]

US album listing

All songs were written by Bob Geldof, except where noted.

1. "Mood Mambo" (Geldof, Pete Briquette) – 4:06
2. "Straight Up" – 3:15
3. "This Is My Room" (Geldof, Simon Crowe) – 3:35
4. "Another Piece of Red" – 2:35
5. "Go Man Go!" – 3:52
6. "Under Their Thumb Is Under My Thumb" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Geldof) – 2:41
7. "Please Don't Go" – 3:34
8. "The Elephants Graveyard" – 3:43
9. "Banana Republic" (Geldof, Briquette) – 4:55
10. "Don't Talk to Me" – 2:50
11. "Hurt Hurts" – 3:05
12. "Up All Night" – 3:33
13. "Cheerio" [secret track]

2005 re-issue

1. "Straight Up" – 3:15
2. "The Elephants Graveyard" – 3:43
3. "This Is My Room" – 3:35
4. "Another Piece of Red" – 2:35
5. "Hurt Hurts" – 3:05
6. "Please Don't Go" – 3:34
7. "Fall Down" – 2:26
8. "Go Man Go!" – 3:52
9. "Under Their Thumb" – 2:41
10. "Banana Republic" – 4:55
11. "Whitehall 1212" – 3:43
12. "Mood Mambo" – 4:06
13. "Cheerio"
14. "Don't Talk to Me" (B-side)
15. "Arnold Layne" (Recorded For TV)
16. "Another Piece of Red" (Live in Portsmouth)

Personnel

• Bob Geldof - lead and backing vocals
• Johnny Fingers - keyboards, backing vocals
• Gerry Cott - guitar
• Garry Roberts - guitar, backing vocals
• Pete Briquette - bass, keyboards, backing vocals
• Simon Crowe - drums, backing vocals^[7]

Additional musicians

• Dr. Dave McHale - saxophone
• T.V. - backing vocals, recorder, drunken bass, guitar
• Tom Winter - bazouki on "Please Don't Go"
• Andy Duncan - percussion on "Please Don't Go"

Charts

Chart	Position
Canadian Albums Chart[8]	22
UK Albums Chart<ref name="[4]	6
United States Billboard 200[5]	116

References

1. "As It Happens...". Melody Maker (IPC Magazines Ltd.). January 3, 1981. p. 3.
2. William Ruhlmann. "Mondo Bongo - The Boomtown Rats | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
3. Fricke, David (May 28, 1981). "Mondo Bongo". Rolling Stone (New York: Straight Arrow Publishers): 71.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 71. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. "Mondo Bongo - The Boomtown Rats | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
6. The Rock Yearbook 1982. New York: Virgin Books Ltd. 1981. p. 62. ISBN 0-312-68784-2.
7. "Mondo Bongo - The Boomtown Rats | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
8. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 34, No. 15" (PHP). RPM. March 21, 1981. Retrieved July 20, 2014.