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TONY JOE WHITE (USA)

In 1969, Tony Joe White came howling out of the swamplands of Louisiana into the national spotlight with his classic, "Polk Salad Annie,"--a Top 10 Hit, followed in 1970, by Brook Benton's soulful rendition of White's timeless classic, "Rainy Night In Georgia." Thirty years later he's still doing just what he's always done, creating soul-flavored, blues-drenched, truth-injected songs about swamp characters and reflective soul-tinged ballads about life and love. Throughout the '70s and '80s Tony Joe White toured with some of the biggest artists of the decade including Credence Clearwater Revival and James Taylor. The 1990s began with an explosion of activity for White as superstar Tina Turner recorded four of his songs for her multi-platinum selling Foreign Affairs album including the world-wide hit, "Steamy Windows". With the advent of that project, White formed an alliance with Turner's manager, Roger Davies and his career began to soar. While there was a certain "mystique" surrounding White in the United States, it was in Europe where he gained legendary status. In 1991 he signed with Remark and debuted Closer To The Truth and spent the next two years touring Europe with Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker, among others. He cut two more albums for Remark, 1993s Path Of A Decent Groove and '95s Lake Placid Blues, the latter garnering the first of two nominations for "Best R & B Album" from the Nashville Music Awards, (the second being, The Best Of Tony Joe White, a 1996 retrospective of his work on Warner Bros.). French audiences eagerly embraced White as the 'Swamp Fox' and in 1998, he became the subject of a French produced documentary: Tony Joe White-The Man From Down South. In 1999, White went back to his roots and recorded One Hot July, in the swamps of Louisiana. He then toured Australia and Europe once again in support of the critically acclaimed album. In 2001, Audium and Koch Entertainment released The Beginning - a stripped down in your face acoustic masterpiece that received worldwide recognition and five star ratings in virtually every country. Throughout the years, White has had songs recorded by dozens of major artists including Elvis, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Hank, Jr., Tim McGraw, John Mayall and Waylon Jennings, (who recorded numerous White covers-including the '99 release, "Closing In On The Fire"). Most recently, he has worked with Marc Bryan of Hootie & The Blowfish and Michael McDonald (with whom he co-wrote a song recorded by Joe Cocker). He has written and performed jingles for McDonalds and Levi's 501 Blues and been featured on movie soundtracks for Millennium, Selena and Hotspot. His music has also been featured in two HBO original films. People who are still "Searching For Tony Joe".as witnessed by the award-winning documentary of the same name, can find the self-proclaimed lone wolf on tour this fall. His most recent CD releases are entitled, Heros and Heroines, the newest products recorded on his own label, Swamp Records. White says he created the company with his son Jody White, so that he could continue to produce music the way he always has -- his way. For full tour schedule, or TJW news, visit www.tonyjoewhite.com

CARVIN JONES BAND (USA)

Carvin Jones was born in Lufkin, Texas in June, 1966. At a very young age, he was seduced to the blues by listening to BB King records his grandfather constantly played in the house. At age 11, Carvin remembers "my grandmother bought me my first guitar because I would borrow other people´s and when they came back to get them, I´d bum out. She took me downtown and bought me a guitar. I´ll never forget that day." Carvin recalls "my part of town was a rough neighborhood with a capital ´R´. I saw people litterally get killed - shot, stabbed, whatever. The guitar kept me out of trouble because I was always inside playing the guitar away from that." For a few years after high school, Carvin was performing small gigs around Texas. He decided to move to Arizona for a change of pace. In 1989, he moved in with his aunt and uncle, The Rev. Henry Adams and his wife Mattie, in their home in south Phoenix. "They took me in and I owe all my success to them. If it weren´t for them, there wouldn´t be any Carvin Jones" he says. Working various jobs around Phoenix, Carvin had an epiphany on June 22, 1990 - the day, longtime residents will recall, the thermometer hit 122 degrees. "I was doing construction - not a tree in sight, no shade, guys were getting taken away in ambulances. I said to myself 'there´s no way I´m going to keep doing this. I`m going to bust my butt to play music so I never have to do this again'." Thus, the first incarnation of the "Carvin Jones Band" was formed, and he began taking gigs anywhere they could get bookings. "We´d go in and play for hamburgers and soda pop" Carvin laughs. By March, 1991, the Band had gained tremendous popularity, and were playing at clubs all over the Valley. They have maintained a consistent seven nights-a-week performance schedule since then. In March 2000, Carvin celebrated his 3000th performance! Over the past 10 years, the Carvin Jones Band has opened for guitar legends BB King, Santana and Albert King, and has performed with Joe Cocker and the Fabulous Thunderbird's at the House of Blues 1996 Tour in Phoenix. The Band opened for REO Speedwagon in 1998 at New Year's Eve, and has been a feature band of FIesta Bowl's New Year's Eve Block Parties for the past two years. The Carvin Jones Music Show, a 1/2 hour cable TV show promo, included interviews with Carvin, performance clips, local gig calendar, and website plug. The Show aired during February-March, 2000, once a week, on various local Arizona cable channels. The Band has also been featured on Arizona Channel 3's morning program for their local band spotlight. Awards/Recognition Carvin has received numerous awards and recognition. In Arizona, he was awarded New Times' "Entertainer of the Year" award in 1997, "Best Guitarist" in 1998 by Get Out Magazine, and Char's Has the Blues named him "Best Guitarist of the Year" for three years in a row. The Band received the Arizona Entertainment Award for "Best Blues Band of the Year" in 1993, and was voted "Best Blues Band" from 1994 through 1996 by the New Times' Reader's poll. Carvin was featured in Experience Hendrix Magazine, in its November/December, 1999 issue. Read the full article here.. Guitarist Magazine voted Carvin into "The 50 greatest blues guitarists who ever walked the earth!" in January 2001.

ERIC SARDINAS (USA)

Like some mythic blues man from a bygone era, Eric Sardinas emerged on the Southern California blues scene in the early 90s and proceeded to alter the musical landscape. Club-goers and critics raved about the new kid with the virtuosic slide guitar style, raspy vocals and diesel fueled blues-rock songs. With the 1999 release of Sardinas' debut CD Treat Me Right, on Evidence Music, music lovers worldwide joined the hallelujah chorus. Featuring guest appearances by Howlin' Wolf sideman Hubert Sumlin and blues-rock pioneer Johnny Winter, Treat Me Right garnered effusive praise. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Sardinas "fingerpicks his guitar into a frenzy," while Guitarist Magazine (U.K.) praised the guitarist's "jaw-dropping showmanship." Country-blues stalwart John Hammond hailed Sardinas as "another infusion of life into the blues." BAM Magazine was downright unequivocal. To wit: "(Sardinas performs) hard rock slide like you've never seen or heard." Now, with the release of Devils Train, his second disc for Evidence Music, Eric Sardinas raises the musical stakes even higher. The disc features 11 original songs, as well as a rendition of Elmore James' "My Kind Of Woman" and a bravura interpretation of Honeyboy Edwards' "Gamblin' Man Blues. Co-produced by Sardinas and Neil Citron, Devil's Train triumphantly reconciles Mississippi Delta country blues, Chicago-style r&b, Motor City boogie and smoky Southern rock. Performing on an electrified "resonator" acoustic guitar expressly modified to his specifications, Sardinas demonstrates his acclaimed six-string technique on boogified original songs such as Aggravatin' Pappa, Down to Whiskey and Killin' Time Blues. On the astounding Sidewinder, he sculpts traditional blues, southern rock and funk into an instrumental of spiraling majesty. But as one listen to his new CD will attest, Sardinas guitar pyrotechnics never come at the expense of substance. Indeed, Devil's Train is a soulful album that replicates the raucous vibe of a backwater juke joint. "The essence of traditional blues is clearly evident on this record, but it's still true to who I am," says Sardinas, whose contemporary influences include Hendrix, Page and Clapton. "It's an aggressive record, but it's from the heart. I have the utmost respect for the traditional blues, and no matter how hard the music gets you can always hear the key ingredients of blues in these tracks." Yet for all its forward-thinking adventurism, Devil's Train is also a reverent recording steeped in the musical traditions of the American south. Sardinas' reading of Elmore James' My Kind Of Woman serves as a loving homage to the late songwriter and slide guitarist, while the duet with Honeyboy Edwards on Edwards' own Gamblin' Man Blues is infused with historical significance. "I really feel fortunate to be performing now because this is a pivotal time period in blues history," Sardinas says. "The music is going full circle and the great traditional players are disappearing fast. I chose to record My Kind of Woman because Elmore James is a major contributor to the Chicago sound and he's definitely part of who I am as a player. Singing with Honeyboy means a lot to me because he's probably the last surviving link to Robert Johnson and the country blues pioneers." From the outset, traditional blues played a crucial role in Sardinas' musical evolution. Born in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. in 1970, Sardinas picked up guitar at age six and immediately gravitated toward vintage recordings by Delta bluesmen Charlie Patton, Bukka White, Big Bill Broonzy, Elmore James and Muddy Waters. "The rawest, most emotional music is what sparked my excitement for the blues," Eric says. "I still listen to music from the 20s and 30s on a daily basis. That's where it all began." A born troubadour, Sardinas moved frequently around the country before finally settling in Los Angeles in 1990. He performed acoustic guitar on street corners until he met bassist Paul Loranger at a jam session. Striking up a musical partnership, the duo and a drummer began their ascent on the Southern California blues scene. The trio played nearly 300 shows a year, a work ethic that quickly established Sardinas as one of the busiest performers in the Los Angeles region. The band frequently outdrew more "established" national acts and became regular attractions at BB Kings, the House of Blues, Blue Cafe, The Mint and The Roxy. Even before signing with Philadelphia-based Evidence Music, Sardinas and the bands musical stature won them a multitude of prestigious instrument and equipment endorsement deals from companies anticipating future success. These instrument manufacturers sent the band to perform showcase concerts in the U.S. and Europe. Since the release of his 1999 debut CD Treat Me Right, Sardinas and his band have toured throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. Devil's Train is an accurately titled masterwork that showcases Sardinas locomotive energy and momentum. "This record explores everything I've ever learned, but at the same time it uses the blues as a jumping-off point to go deeper," Sardinas states. "Blues is such a simple music that if you're not being honest, you'll be revealed. That's the statement I want to make with my music. It's not just about being a great player; it's about being true to yourself."

KITTO (AUSTRALIA)

Kitto meets the deadline of her expression". Brian Kramer "Only the immense, poetic beauty of Kitto's lyrics can match her strong vocals. This is an artist with veracity, talent and a spirit that shines with intensity". Beat magazine Kitto rocks! Hailed as 'feminine Cobainesque', her latest album Precious Junk showcases the talents of a dynamic guitar-wielding singer-songwriter. The album's title was inspired by her toolmaker/engineer father who, when asked what he was doing admiring a few obsolete metal presses and statues scattered around the home yard, replied, "Ah, it's just me and my Precious Junk." Critics have hailed her as a 'vocal chameleon' and a 'musical abductress'. Whatever, Kitto's intense. She doesn't bleed words, she moulds them into sounds that soar. Reliving stories through songs, she spreads herself across the spectrum. She's driven, barefoot on stage and swinging, always giving her all when she performs. Musicians who've worked with her will tell you "She has an improvisational mentality, the inflections are never the same." American musos have hailed 'her unique guitar style, exploding with complex rhythmic textures, subtle nuances and dramatic dynamics.' Despite having nodules cut out of her throat a couple of years ago, the voice is big, afterburners blazing. Bil Bryant, who co-produced Princess of Tragedy, believes "She's totally committed to her music and she sings for her supper. Kitto will give 100% every time. Very rarely do you find a musician like that." She teamed up with Gypsies drummer John Annas, a vigorous combination given Kitto's "Free spirit, trust the universe, get on stage and do it" approach to music and what she calls "John's professional approach, always taking responsibility. Playing with me was like riding a wild pony." They toured from Melbourne to the outback, playing covers and introducing originals. Through Premier Artists' Frank Stivala they got the opportunity to record with producer Ernie Rose (Little River Band/John Farnham). Blind Lead The Blind in May 1991. In Los Angeles - the city of 'pay to play' Black n 'white café - Kitto went looking for a job pulling coffees and landed a gig playing at Beetlejuice on Melrose. She scored bookings at the Roxy, the Whisky-A-Go-Go and the Tatou Club and laid down demos with Michael Blum (producer for Suicidal Tendencies, New Radicals). When her US visa expired, Kitto returned to Australia to record her first independent epee 20 Jacksonia, and then headed for Europe in 1995, kicking off with an appearance on Good Morning Sweden and shows in universities and clubs with acts as diverse as Wilson Pickett, Bon Jovi and Megadeath. By February 1996, she was playing the major Scandinavian festivals. Kitto then formed the band Baby Porcelain in London and spent the year's 1997-99 touring Europe, including a performance for Princess Stephanie of Monaco at Café Replay. Taking a breather in the UK, Kitto took to busking on London's iconic Portobello Road. Baby Porcelain's last hurrah was the live CD Umbilically Yours released in 2000. After solo shows in Australia, Kitto headed back to Europe in 2001, hitting the Spanish coast where she wrote ten songs in ten days. Returning to her current base in Sweden she formed her own label Whosjack - named after her mascot teddy bear - and went to work with producers Bil Bryant (Joan Osborne) and Anders Molin (Roxette) recording her debut album Princess of Tragedy. Moving forward two years and onto her new album Precious Junk, Molin and newcomer Jan Destner have taken the elemental approach to Kitto's sonic ideas, pressed the record button and 'let her rip' on what has become her strongest album to date. "I chase themes constantly in order to understand or summarise the patterns of life".

BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY (USA)

"Big Brother and the Holding Company was A prime example of a band where the chemistry Was right, where the whole was greater Than the sum of its parts. You cannot buy or Manufacture the natural feeling that was in that band. Big Brother played from the heart and soul with the goal of achieving a direct connection with the innermost feelings of the audience." --Sam Andrew Evolving out of the San Francisco rock scene of the mid-1960s, Big Brother was in the forefront of the psychedelic music movement. The band was formed by Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, James Gurley and Chuck Jones in San Francisco, in a Victorian mansion-cum-boarding house owned by Peter's uncle at 1090 Page Street in the Haight Ashbury section.1090 Page became the site of Wednesday night jam sessions for local musicians. During the summer of 1965, Sam Andrew began to frequent 1090 Page Street and before long he and Peter Albin had formed a band. Originally called the Blue Yard Hill, with various members floating in and out, Big Brother became a reality in September of that year. The name was selected by legendary concert promoter Chet Helms from a list of names that the band was reviewing for consideration." Big Brother"was near the top of the list and "The Holding Company"close to the bottom; with a decision to combine the two, Big Brother and the Holding Company was born. They played their first official gig in January 1966 at the Open Theatre in Berkeley. Within a short time they became the house band for Chet Helms at the Avalon Ballroom and began to develop a loyal following of fans. The band had what Sam Andrew described as a "progressive-regressive hurricane blues Style"in the early days. Highlights of their early performances included "Coo Coo", "That's How Strong My Love Is"and "Hall Of The Mountain King"usually relying on Peter Albin for lead vocals. Later, Peter would also sing the lead on the early versions of "Down on Me", and "Summertime". During the winter of 1966 Chuck Jones left the band and was replaced by Dave Getz. Dave played his first gig with the band on March12 at the Matrix. The band also decided they should begin looking for a female lead singer as a "copycat thing"the Jefferson Airplane and other San Francisco bands had woman Singers. Chet Helms suggested Janis Joplin, a transplanted Texan who had performed in the Bay Area in 1963-64 before returning home. The band became aware of her shortly after she came to San Francisco; Peter and James heard her in coffeehouses. On Chet's urging Janis auditioned for the band at their rehearsal hall in an old Red house. After performing a couple of songs from her coffee house days, it was agreed to invite her to join the band. Janis debuted with Big Brother on June 10, 1966, at the Avalon Ballroom. The majority of Big Brother fans approved of the addition, and Janis became an instant hit. When Janis joined, the musical direction of the band began to change. In the early days they regularly launched into extended improvisations such as The Hall of the Mountain King, a number they playing in concert that often stretched out into a fifteen minute flight of fancy. After Janis came, the format became more structured To accommodate a vocalist. In August 1966, Big Brother went to Chicago for an extended engagement at Mother Blues, a major blues-rock venue. It was there that they signed their first record contract with Mainstream Records. It was almost a year before their self-titled album was released. Throughout the winter of 1966 and the spring of 1967, their popularity and their audience continued to grow. In June 1967 the band was invited to play at the Monterey Pop Festival. It was their performance at Monterey -particularly Janis and her "screamingly mournful vocals and potently sexual stage act", as a reviewer wrote -that truly shot Big Brother into the national spotlight. But though Janis was hailed as a great blues singer, Ed Denson of the Berkeley Barb observed that "it was the instrumentalists who really made The group out of sight." Following the Monterey Pop Festival performance, Big Brother was signed by Columbia Records. Their second album, Cheap Thrills, was a tremendous success, monopolizing the number one spot on the charts for eight weeks. The musicianship on the album is unparalleled. James Gurley, who has been called the "Father of Psychedelic Guitar"by Guitar Player magazine, and Sam Andrew took the duelling lead guitars to new heights. Rick Clark, in the All Music Book, said: "Anyone who thinks Guns N ' Roses mastered hard electric blues-grunge hasn't heard Big Brother 's James Gurley and Sam Houston Andrew duke it out on tracks like 'Ball And Chain ', 'Summertime' and 'Combination of the Two '." By the close of 1968, Janis Joplin had decided to leave the band. Sam Andrew joined her in her new Kozmic Blues Band, and Peter Albin and David Getz joined Country Joe and The Fish. Big Brother ceased to exist for a period of months; but by the early fall of 1969 the band was resurrected. Peter, Sam, Dave and James were back together, joined off and on by David Schallock (guitar, vocals), Nick Gravenites (vocals), and Kathy McDonald (vocals), and others. Two more Columbia albums were released: Be A Brother (1970), and How Hard It Is (1971).Events and situations of that time in the bands history eventually took their toll and over a period of months beginning in 1972 Big Brother began to come apart as a band. The individual members remained friends and became involved in other bands and musical projects. Between 1971 and 1978 Big Brother and the Holding Company reunited only once, for an October 1978 show organized by Chet Helms at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. The rebirth of the band occurred almost ten years later in 1987, coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the Summer of Love. Auditions for a female singer were held in July and the band began public performances in August with vocalist Michel Bastian. Since reuniting, Big Brother has played to enthusiastic audiences around the world. The duelling guitars of Andrew and Gurley, the rhythmic bass of Albin and the solid beat of Getz had critics proclaiming their sound today as "fresh and crisp" as it was thirty years ago... Lisa Battle spent two years with Big Brother, and 1997 saw the addition of Tom Finch on guitar. A new studio album, Do What You Love was released in 1998.Since 2000 Big Brother has been lucky to have numerous Singers available for touring including Kacee Clanton, Andra Mitrovich and Wendy Rich. Guitar duties are still shared between Sam Andrew and either Chad Quist or Tom Finch or even Kate Russo on electric violin from time to time. In 1999 Big Brother returned to Europe again and has played over 20 dates a year there ever since. From big hippie festivals like the Burg Herzberg Festival (4 times now and even recorded a live DVD there in 2005) to large clubs and theatres. Since 2001 the band has played in Germany, England, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovakia, Denmark and France. In September of 2005 the band made its first trip to Thailand to perform as well. In 2006 the band will release their first live recording since 1968 's "Live At Winterland ".The new live CD,"Hold Me "was recorded at the Burg Herzberg Festival in July of 2005 and features new tracks like "Hold Me "as well as old favourites like "Piece Of My Heart ","Ball &Chain ","Down On Me ","Summertime "and "Turtle Blues ".Big Brother &The Holding Company will also do a world tour in 2006 for their 40th Anniversary. A return trip to Thailand is in the works as well as at least one tour of Europe and of course the US and Canada will see Anniversary shows too. This edition of Big Brother & The Holding Company is one you don't want to miss. The hits are as alive today as they were back in the 60's and the band is a true pleasure to work with.

JERRY DONAHUE (USA)

"The string-bending king of the planet." - Danny Gatton "His Telecaster sound knocked me out... Listen to [Telecasting Recast], and I think you'll be amazed at the tone." - Seymour Duncan "Freak of nature." - Guitar Shop Magazine The guitarist's guitarist" and "Bend Master of the Telecaster." Those are the monikers bestowed upon Jerry Donahue by those fortunate enough to have witnessed first-hand his truly amazing and almost freakish electric guitar technique, both as a soloist and as one third of that hellish troika de-twang, The Hellecasters. A perennial Guitar Player magazine Reader's Poll winner, Jerry Donahue has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in popular music. From his early days in such bands as Fotheringay and Fairport Convention, to notable performances and/or recordings with Gerry Rafferty, Robert Plant, Joan Armatrading, Elton John, The Proclaimers, Johnny Hallyday, George Harrison, Cliff Richard, Chris Rea, Warren Zevon, Bonnie Raitt, Hank Marvin, Roy Orbison, Nancy Griffith, The Yardbirds, and The Hellecasters, Jerry epitomizes the consummate "guitarist's guitarist." Jerry has received widespread acclaim for his work as a member of The Hellecasters guitar trio. Guitar Shop magazine described Jerry as a "freak of nature" whose string-bending technique could be accomplished only by a "four-armed pedal steeler!" In Guitar Player, the late, great Danny Gatton referred to him as "the string-bending king of the planet." His recent Telecasting Recast is actually a re-release of Jerry's 1986 cult solo debut, Telecasting, and is a favourite among guitar fans everywhere. 'Recast' is a wonderfully revamped, renewed and upgraded version featuring added surprises and considerably higher production values. The son of 1940s/50s Big Band leader, Sam Donahue, and TV and film actress, Patricia Donahue, Jerry has combined the Celtic folk music of his adopted home in the UK with his American rock, blues and country roots to arrive at his own, unique, unmistakable style.

BOB GELDOF (IRELAND)

Putting their best feet forward, irrespective of the consequences, was always the policy of The Boomtown Rats: lead singer Bob Geldof, Johnny Fingers on keyboards, guitarist Garry Roberts, bassist Pete Briquette, and drummer Simon Crowe. "We've played and recorded exactly the kind of music we wanted," Geldof said at one point, "whether or not it made commercial sense. As it transpired, there were invariably hits, but even songs like "Never In A Million Years" which wasn't, is as important musically to us as the big ones like "Rat Trap" or "I Don't Like Mondays". Merely picking out two or three songs by The Boomtown Rats would not help you form an overall picture of their music, as it would with many acts of their era. To gain a clear-cut impression,you must look thoroughly at everything from the reggae-tinged "Banana Republic" and the snotty-nosed abrasiveness of "She's So Modern:' to the skatalited hi-steppin' "House On Fire." "Even when we started," said Geldof, "our influences were ludicrously wide. We listened to everything - reggae like Marley, Toots, and Johnnie Corke; U.S. black music from R&B to Philly sounds to the old bluesmen; English '60s stuff like the Stones, Them, and the Pretty Things; straight pop like the Beatles, and so on, a ton of other stuff, songwriters, rockabilly, country, garage bands". This was a great deal to assimilate for a bunch of lads from Dun Laoghaire (pronounced dun-leary), Ireland. Formed in 1975 in guitarist Garry Roberts' kitchen in Dublin, they were so disorganized at first that Geldof began as the manager and Roberts was lead singer They quickly sorted out the long-lasting original lineup from a community of friends and distant relatives. No small amount of attention was focused on Geldof, already a controversial figure for the scathing wit of his rock criticism as an Irish correspondent for Melody Maker. They impulsively chose the name The Boomtown Rats for themselves, after Woody Guthrie's gang of down-and outsiders from his autobiography, Bound For Glory. The new Rats played sets for two to three hours at a clip, amusing themselves with their own versions of R&B hits and onstage pranks. They eventually named a pointless dance after themselves and called upon fans to "Do the Rat" On one occasion they handed out internal organs as dance contest prizes. Such behavior did not go unnoticed by the media. It was their live performance that won them the attention of Nigel Grainge, who signed them to his London-based Ensign Records label. The Rats' future was to be in England, "so we moved" stated Geldof, "because London is the center of the music business" In fact, they could hardly afford to live in London so they shared a great house in Chessington. The famous local zoo was more orderly. The young Rats gigged back and forth across Great Britain with Chessington serving as rehearsal and residence facility. They embarked on their first full-scale tour of England in the spring of 1977, including five dates with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Their first U.K. chart single came along in August, "Looking After No. l," the first socalled new-wave 45 to be playlisted by the BBC. The Boomtown Rats subsequently became the first new-wave band to be offered an appearance on "Top Of The Pops." Their self-titled debut album was issued in November, along with another top-charted U.K. hit, "Mary Of The 4th Form" At year's end, Capitol Radio named them "Most Promising Group of the Year" and the LP won "Best Album of the Year" Around the corner in early '78 was a new single, "She's So Modern," from the second album, A Tonic For The Troops, which also included the follow-up summer single, "Like Clockwork". The stage was set for the release of "Rat Trap" in October, the first new-wave 45 to hit #1 on the British chart. The impact of this was not lost on Columbia Records in the U.S., who issued Tonic in January'79 (with a "bonus" track in the form of 'Joey's On The Street Again" from the first LP). Geldof and Johnny Fingers agreed to a gruelling tour of radio stations across the country (32 cities in 33 days!) to boost the album's release as well as the U.S. issue of "Rat Trap". While in Atlanta during the tour, one radio station's wire service ticked out the story of Brenda Spencer, the troubled schoolgirl whose wild shooting spree in San Diego made front-page news. She explained herself simply: "I don't like Mondays" Geldof composed the song on the spot, originally as a reggae. Back in Los Angeles after the tour, a studio demo was recorded with grand piano and vocals. By the time "I Don't Like Mondays" was introduced onstage in Loch Lomond, Scotland, the song had been transformed dramatically. Lt became the Rats' second #l million seller in England and was voted 1979s "Single of the Year" in the British Pop and Rock awards. Moreover, it broke the Rats in regions they'd never imagined. That meant touring abroad, even cultivating a new sense of internationalism. "We have made a point," Geldof said at the time, "of visiting different countries for concerts, places like India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore. We just take guitars and drumsticks and let the promoter provide everything else. We make sure we can spend four or five days in each city we visit, to get some kind of insight, however limited, into what goes on there and how people live. It's important to make the effort, otherwise we might as well be sitting by a pool in Los Angeles or something." The release of The Fine Art Of Surfacing album (October '79, featuring "I Don't Like Mondays") was followed by the Rats' world tour of 1980, through Europe, America, the Far East, and Australia. For their next album, Mondo Bongo (January, 1979), the band worked with producer Tony Visconti and notched another U.K. hit with "Banana Republic " In contrast, U.S. club play focused on another track, "Up All Night". Visconti and The Rats recorded again in 1982: the release of V Deep in September coincided with the opening of "The Wall:' the full-length feature film based on the Pink Floyd album of the same name, with Geldof cast in the demanding role of Pink, his wide-screen debut. There followed something like a hiatus for The Boomtown Rats during 1983-'84, a period punctuated (for American audiences only) by a six-song EP compilation cleverly titled Ratrospective (March, 1983). If the truth be known (here and now, finally), the album known as In The Long Grass was recorded in '83 and planned for release in the first months of '84. The delay-of one full year-in the release of said album is chalked up to the vagaries of the recording marketplace. In the meanwhile, we have Bob Geldof viewing a BBC broadcast documenting the devastation of drought-ridden Ethiopia and East Africa. It was November, 1984, and his immediate reaction was to organize nearly 40 of Britain's pop peerage into the recording troupe known as Band Aid. The song was called "Do They Know It's Christmas;' co-written with the producer of the session, Midge Ure of Ultravox. Ironically, as Geldof mentioned later to several journalists, he expected to sell perhaps 100,000 Band Aid singles, "the fact that it became a pop phenomenon is something I hadn't bargained for" Indeed, "Do They Know It's Christmas" became something much more than a pop music phenom, and that Christmas '84 turned into a season of concern and hope for the starving millions in Africa. Not the least fallout was the reconsideration of In The Long Grass, released January, 1985. This was the limbo period after Band Aid, when the fate of The Boomtown Rats hung in the balance. "it may take more than a song; wrote Rod Thompson in the Nottingham (U.K.) Evening Post, covering one of their coming-out shows, "to change the attitude of the civilized countries of the world to the problems of their poor neighbors but, from the chants that rang out last night, the message is still strong and Geldof continues to provide food for thought". "The question before the concert:' Thompson zeroed in, "was, would the punters be Band Aid buyers or devotees of The Boomtown Rats of the punk era? Before that final number of the night, the latter seemed to have taken the hall by force, with not a little encouragement from Mr. Geldof himself". 1985 and '86 brought ever-growing tributes to the influence of Sir Bob -Band Aid, Hear 'N Aid, Live Aid, Farm Aid, USA for Africa, Amnesty and Hands Across America, and a shelf of all-star recordings whose benefits ranged from New Jersey to South Africa-one hesitates to catalog these events or the monies and consciousness that they raised. Nobel Peace Prize awards notwithstanding, we'll follow Bob deep in the heart of nowhere and back again. Any day. But In The Long Grass proved to be the swan song of The Boomtown Rats, that decidedly heroic Irish band whose career was short-changed by style and convention. And rock is once again left with a curiously-titled recording by which to remember one of its finest groups. For the true believers, this closes a chapter of pop history that should've stayed open just a little while longer.