therats.html

Boomtown Rats Garry Roberts and Simon Crowe present their new band The Rats..... .... Garry & Simon the driving force behind the Rats sound, have put their powerful alliance together once again to re-ignite and develop the essence of their music as it should be heard, with its driving rhythms and meaty guitar riffs. Their new band, The Rats with Pete Barton on bass & vocals and Darren Beale on guitar, perform all their classic hits along with live favourites like 'Joey's On The Street Again' and 'Neon Heart'. Their music still holds its appeal and is a reminder of how this dynamic sound is as relevant today as it ever was. New Album out soon 'The Rats' Tour Dates November 2008 Saturday 15th Charter Hall, Market Street, Okehampton. with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses December 2008 Wednesday 17th Swansea Venue Tba with Eddie and The Hot Rods January 2009 Friday 16th The Cluney Newcastle with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Saturday 17th Theatre Royal Wakefield Tel: 01924 215 531 www.theatreroyalwakefield.co.uk with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Wednesday 21st Leeds Irish Centre with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Thursday 22nd Corn Exchange, Bedford. with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Friday 23rd M Club Crewe with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Saturday 24th Corn Exchange, Newbury. with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Sunday 25th Rock n Blues Festival, Skegness with Eddie and The Hot Rods, Dr Feelgood, Wilko Johnson,The Hamsters etc Monday 26th Exmouth Pavillion with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Tuesday 27th The Musician, Leicester with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Wednesday 28th The Arts Complex, Solihull with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses. Thursday 29th The Playhouse Alnwick with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Friday 30th The Buccleuch Centre, Langholm, with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses Saturday 31st The Platform Morcambe with special guest Andy Watts from The Seahorses February 2009 Sunday 1st Martletts Hall, Burgess Hill. with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm Wednesday 4th Huntingdon Hall Worcester with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm Thursday 5th The Castle Wellinborough with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm Friday 6th Not Available Saturday 7th Not Available Sunday 8th Not Available Monday 9th Tba Tuesday 10th Baby Blue Club, The Albert Dock, Liverpool Tel 0151 702 5834 with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm Thursday 12th Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm. Friday 13th The Brook Southampton with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm Saturday 14th The Playhouse, Harlow with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm Sunday 15th The Robin Bilston with special guest Dave Sharp from The Alarm April 2009 Saturday 18th Hailsham Pavilion with support tba Thursday 23rd Rothes Hall, Glenrothes. Fife. Scotland with support tba Saturday 25th Didcot Arts Centre with support tba May 2009 Monday 25th Darwen Town Festival --------------------------- What The Critics and Fans say Robin 2 Bilston, 06/08/08 Exceeded even my wildest expectations. Darren on lead was a star and is a genuine Rat and as for Pete's vocals!! Bob who? Top marks boys, top, top marks. PS. The final encore blew me away! jk --------------------------- Robin 2 Bilston, 06/08/08 Me and my big bruv went last night I cant begin to explain how good this was. I did not expect much but got one of my best nights, as good as bobs band any night of the week. I cant wait for to see em all again . Mondays was the big finish! and what a finish !! they should release that right now! Paul reeves --------------------------- Robin 2 Bilston, 06/08/08 Wow - what a surreal evening. I went to Bilston expecting nothing but got one of the most enjoyable experiences ever. Bumped into Gary and Simon before the gig and had a great chat about the band. Two down to earth really pleasant blokes. Gary claimed the first album to be their finest work although we did disagree over the 'album filler' Kicks. The gig itself stood up well against anything I've ever seen the band do before. Mind you I missed the early stuff first time round as my first Rats gig was during the In The Long Grass tour. Great mix of early tracks brilliantly reproduced vocally by Peter but special praise to Darren on lead guitar.Gary and Simon were awesome and took it all in their stride. Already looking forward to Solihull in January. If you're thinking of going to see the Rats - don't think, just go - they rock! Mark --------------------------- 100 Club, London 07/08/08 The Rats Rock London More than two decades ago The Boomtown Rats opened the first Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London, and last night The Rats returned to Oxford Street to play at the legendary 100 Club. The Rats consisting of original Boomtown Rats members Garry Roberts (guitar) and Simon Crowe (drums), with the addition of Pete Barton (lead vocals & bass) and Darren Beale (guitar) showed they could turn back the clock whilst still moving forward. It was with some trepidation that I went to see The Rats - asking myself the same question as many will ask - how would the band stack-up playing live, not just against the Boomtown Rats of more than 2 decades ago, but also against Bob Geldof? The Rats took to the stage, and the first thing to note is that Garry and Simon have aged well and are looking great. As soon as Garry launched into the opening riff of Close As You'll Ever Be it became apparent that he still has what it takes - the whole band does. It was a full-on performance. This is clearly not a band going through the motions - they look very hungry, determined, and gave it all they've got - and then some. It was an astonishing band performance, which made the songs feel fresh and new, and as relevant today as they were back in the day. I had the pleasure of watching the gig with ex-Boomtown Rats guitarist Gerry Cott - who was wearing his trademark sunglasses. Three Boomtown Rats in the same room! Gerry was full of praise for all 4 members of The Rats. During the gig, Gerry gave me a running commentary on the background behind some of the songs, their musical influences, and memories. Most of the set-list consisted of the early Rats music from the first 3 albums. In the early days, The Boomtown Rats were heavily influenced by Dr Feelgood - and some Dr Feelgood songs were played in early Rats style as a bonus. Both Garry and Darren played fantastically well. It was great to hear the songs played with 2 guitarists - just as they should be. Simon's drumming was spot-on - he is more than just a drummer and his style enhances the songs perfectly. The Rats set-list involves complex, intensive and relentless drumming so Simon barely gets to pause for a second - and he does a lot of the singing too. Extremely hard work and physically demanding for anyone - but he did it perfectly. Pete Barton is in the awkward position of covering for the parts of Geldof & Pete Briquette. He is a strong singer and certainly did the songs justice. He is as animated as can be whilst singing and playing bass, and is a good choice by the band. He should take a lot of confidence from the approval of The Boomtown Rats fans. All 4 members did their share of vocal duties. An obvious challenge for the band would be working out how to play the epics Rat Trap and I Don't Like Mondays using 2 guitarists, bass, and drums. The Rats played them with vigour in an up-beat guitar driven style more in keeping with other early Rats songs. It worked fantastically well. So what did The Boomtown Rats and Bob Geldof fans think? They gave it a unanimous thumbs-up and wouldn't have missed it for the world. There were even some teary-eyed fans at the end on the night - and not an onion in sight. They will be coming back for more. After the gig, Garry Roberts showed Gerry Cott his guitar - Garry had made the guitar himself - a talented fellow! The dials on Garry's custom guitar go up to 11. Garry asked Gerry if he would like to do some guest appearances in the future. Gerry also exchanged tips with Darren. Everyone got along very well. The band stayed behind after the gig to speak to fans until they had seen everyone. If you are thinking of going to one of the gigs then don't just think about it, go and buy some tickets in advance and take your friends for a great night out. You are guaranteed to see a really fantastic band. Not to be missed! Official Boomtown Rats Website --------------------------- 100 Club, London 07/08/08 I went to the 100 Club to see The Rats. The band were amazing and played a great gig they rocked and it was back to hard core Rock Music as it should be played. I count myself very lucky to witness this great gig and over the years have attened 100s including early Pistol and U2 gigs well this stacked among them as an all time gig. Well done lads and i will be at some more next Year in and around London. The band did not suffer in talent or energy and delivered well and yet again it proves that the Band is bigger and better than a singer who goes solo. The Rats should be proud. More please lads. P.S It was nice tosee that they had not forgotten the fans and spent time talking to us. Cheers..............Steve Punk Pool --------------------------- 100 Club, London 07/08/08 Just blew me away! It was like being transported back to 1977/1978 Sonically the Rats were immaculate. OK, they may be a little older & rounder but ain't we all? Pete Barton was like Briquette/Geldof/Fingers rollled into one and dare I say it, spat out the lyrics far more impressively than Geldof could hope to do these days. At times I closed my eyes and it was no different , and if anything better. And Darren Beale though he looked like he was bunking off school for the night was like Cott/Fingers and sundry musicians merged into one. But Garry & Simon were the backbone on which it was all built on. Stood in front of Garry he showed how he was the core of a lot of the Rats sound. Set list essentially all the hits from 77 - 80, the first album and Dr. feelgood covers. Who could ask for more? And if that wasn't enough Gerry Cott turned up! a little drunk and over excited right now and will probably be. If you do get the chance to see the Rats anywhere in the next 12 months cancel all other engagements and see them! Ar Gee --------------------------- 100 Club, London 07/08/08 Well, what a night last night seeing the rats for the first time! my very first vinyl LP ever was the classic Tonic for the Troops. last night at the 100 club brought tears to my eyes to be taken back to my teenage years. long live the rats! Fan --------------------------- Rebellion Festival, Blackpool 08/08/09 The place rocked to the rafters--About 2000 people packed in and they loved it. The long overdue return to a big venue went down really well and how the crowd loved the rocked up version of Mondays--We overheard some lads at breakfast this morning in the hotel and had a chat after--They were well impressed and said they would go and see them again--get your tickets everyone. Fan ---------------------------

THE RATS

`THE RATS`