Banana Republic (song)

"Banana Republic" was the first single from The Boomtown Rats' album Mondo Bongo.[1] It peaked at number three in the UK Singles Chart.[4]

"Banana Republic"
Single by The Boomtown Rats
from the album Mondo Bongo[1]
B-side	"Man at the Top"[2]
Released	1980 (1980) (UK)
Genre	New wave, reggae[3]
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
"Someone's Looking at You" (1980) "Banana Republic" (1980) "Up All Night" (1981)

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).[5] 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.[6] 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.[7][8]

References

1. William Ruhlmann. "The Boomtown Rats | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
2. "Boomtown Rats, The - Banana Republic (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
3. Hermann, Andy (25 January 2017). "10 Underrated '80s Bands You Need to Hear Now". L.A. Weekly.
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 71. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. "The Boomtown Rats: January 1981". Theboomtownrats.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
6. Archived July 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
7. "The Boomtown Rats: In and out of the rat trap (article) by John Van der Kiste on AuthorsDen". Authorsden.com. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
8. Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine