Like Clockwork

"Like Clockwork"
Single by The Boomtown Rats
from the album A Tonic for the Troops
B-side	"How Do You Do?"
Released	Summer 1978 (UK)
Format	7" vinyl
Genre	Rock
Length	3:45
Label	Ensign Records(UK) Columbia Records(USA)
Writer(s)	Bob Geldof lyrics, Pete Briquette & Simon Crowe music[1]
Producer	Robert John "Mutt" Lange
The Boomtown Rats singles chronology
"She's So Modern" (1978) "Like Clockwork" (1978) "Rat Trap" (1979)

"Like Clockwork" is a single by The Boomtown Rats. It was the band's first to break the top ten in the British charts reaching number 6. Described as simple, cool^[2], in concerts supporting A Tonic for the Troops the song's agitated, staccato bassline made it a common show opener. The song features a nod to the John Lennon Song God. The B-side, "How do you do?" was a typical 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 "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, Dún Laoghaire.^[3] The latter was later released in the UK as a free Flexidisc distributed by Flexipop Magazine in January 1981.^[4][5]

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. ^ Bob Geldof site
2. ^ Brian Block review
3. ^ Discography notes
4. ^ Photo of the D.U.N L.A.O.G.H.A.I.R.E Flexi Disc
5. ^ Listen to D.U.N L.A.O.G.H.A.I.R.E on Youtube