Album · Boomtown Rats
A Tonic for the Troops by Boomtown Rats
A Tonic for the Troops is an album by Boomtown Rats, released in 1978. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 16 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “She's So Modern”, on 9 lists with a best position of #451.
A Tonic for the Troops, the Boomtown Rats' second album, hit the racks in June 1978 on Ensign, and it's the sound of six cocky Irishmen who've figured out that punk's snarl travels further with a hook bolted onto it. Mutt Lange produced, and he buffs the band's new wave bash to a hard, bright shine without sanding off the sneer.
Bob Geldof yelps and struts up front, Garry Roberts and Gerry Cott trade guitar jabs, Johnnie Fingers hammers the keys, and Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe keep the whole racket moving at a gallop. "She's So Modern" is pure nervy sugar rush, "Like Clockwork" ticks along with a mechanical menace, and "Rat Trap" is the big, swaggering one, the song that took them all the way to number one on the UK singles chart. The album itself reached number 8 in Britain, the bridge between their debut and The Fine Art of Surfacing.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from A Tonic for the Troops on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | She's So Modern | 9 | #451 | – | 1999–2005 | |
| 2 | Rat Trap | 6 | #320 | – | 2001–2006 | |
| 3 | Like Clockwork | 1 | #752 | – | 2003 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.