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Boomtown Rats - Looking after Dublin |
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In 1977 The Boomtown Rats were set to play the first open air show at Dalymount Park. Thin Lizzy were due to play on the same bill.
Thin Lizzy decided to do a low key warm-up gig at Moran's Hotel in Dublin - at a regular night for live music called the 'Much More Music Gig'. The Boomtown Rats regularly frequented gigs at Moran's Hotel.
Morans's drink licence prohibited them from advertising events so a single poster was placed in the window on Talbot Street and the rest was word of mouth. New Spotlight magazine found out about the low key Thin Lizzy gig and ran with the story.
Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy was driving to the gig when he saw a huge crowd going round the block. Realising that it could have implications from the promoters of the Dalymount show he continued on up Gardiner Street where he found a phone box to phone to cancel the show.
The promoter of the 'Much More Music Gig' was known as Smiley. Smiley was faced with a big problem when in walked The Boomtown Rats to give him a signed copy of Looking after No.1. The b-side of Looking after No. 1. had been recorded at Moran's in 1975.
Smiley explained his problem, Bob Geldof took out a marker, scribbled out Thin Lizzy on the poster and wrote "Boomtown Rats - Looking after Dublin."
When the crowd realized what was going on they went crazy - the Rats had become really huge, and so many people were there that Smiley eventually had to abandon the door and let people in for free (Moran's only held about 250 people).
Meanwhile Phil Lynott was feeling guilty and went back to see what was going on. He got on well with the Rats but was incensed at them "robbing my f*****g gig." So he went back to the car, took out his bass, found Eamonn Carr (Horslips drummer) in the bar and recruited him, and decided that he want to play.
When The Boomtown Rats and Phil Lynott took to the stage the place erupted and a near riot broke out in the venue which was well over its capacity at that stage.
It was a great night, but the following week the management of Moran's felt it had gone too far and so pulled the plug on future gigs at the venue. |
The Boomtown Rats