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Banana Republic (song)

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"Banana Republic"
Single by The Boomtown Rats
from the album Mondo Bongo[1]
B-side"Man at the Top"[2]
ReleasedNovember 1980 (1980-11)
GenreNew wave, reggae[3]
Length3:24 (album version 5:01)
LabelEnsign 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)

"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]

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]

Charts

Chart (1980–81) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 18
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 30
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 47
Germany (GfK)[12] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 35
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 3
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[16] 12
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 3

References

  1. ^ a b William Ruhlmann. "The Boomtown Rats | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  2. ^ a b c d "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. ^ [1] 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. ^ [2] Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "The Boomtown Rats – Banana Republic" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0307." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  12. ^ "The Boomtown Rats – Banana Republic" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Banana Republic". Irish Singles Chart.
  14. ^ "The Boomtown Rats – Banana Republic" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  15. ^ "The Boomtown Rats – Banana Republic". VG-lista.
  16. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  17. ^ "The Boomtown Rats – Banana Republic". Singles Top 100.
  18. ^ "The Boomtown Rats – Banana Republic". Swiss Singles Chart.
  19. ^ "Boomtown Rats: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
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