"Rat Trap"
Single by The Boomtown Rats
from the album A Tonic for the Troops
B-side	"So Strange"
Released	October 14, 1978 (UK)
Format	7" vinyl
Genre	Rock
Length	4:55
Label	Ensign Records(UK) Columbia Records(USA)
Producer	Robert John "Mutt" Lange
The Boomtown Rats singles chronology
"Like Clockwork" (1978) "Rat Trap" (1978) "I Don't Like Mondays" (1979)

"Rat Trap" was a single by The Boomtown Rats which reached #1 in the UK singles chart for two weeks in November 1978.

It is notable as it was the first official UK #1 single by a punk or new wave act (though see "God Save the Queen").

It was also famous for finally replacing "Summer Nights", a hit single from the soundtrack of Grease, after it had spent seven weeks at the top of the UK charts. Bob Geldof, the group's lead singer, glorified this fact by appearing on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song), holding up a picture of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta to loud cheers from the audience, and then ripping it up.

One of the more popular Boomtown Rats it was performed by them at Live Aid and is still performed by Geldof to this day.

In 1996 Geldof recorded a self-mocking cover version of the song with Dustin The Turkey.

[edit] References

Preceded by "Summer Nights" by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

UK number-one single 18 November 1978 - 25 November 1978

Succeeded by "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart