''V Deep'' is

the Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock/ new wave band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hits including " Like Clockwork", " Rat Trap", " I Don't Like Mondays" and " Banana Republic". T ...

's fifth album, and the first to be released as a five-piece band, following the departure of guitarist

Gerry Cott Gerry Cott (born 15 October 1954, in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish guitarist and songwriter, who was a co-founder of the Irish new wave band The Boomtown Rats. He started playing flamenco guitar when he was 11 years old. In 1966 he saw Bob Dyla ...

. It includes the minor

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

"House on Fire".

Name

The name of the album is pronounced "five deep", not "vee deep" referring to the roman numeral 5. It refers to the fact that it is the band's fifth album and also that they became a five-piece following the departure of Gerry Cott.

Track listing

UK release

All songs were written by

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

, except where noted. # "Never in a Million Years" # "The Bitter End" # "Talking in Code" # "He Watches It All" # "A Storm Breaks" # "Charmed Lives" # "House on Fire" # "Up All Night" # "Skin on Skin" # "The Little Death/... House Burned Down" (Geldof, Pete Briquette)

US release

All songs were written by

, except where noted. # "Never in a Million Years" # "The Bitter End" # "Talking in Code" # "He Watches It All" # "A Storm Breaks" # "Charmed Lives" # "House on Fire" # "Whitehall 1212" (from the UK ''

Mondo Bongo ''Mondo Bongo'' was the Boomtown Rats' fourth album. It peaked at No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1981, and No. 116 in the US ''Billboard'' 200. This is the band's last album to be recorded as six-piece band, as the guitarist Gerry Co ...

'') # "Skin on Skin" # "The Little Death/... House Burned Down" (Geldof, Pete Briquette)

2005 reissue

All songs were written by

, except where noted. # "He Watches It All" # "Never in a Million Years" # "Talking in Code" # "The Bitter End" # "The Little Death" (Geldof, Pete Briquette) # "A Storm Breaks" # "Up All Night" # "House on Fire" # "Charmed Lives" # "Skin on Skin" # "Say Hi to Mick" # "No Hiding Place" (B-side) # "House on Fire" (12" Dub Version) # "Up All Night" (Long Version)

Personnel

;The Boomtown Rats *

– vocals, saxophone *

Pete Briquette Patrick Martin Cusack (born 2 July 1954), known by the stage name Pete Briquette, is an Irish bassist, record producer and composer. He is a member of the Boomtown Rats and has also played in Bob Geldof's band. Boomtown Rats He was born in Ba ...

– bass, vocals *

Johnnie Fingers John Peter Moylett (born 10 September 1956), known professionally as Johnnie Fingers, is an Irish keyboardist and co-founding member of the new wave band the Boomtown Rats. He was notable for his attire of striped pyjamas on stage and his melodi ...

– keyboards, vocals *

Simon Crowe Simon Crowe (born , Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the Irish new wave band The Boomtown Rats. The Boomtown Rats, originally known as the "Nightlife Thugs", was formed in 1975. The band h ...

– drums, vocals *

Garry Roberts Garrick Roberts (16 June 1950 – 9 November 2022) was an Irish musician best known as the lead guitarist with The Boomtown Rats, a band which came into being in 1976. He and Johnnie Fingers (Moylett) had decided to put a band together and, be ...

– guitar, vocals with: *Andy Duncan - percussion *

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, West London. He was educa ...

, Dave McHale - saxophone *

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

- trumpet *

Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who has performed with a number of bands since the 1970s, most notably with Queen (band), Queen in their live concerts since 1984. Career Queen Edney's association with Quee ...

- trombone ;Technical *Andy Le Vien, Corinne Simcock - engineer *Gordon Fordyce - remixing *Ben Kelly - cover, design *Jon Prew - photography

References

The Boomtown Rats albums 1982 albums Albums produced by Tony Visconti {{1980s-rock-album-stub