In the Long Grass


In the Long Grass is the sixth studio album by the Boomtown Rats, released in 1984 in the UK and 1985 in the US. It was the band's last studio material for well over three decades until 2020's Citizens of Boomtown, and the last album to feature keyboardist Johnnie Fingers, as he didn't return when the band was reunited in 2013, and the last to be released by them as a five-piece band.
The Boomtown Rats' least commercially favourable effort, it failed to appear altogether in the UK Albums Chart, but did reach No. 188 in the US Billboard 200. Geldof describes being 'anxious' on the day that he saw the BBC report on Ethiopia because In the Long Grass was not getting on the charts and could have been not great.

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Geldof except where indicated.
  1. "A Hold of Me" – 4:57
  2. "Drag Me Down" – 4:31
  3. "Dave" – 4:19
  4. "Over Again" – 3:45
  5. "Another Sad Story" – 3:42
  6. "Tonight" – 3:53
  7. "Hard Times" – 3:54
  8. "Lucky" – 3:37
  9. "An Icicle in the Sun" – 3:50
  10. "Up or Down" – 3:33

    1985 US listing

For the US, the record company insisted that the track "Dave" needed to be reworked before it could be released in that country. Geldof had written "Dave" for Dave MacHale, an Irish saxophonist and keyboard player, after his girlfriend died of a heroin overdose in 1983. New lyrics were written and sung over the same backing track; the new track was called "Rain".
All songs written by Bob Geldof except where indicated.
  1. "A Hold of Me"
  2. "Drag Me Down"
  3. "Rain"
  4. "Over Again"
  5. "Another Sad Story"
  6. "Tonight"
  7. "Hard Times"
  8. "Lucky"
  9. "An Icicle in the Sun"
  10. "Up or Down"

    2005 bonus tracks

  11. "Dave"
  12. "Walking Downtown"
  13. "Precious Time"
  14. "She's Not the Best"

    Personnel

;The Boomtown Rats
;Additional personnel
;Technical