Peak
73
Weeks
5
Score
247
Chart Year
1980
A music video directed by David Mallet was used to promote the song. The video begins with the Boomtown Rats performing in a choir with children in the pews miming the chorus ("Tell Me Why?"). It then cuts to a family living room with the daughter just coming back from school but here the chorus is mimed by the other three band members to lead singer Bob Geldof. It then transitions to a soft piano fill with Geldof in front of a white background wearing sunglasses singing the final verse of the single version. After the line "And the lesson today is how to die" a series of jump cuts of Geldof quickly appear before he sings the last few lines. Afterwards the final chorus is presented this time mimed with the same children from the beginning. The clip ends with the Boomtown Rats looking at a chroma key image of the house in a grassy plain from the video's opening image.
"I Don't Like Mondays" is about Brenda Spencer, a 16-year-old high school student who lived across the street from Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California. On Monday, January 29, 1979, she opened fire on the school with a rifle her father had given her for Christmas, killing two adults (including the principal) and injuring nine children before going back to her home. Police surrounded her home and waited for seven hours until she gave herself up. In that time, she spoke with a reporter on the phone. When asked why she did it, she replied, "I just started shooting, that's it. I just did it for the fun of it. I just don't like Mondays. I just did it because it's a way to cheer the day up. Nobody likes Mondays." This was #1 hit in 32 different countries but it flopped in America, probably because the subject matter hit too close to home. Gun violence is a big problem in America. At a basic level, this is often heard as a song lamenting the beginning of the work week. Some radio stations play it every Monday at a certain time. Group leader Bob Geldof wrote this song. He went on to organize charity efforts Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8, earning a KBE (the equivalent of knighthood given to people born outside of the United Kingdom) for his efforts. The Boomtown Rats played it as part of their set at Live Aid. While in Atlanta touring, Bob Geldof heard the news story about Brenda Spencer. Geldof composed the song on the spot, originally as a reggae number. Back in Los Angeles after the tour, a studio demo was recorded with grand piano and vocals. By the time 'I Don't Like Mondays' was introduced onstage in Loch Lomond, Scotland, the song had been transformed dramatically. Report this ad Brenda Spencer's parents tried to have the single banned in the US, without success. The video, directed by David Mallet, was one of the first to have a narrative story to it, albeit a rather abstract one. There is no reference to the shooting that inspired the song, but we see a schoolgirl leave class and return home, where her parents are watching television. In the UK, the song won the prestigious Best Pop Song and Outstanding British Lyric categories at The Ivor Novello Awards. It was also voted 1979's "Single of the Year" in the British Pop and Rock awards. Tori Amos covered this on her album Strange Little Girls. Every song on the album is a different take on a song written by a man. Bob Geldof sang this at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, London, on July 2, 2005. Live 8 was a series of concerts that in the G8 nations and South Africa that Geldof helped organize in an effort to pressure world leaders to get rid of the debt of African nations. "I Don't Like Mondays" was Geldof's only performance at the event; he was backed by the band Travis after they played their set. >> Geldof originally intended this to be a B-side and when Ensign put this out as a single, he protested, "You're mad, that's not a hit." However his record label people knew better. "I Don't Like Mondays" spent four weeks at #1 in the UK. The second week (August 4, 1978), the #2 song was "Can't Stand Losing You" by The Police, another morbid (although fictional) song, about a kid who kills himself in despair.
The silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload And nobody's gonna go to school today She's going to make them stay at home And daddy doesn't understand it He always said she was as good as gold And he can see no reason 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be sure Oh, oh, oh tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays I want to shoot The whole day down The Telex machine is kept so clean As it types to a waiting world And mother feels so shocked Father's world is rocked And their thoughts turn to their own little girl Sweet sixteen ain't that peachy keen Now, it ain't so neat to admit defeat They can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need oh, woah Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays I want to shoot The whole day down Down, down Shoot it all down All the playing's stopped in the playground now She wants to play with her toys a while And school's out early and soon we'll be learning And the lesson today is how to die And then the bullhorn crackles And the captain tackles With the problems and the how's and why's And he can see no reasons 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to die, die Oh, oh, oh and the silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload And nobody's gonna go to school today She's going to make them stay at home And daddy doesn't understand it He always said she was as good as gold And he can see no reason 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be sure Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like, I don't like, I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like, I don't like, (tell me why) I don't like Mondays Tell me why I don't like Mondays I want to shoot, the whole day down, uh, uh, uh
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 2, 1980 | 91 | 35 |
| 2 | Feb 9, 1980 | 80 | 46 |
| 3 | Feb 16, 1980 | 75 | 51 |
| 4 | Feb 23, 1980 | 73 | 53 |
| 5 | Mar 1, 1980 | 92 | 34 |