Bob Geldof Sued For Millions by Former Bandmate Over Claims He Co-Wrote I Don't Like Mondays
The Boomtown Rats Credit: REX
The Telegraph UK, 18 October 2016
Bob Geldof is being sued after a former Boomtown Rat bandmate claimed he co-wrote the 1979 hit I Don't Like Mondays.
Johnnie Fingers, whose real name is John Moylett, says he wrote the music and some of the lyrics to the song but was pressured not to take credit at the time by Geldof, the lead singer of the band.
The song is about a shocking school shooting that took place while the band were in America.
Bob Geldof addresses thousands of protesters in Parliament Square Credit: NIKLAS HALLE'N/Getty
The keyboard player, who now lives in Japan, states in a High Court writ that he came up with the famous piano riff in February 1979 after returning to the UK and that Geldof initially thought it sounded too classical.
Now aged 60, he is seeking two-thirds of the royalties accumulated over 37 years.
Geldof, however, reportedly says he first played a version when the band was still in the States to a radio audience.
Fingers has sent letters to Geldof since 2004, but the case will now head to the High Court.
Geldof has called for the case to be struck out, claiming they were likely to be "a figment of his [Fingers'] imagination".
The song was written after 16-year-old Brenda Spencer fired shots in a playground killing her headteacher and the school caretaker. Eight children and a police officer were injured.
She said the reason she carried out the shooting was:
"I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day."
Fingers claims that at the time Geldof warned him not to claim any royalties, promising he would receive his "fair share".
A date for the hearing is yet to be scheduled at the High Court.