The band, showing promise in their highly energetic yet melodic work, signed to Ensign Records prior to moving to London. Their self-titled debut album included "Looking After No. 1" and "Mary of the Fourth Form," and found success in the U.K. where it reached the Top 20.

Soon afterwards, they released A Tonic for the Troops, which received critical acclaim. Its hit singles included "She's So Modern" and "Like Clockwork." A third hit from the album entitled "Rat Trap" brought them their first number one hit in the U.K.

A third album called The Fine Art of Surfacing included the hit song "I Don't Like Mondays," the story of an American teenage girl who wounded eight children and killed the school janitor and headmaster. When confronted with respect to the deed, the young girl responded: "I Don't Like Mondays. This livens up the day."

The song reached number one in the U.K. Though the Boomtown Rats continued to hit the Top 5 in the U.K., and though they released a comment on Northern Ireland with "Banana Republic," the success of the hit "I Don't Like Mondays" proved impossible for the band to mimic.