Bob Geldof is being sued by a former Boomtown Rat bandmate. Johnnie Fingers claims he co-wrote the band’s hit song I Don’t Like Mondays, for which Geldof was credited as the sole writer when it was released in 1979.
Johnnie Fingers (real name John Moylett) was a keyboard player with the band. He insists that he wrote the music as well as some of the song's lyrics. He claims he was pressured not to take credit at the time by Geldof, the lead singer of the band, and that he was promised he’d get his ‘fair share.’
John Moylett, now 60 and living in Japan, is seeking two-thirds of the royalties accumulated over the 37 years since the song became a massive hit around the globe. This would amount to millions of dollars.
The song lyrics deal with the true story of teenage killer Brenda Spencer who went on a shooting rampage while the Boomtown Rats were touring America.
Moylett states in a High Court writ that he composed the signature piano riff in February 1979 after returning to the UK. Geldof reportedly insists that he first played a version of the song for a radio audience while the band was still in the US.
Moylett has reportedly sent letters to Geldof on the matter since 2004. The case is now set to enter the High Court, although a date for the hearing is yet to be scheduled.
Geldof, now 65, has called for the case to be struck out, declaring that the claims, which involve millions of pounds, were likely to be ‘a figment of his (Fingers') imagination.’
