Countdown on Countdown

Mark L · Loudmouth

Countdown on Countdown

noelindublin · Loudmouth

A bit like films, records were sometimes released later in different terrotories. The most obvious reason is to test the water in say, the Uk and then see how it goes elsewhere. I think the Rats were promoting I Don't Like Mondays In the US long after it was a hit in the Uk, and I suspect that the band was tired of the song by then. Funny thing is that the song was written and first played in San Diego, before it became a hit in Europe.

There was a site which listed all the Rats international hits together, but it is no longer on line. I'm not sure in which country Mondays was last a hit, or the time suquence of its international release, but a staggered international release was likely, perhaps with a time span of a year from the summer of 1979 into summer 1980 depending on the country, but unfortunately that website in no longer there to glean the full details.

While I Don't Like Mondays was not a big hit in the US it's peak chart position was reached in January 1980, while the song itself was released on 21 Sept 1979. Off the top of my head I suspect it may have been a hit in some places like Japan or Asia in general in 1980. There is a Japanse promo of the song from 1980.

Mark L · Loudmouth

Banana Republic peaked at 7 in Sweden in March 1981, by which time that song and 'Graveyard' had both expired in the UK.