Johnnie Fingers and Bob Geldof in Dispute over Boomtown Rats Hit

A row has erupted over who wrote ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’. The song was one of the biggest hits ever for The Boomtown Rats, and is credited to the band’s lead singer and lyricist, Bob Geldof.

However, Geldof is now being sued by the band’s former keyboard player, Johnnie Fingers (pictured furthest to the right), who claims he co-wrote the 1979 hit with Geldof.

Fingers – whose real name is John Moylett – insists that he wrote the music and some of the lyrics to the song. And the issue is heading for the High Court in the UK, unless one side or the other backs down, or some form of compromise is reached.

The lyrics were inspired by the story of teenage killer Brenda Spencer, who went on a shooting rampage while The Boomtown Rats were touring America. Spencer fired a gun in her school playground, killing the school principal and the caretaker. Eight children and a police officer were injured in the incident. Asked why she had decided to shoot people, Spencer responded: "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day."

The dispute touches on the kind of issue that has plagued rock bands over the years, with potential disputes arising over just what parts of a finished recording constitute the song.

In his writ, Moylett states that he composed the signature piano riff in February 1979 after returning to the UK. However, Geldof insists that he first played a version of the song for a radio audience while the band was still in the US. Geldof says also that the tune was strongly influenced by Elvis Costello’s ’Oliver’s Army’ and Eric Clapton’s hit recording of the Bob Marley song ‘I Shot the Sheriff’.

He states that during the recording of the song he asked two other band members to sing harmonies.

The potential legal dust-up is one among many music-related disputes, some of which have ended up in court in recent times, with accusations of plagiarism to the fore in claims relating to Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’ and Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’, among many more.

The keyboard player, who has been a notable absentee from recent Boomtown Rats re-union gigs, states that Geldof told him not to claim royalties for the song, promising he would receive his "fair share" in due course.

Now 60 years of age, Moylett has been living in Japan for many years. According to reports, he is seeking two-thirds of the royalties accumulated over the 37 years since the song became a hit.

He also states that he has been in correspondence with Bob Geldof on the issue since 2004. No High Court date has been scheduled for the hearing of the case yet.

Geldof 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 (Johnnie Fingers') imagination."