"I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish new wave group the Boomtown Rats about the Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego.

[6] Written by Bob Geldof and Johnnie Fingers, the piano ballad[7] was the band's second single to reach number one on the UK chart.

According to Geldof, he wrote the song after reading a telex report[8] at Georgia State University's campus radio station, WRAS, on the shooting spree of 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who fired at children in a school playground at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California, on 29 January 1979, killing two adults and injuring eight children and one police officer.

[13] Released on Friday 13 July 1979, the song reached number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and South Africa, and the top 10 in several other countries.

On 9 September 1981, Geldof was joined on stage by fellow Boomtown Rat Johnnie Fingers to perform the song for The Secret Policeman's Ball sponsored by Amnesty International.

On singing the line, "And the lesson today is how to die", Geldof paused for 20 seconds while the crowd applauded the significance to those starving in Africa that Live Aid was intended to help.

At a concert in London in 1995, almost ten years later to the day, Bon Jovi covered the song after being joined on stage by Geldof at Wembley Stadium.

Using much of the musical equipment used by rock band Travis, who had just left the stage, Geldof decided on the "spur of the moment" to perform the song.

It then cuts to a family living room with the daughter just coming back from school but here the chorus is mimed by the other three band members to lead singer Bob Geldof.

It then transitions to a soft piano fill with Geldof in front of a white background wearing sunglasses singing the final verse of the single version.