Gerry Cott (born 15 October 1954, in Dublin, Ireland) was a guitarist and songwriter with the Irish new wave band, The Boomtown Rats. He started playing flamenco guitar when he was 11 years old. In 1966 he saw Bob Dylan performing live in Dublin and the experience influenced him radically.
Gerry parted company with The Boomtown Rats in 1982, prior to the recording of the band's fifth album V Deep. In 1984 he released the five song album "I Left My Hat in Haiti" that included the single "Alphabet Town". "Alphabet Town" hit the Canadian charts, peaking at #90 during a 9 week run in the fall of '84.
Having been invited to join The Boomtown Rats as a founding member on the strength of his guitar playing, Gerry is deservedly acknowledged as one of the most innovative guitarists to have come out of the New Wave/Punk era.
He is now a highly respected and successful animal trainer and animal action supervisor in films and television with his company A-Z Animals, which followed on from a hobby and lifelong interest in animals and he is currently writing his first book.
In 2010 Gerry Cott released a solo acoustic guitar album Urban Soundscapes
The development of his unique acoustic guitar style and sound is underpinned by a mix of cool, nomadic guitar technique and a true signature guitar sound.
On 20 September 2011, Gerry Cott performed live on stage with Bob Geldof at the Cadogan Hall off Sloane Square, London for three numbers at the end of the set. According to Geldof it was the first time the two had been on the stage together in over thirty years. Pete Briquette, Boomtown Rats bass player, is touring with Geldof.