Bob Geldof

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Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof, KBE[1], known as Bob Geldof (born 5 October 1951) [2] is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and political activist.

Early Career

Geldof was born in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland, to parents of Catholic extraction. His father was also known as Bob; and when aged 41 years his wife, the mother of Robert "Bob" aged 40 complained of a headache and died shortly thereafter. His father Bob as of 2005 is aged in his 90s

He attended Blackrock College, near Dublin, a school whose staunch Catholic nationalist ethos he disliked. After work as a slaughterman, road navvy and pea canner, he started as a music journalist in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for the weekly publication Georgia Straight. Upon returning to Ireland in 1975, he became the lead singer of the band The Boomtown Rats, a rock group closely linked with the punk movement.

In 1978, The Boomtown Rats had their first No. 1 single in the UK with "Rat Trap", which was the first New Wave chart-topper in that country. In 1979, the group shot to international fame with their second UK No. 1, "I Don't Like Mondays".[3] This was equally successful, as well as controversial; Geldof wrote it in the aftermath of Brenda Ann Spencer's attempted massacre at an elementary school across the street from her house in San Diego, California, at the beginning of 1979.

Geldof quickly became known as a colourful spokesman for rock music. The Boomtown Rats' first appearance on Ireland's The Late Late Show led to complaints from viewers. He had limited success as an actor, his most notable role being the lead in the 1982 film Pink Floyd The Wall, based on Pink Floyd's album The Wall.

Personal Life

As Geldof became world famous, his personal life was affected by tragedy.

Geldof's long-term partner and later wife was Paula Yates. Yates was a rock journalist, presenter of cutting-edge music show The Tube, and most notorious for her in bed interviews on the show "The Big Breakfast". Geldof met Paula Yates when she became an obsessed fan of the Boomtown Rats in their early days. They got together as a couple in 1976 when she travelled by aeroplane to Paris, to surprise him when the band was playing there.

The couple had a daughter, Fifi Trixibelle Geldof on 31 March 1983 before they were married (while Geldof was still allegedly conducting an affair with the young Claire King). After 10 years together, they married in June 1986 in Las Vegas. Simon Le Bon (of Duran Duran) acting as Geldof's best man. The couple then had two more daughters. Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof on 16 March 1989 and Pixie on 17 September 1990. Pixie is said to be named after a celebrity daughter character from the cartoon "Celeb" in the satirical magazine Private Eye, itself a lampoon of Geldof's earlier children's unusual names.

In 1994, Yates left Geldof for Michael Hutchence (INXS), whom she met when interviewing him on "The Big Breakfast". Geldof and Yates divorced in May 1996 and Yates moved in with Hutchence.

Yates had daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence with Hutchence on 22 July 1996 [4]. After Hutchence was found hanged in a hotel room in 1997, Geldof went to court and obtained full custody of his three daughters. His experiences, at the time of his divorce, have led him to become an outspoken advocate of fathers' rights. After Yates's death from an overdose in 2000, Geldof became the legal guardian of Tiger, believing that she should be raised with her three half-sisters.

Charity work

Geldof's first major charity involvement took place in September 1981, when he performed as a solo artist for Amnesty International's benefit show The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, at the invitation of Amnesty show producer Martin Lewis; he performed a solo version of "I Don't Like Mondays". Other rock artists performing at the show included Sting, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins. These people were later called on for Band Aid and Live Aid (in 1985), a show co-organized by Geldof. Geldof sang backing vocals on the all-star version of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released", alongside another musician he met at the show - Ultravox singer Midge Ure. The show, and its spin-off albums and movies, raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, and raised public consciousness about human rights. Geldof was proud of his small involvement in the benefit - and noted the impact that a group of rock musicians assembled by one person could have on a cause. Another future Geldof associate, U2 singer Bono, noted of the 1981 Amnesty show in 1986 that it had 'planted a seed' and appeared to have affected Geldof in a similar manner.

The Commission for Africa

In January 2004, on a visit to friends in Ethiopia Geldof realised that more people were at risk of starvation there than had died in the terrible famine of 1984/85 which had prompted Live Aid. Angry, he rang the British Prime Minister Tony Blair from Addis Ababa. According to the Live 8 programme notes by Geldof's biographer and friend, Paul Vallely, the Prime Minister responded: “Calm down Bob. . . And come and see me as soon as you get back.[5]”

The result was the Commission for Africa. Blair invited Geldof and 16 other Commissioners, the majority from Africa and many of them politicians in power, to undertake a year-long study of Africa’s problems. They came up with two conclusions: that Africa needed to change, to improve its governance and combat corruption, and that the rich world needed to support that change in new ways. That meant doubling aid, delivering debt cancellation, and reforming trade rules. The Commission drew up a detailed plan of how that can be done. It reported in March 2005. In the months that followed it became clear that world leaders were not taking its recommendations seriously. To force the issue Geldof decided to create a new international lobby for Africa with eight simultaneous concerts around the world to put pressure on the G8. He called it Live 8.

The Live 8 concerts

On the 31 March 2005, Geldof announced the Live 8 project, to raise awareness of issues that burden Africa, such as government debt, trade barriers, and AIDS issues. Geldof organised six concerts on 2 July 2005: in London, with Elton John, U2, Coldplay, Pink Floyd, The Who, Madonna, and Paul McCartney; in Paris, with Andrea Bocelli, Muse; and Youssou N'Dour; in Rome, with Duran Duran and Faith Hill; in Berlin, with Brian Wilson, Green Day, Audioslave, and Crosby Stills & Nash; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, Dave Matthews, Sarah McLachlan, and Stevie Wonder; Barrie, Ontario, Canada with Neil Young, The Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Deep Purple, Gordon Lightfoot and the Tragically Hip. Pink Floyd's performance in London, with its classic lineup, was its first since 1981.

The concerts were free, and were scheduled just days before world leaders gathered in Gleneagles, for the G8 economic summit, on 6 July. 'The boys and girls with guitars will finally get to turn the world on its axis,' Geldof said in a statement.[6]

Criticism of Live 8

Although part of the campaign "Make Poverty History" (MPH), Live 8 was accused of hijacking MPH by planning its concerts on the same day as the giant MPH march in Edinburgh, which was said to be the biggest social justice march in Scottish history.

However, Geldof responded that only the biggest-selling artists would attract the huge audience required to capture the attention of the world in the run-up to the G8 meeting. Geldof added that there was insufficient public interest in African music among the concert's target markets in Europe and the United States. Including African artists at the expense of recognised artists would have been tokenist, he said, and would have undermined the effect of the concert.

In the lead-up to the G8 summit, Geldof who had been a member of Tony Blair's Commission for Africa on which the Gleneagles recommendations were largely based, labelled critics of the summit 'a disgrace'. Some leading African campaigners have asked Geldof to stand down from the global anti-poverty movement, and the New Internationalist (between January and February 2006) said 'It would be long overdue if he did.'

There were also accusations that Live 8 gave unqualified support to the personal and political agendas Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, particularly in the lead up to an election. Though many felt that it was the British politicians who had accepted Geldof's agenda, rather than the other way round, this led to accusations that Geldof had compromised his cause.[7] In contrast with the media support given to Live Aid, Live 8 was subject to criticism by some sections of the media.

The promises made for Africa at the Gleneagles summit, were widely praised: 'the greatest summit for Africa ever' (Kofi Annan), 'an important, if incomplete, boost to the development prospects of the poorest countries' (Professor Jeffrey Sachs) or 'a major breakthrough on debt' (Kevin Wakins, until recently head of research at Oxfam). But many aid agencies pronounced their disappointment with the outcome, feeling that the strict conditions imposed on African countries for accepting debt relief left them little better off than before. Some cynics have claimed that Live 8 had been more about rehabilitating the careers of aging rock stars, including Geldof himself, than it was about the poor people of Africa. However, Geldof has made no attempt to revive his music career, somewhat disproving this accusation. However, the New Internationalist points out that since becoming prominent in the salvation of Africa, "Geldof has re-released the entire back catalogue of the Boomtown Rats, " [[1]]

Business interests

In 1992, Geldof co-founded Planet 24, a television production company that has made such programmes as The Big Breakfast, The Word and Survivor. In 1994, the company was sold to Carlton Television for an estimated $7 million, while the rights to Survivor were retained. He then launched an online travel business, which sold in 2001 for an estimated $17 million. His company Ten Alps Communications is a media, entertainment and marketing venture in which he retains 8%.[2] A subsidiary of Ten Alps creates 'branded environments' and has worked for BP, JP Morgan, EMI, Disney, FHM, L'oreal, the British Ministry of Defence, Glaxo Smithkline, Microsoft and the British Foreign Office.

Career after the Boomtown Rats

Geldof left the Boomtown Rats in 1986, to launch a solo career and release his autobiography, Is That It?, which was a best-seller.

His first solo records sold reasonably well and spawned the hit singles "Love or Something Else" (co-written with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics) and "The Great Song of Indifference". He also occasionally performed with other artists, such as Thin Lizzy and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd (Geldof had actually played the main character in the 1981 movie adaption of Pink Floyd's classic album The Wall). A performance of "Comfortably Numb" with David Gilmour is documented in the 2002 DVD David Gilmour in Concert.

Geldof has also worked as a DJ for XFM radio. In 1998, he erroneously announced Ian Dury's death from cancer, possibly due to hoax information from a listener who was disgruntled at the station's change of ownership. The event caused music paper NME to call Geldof 'the world's worst DJ'.

Along with U2's Bono, he has devoted much time since 2000 to campaigning for debt relief for developing countries. His commitments in this field, including the organisation of the Live 8 concerts, kept Geldof from producing any more musical output since 2001's "Sex, Age & Death" album.
After Live 8, Geldof returned to his career as a musician by releasing a box set containing all of his solo albums entitled "Great Songs of Indifference - The Anthology 1986 - 2001" in late 2005. Following that release, Geldof also toured, albeit with mixed success.
In July of 2006 Geldof arrived at the Milan's Civic Arena, a venue capable of holding 12,000 people, to play a scheduled concert to find that the organisers had not put the tickets on general sale and that only 45 people had showed up.[8]. Geldof refused to go on stage once he found out how small the attendance was. Subsequently, the remaining two Italian concerts on the island of Sicily and in Rome were also cancelled due to lack of interest, the latter having sold only around 300 tickets. To offer some compensation for fans, Geldof played a free "Storytellers" concert for MTV Italy in October 2006.

In August of 2006, two thoroughly advertised concerts in Denmark at Århus Stadion and Farum Arena, with seating for 20,200 and 3,000 people respectively, were cancelled as well after only 29 tickets had been sold. Local media cited general lack of interest as well as high ticket prices of €65 as the reason for the poor sales.

Fame and infamy

After Live Aid, Geldof became one of the world's most recognisable people. He also became particularly known for his use of strong language in conversation, regardless of his target audience. It was widely claimed that he exhorted viewers to 'give us your fuckin' money' in the course of an afternoon session at the BBC's Wembley studio during Live Aid. However, this is an urban myth: he actually said 'People are dying NOW. Give us the money NOW. Give me the money now'; shortly afterwards, he said 'fuck the address, just give the phone, here's the number...', when trying to emphasise the point of Live Aid as a fundraising event.

In mid July 2006, he infuriated many New Zealanders by criticizing the New Zealand governments's foreign aid contribution 'shameful' and 'pathetic' [3]. Winston Peters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs responded that Geldof failed to recognise the 'quality' of New Zealand aid as well as other New Zealand contributions [4].

Awards and honours

Geldof has received many awards for his fund-raising work, including an honorary knighthood (Knight of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II. Geldof is entitled to use the post-nominal letters "KBE", but as he is not a citizen of a Commonwealth realm, he is precluded from using the title "Sir". Regardless, the nickname 'Sir Bob' has stuck, and even media reports will frequently (and erroneously) refer to him as 'Sir Bob Geldof'.

In 1986 Geldof was made a Freeman of the Borough of Swale, in north Kent, England. Geldof had for some years been resident in the borough, at Davington Priory, Faversham, and was still living there in 2006. He received his award during a special meeting of the Swale Borough Council from the Mayor, Cllr Richard Moreton and Mayoress Rose Moreton.

Geldof works closely with DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), an organization founded by U2's Bono to advocate for Africa. In February 2006, he was among the 191 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.[9]

In 2005 he was awarded the Honorary Patronage of the University Philosophical Society.

In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman, in 2006, he was voted third in the list of 'Heroes of our time'.[10]

In 2005, Bob Geldof received the Free Your Mind Award at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

In 2006, Bob Geldof was the recipient of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award by Holocaust Museum Houston.

Political views and controversies

Bob Geldof adopted an anti-euro stance by appearing in an advertisement against the single currency,[11] in 2002. Geldof also criticised the European Union (EU), in 2004, for what he called its 'pathetic' response to Ethiopia's food crisis,[12] although one MEP has claimed he is "misinformed". [13]

During a visit to Ethiopia, Geldof also praised President George W. Bush's proposal to fight AIDS in Africa.[14] This proposal has been criticised from aid groups, due to its heavy emphasis on Christian morality and sexual abstinence.[15]

Some on the political left have charged Geldof with hypocrisy, due to his lack of support for causes such as the UK miners' strike (1984-1985) and the anti-war movement. In 2006, Geldof told a business conference that "Back in the 1970s there was no chance for a boy with an idea. Everything was stitched up by the unions."[16]

From January 2002, until sometime in 2005, Geldof listened very closely to Father's Rights campaigners, and it was reported that he had sacks of mail arriving at his door on a daily basis from fathers who were denied justice from the British family courts. He was noted as saying, "I am heartbroken. I just cannot believe what happens to people, what is done to them in the name of the law.[17] "You only have to open your eyes to see what I call the 'Sad Dads on Sundays Syndrome'. He has also called for The Children Act to be repealed and his latest statement to Father's Rights campaigners was "'It's not in my nature to shut up'".[18]

In December 2005, Geldof agreed to give advice on global poverty to the British Conservative Party.[19] He stated, however, that he was uninterested in party politics, and would continue to 'shake hands with the devil on my left and the devil on my right,' in order to achieve results.

Geldof is profitably involved in business activities, and was rumoured for a time to be considering seeking election to the office of President of Ireland in 2004. The rumours were later dismissed as the product of inaccurate media speculation.

In 2006, Geldof was outed as having an affair with British actress Claire King in her autobiography, Confessions of a Bad Girl. Their on-off relationship allegedly started in 1979, when King was 17, and finished in February of 1984. Part of their relationship would have overlapped with Geldof's association with Paula Yates, including her pregnancy and the birth of their daughter, Fifi Trixibelle. The song 'Skin on Skin' on the album V Deep was supposedly written for/about King. Geldof has been quoted as saying "I have no recollection of a Claire King... affair, my arse... It's possible she was one of the girls I met on the road, there were so many, that I don't recall the name." King changed her surname from 'Seed' after their alleged relationship and this has been cited as a possible reason for Geldof's reticence.

Wealth

Ten Alps, a PR, broadcast and television company, was founded by Alex Connock, Bob Geldof and Des Shaw. Connock bought Planet 24 Radio for £1, on the day that Carlton Television acquired Geldof's previous company Planet 24 for a reported £15 million. Ten Alps posted profits of £600,000 in 2005, on a turnover of £37,000,000.

Brook Lapping, a part of the Ten Alps Empire, were the first to produce a 'documentary' on Flight 93, 'The flight that fought back' as well as producing '9/11: The Twin Towers' which was screened on BBC to 6.4 million viewers. Both are considered works of dramatic fiction.

Geldof's wealth was estimated by Broadcast magazine, in 2001, to be £30 million [5], a position of 18th in a list of UK broadcasters. How much of his earnings he donates to charity is not known.

He is currently embroiled in a legal wrangle with his former bandmates in the Boomtown Rats, who accuse him of withholding substantial profits from the band's recordings from them.

Honorary degree

Bob Geldof was awarded a honorary degree in Civil Law from Newcastle University England. The University held a special honorary degree ceremony to honour key figures in the campaign against world poverty. The ceremony was held at The Sage Gateshead on 8 January 2007, at 2.00 pm.

Bob Geldof, initiator and organizer of Band Aid, Live Aid and, more recently, Live 8, was honoured along with His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of Tanzania; Susan George, political economist and author of a dozen books on hunger, debt, international institutions and North-South issues; and Dr David Golding, Development Co-ordinator of Make Poverty History North East.

Actor

File:Geldof wall.jpg
Bob Geldof, in Pink Floyd The Wall.

Geldof played the central character Pink in the film of Pink Floyd's The Wall, and made a cameo appearance as himself in the Spice Girls' pop music satire Spiceworld.

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Mainstream Rock UK
1990 "Love or Something" - #24 - - Vegetarians of Love

Discography

References

  1. ^ As an Irishman, Geldof is ineligible for a full honour and so holds an honorary KBE.
  2. ^ confirmed by himself in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian, February, 13, 1995.
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2941142.stm
  4. ^ http://www.astrodatabank.com/NM/GeldofBob.htm
  5. ^ Live 8 programme notes by Paul Vallely
  6. ^ http://www.live8live.com/media/index.shtml
  7. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5220235-103677,00.html
  8. ^ Guardian: Geldof cancels Italian tour after only 45 fans turn up for Milan gig
  9. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4657627.stm
  10. ^ New Statesman
  11. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2080930.stm
  12. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2939878.stm
  13. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2947560.stm
  14. ^ http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=1960
  15. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1447713,00.html
  16. ^ http://www.unison.ie/entertainment/news/stories.php3?ca=228&si=1695676
  17. ^ http://www.spig.clara.net/geldof.htm
  18. ^ http://www.parents4protest.co.uk/bob_geldof.htm
  19. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4563258.stm

External links

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