Geldof, Bob (1951-…), is an Irish singer, songwriter, musician, and humanitarian. He became famous in the late 1970’s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats. In 1985, Geldof staged the all-star benefit concert Live Aid to raise money for African famine relief. More than 60 rock and pop artists performed at Wembley Stadium in London and at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. The shows were simultaneously broadcast live on radio and television to more than 1 1/2 billion people in over 100 countries. During the concert, radio and television audiences were encouraged to telephone in donation pledges. The event raised more than $200 million. Since Live Aid, Geldof has organized a number of other famine-relief events.
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof was born on Oct. 5, 1951, in Dún Laoghaire, near Dublin. He studied at Blackrock College, a boarding school in Dublin, and later worked in Vancouver, Canada, as a music journalist. He returned to Dublin in 1975 to form the Boomtown Rats. The group moved to London in October 1976 and became associated with the punk rock/new wave movement. Punk rock has a loud, fast, and energetic sound, and punk rockers bring an angry, rebellious attitude to their music. New wave is a somewhat softened, more commercial form of punk rock.
The first single by the Boomtown Rats, “Lookin’ After No. 1,” was released in 1977. The group’s single “Rat Trap” became the first number-one new wave hit in the United Kingdom. The Boomtown Rats’ best-known song was “I Don’t Like Mondays,” released in 1979. It became a worldwide hit. In 1986, Geldof left the Boomtown Rats to begin a solo career. His hits as a solo artist include “This Is the World Calling” (1986) and “The Great Song of Indifference” (1990).
Geldof was inspired to raise money for famine relief in 1984, after he saw a documentary by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on famine in Ethiopia. Later that year, with the Scottish musician Midge Ure, Geldof co-wrote and released the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Profits from sales of the single were used for famine relief in Ethiopia. The song featured about 40 pop stars performing under the name Band Aid. The song was the fastest-selling single in the history of the United Kingdom up to that time. Band Aid evolved into the Live Aid event, which took place on July 13, 1985. In 1986, Geldof received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom for his humanitarian efforts.
Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid, Geldof organized the famine relief event Live 8, which took place on July 2, 2005. Live 8 included 10 simultaneous concerts, in advance of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Scotland. The G8 is an informal organization of eight industrialized nations that plays a major role in raising issues and setting priorities in the global community. The concerts were designed to raise awareness of global poverty and to encourage the world’s richest nations to cancel debts and increase aid to developing countries. The concerts were held in Berlin; Johannesburg, South Africa; London and Cornwall, England; Moscow; Paris; Philadelphia; Rome; Tokyo; and near Toronto. An 11th concert took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, on July 6.
Geldof’s autobiography, Is That It? (with Paul Vallely, 1986), became a best-seller in the United Kingdom. Geldof also wrote Geldof in Africa (2005) about his travels to Africa. He was married to the British rock journalist and television host Paula Yates from 1986 to 1996.
