- Born
- Birth nameRobert Frederick Xenon Geldof
- Nickname
- Sir Bob
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Bob Geldof was frontman for the late '70s to mid '80s Irish punk rock band the Boomtown Rats. He also conceived and co-wrote Band Aid's tune "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with his friend, musician Midge Ure of Ultravox, which became the 1984 Christmas number one in the UK and the best-selling British pop single until that time. Band Aid later evolved into Live Aid (1985), the first international real-time concert, broadcast across the globe for two days. Band Aid and Live Aid (1985) were created to bring relief to the starving in Ethiopia. Geldof was knighted by the British Conservative government in 1986 for his achievement.
- IMDb mini biography by: <paprtigr@pipeline.com>
- SpousesJeanne Marine(April 18, 2015 - present)Paula Yates(August 31, 1986 - May 1996) (divorced, 3 children)
- Children
- RelativesAstala Cohen(Grandchild)Phaedra Cohen(Grandchild)
- Scruffy hairdo
- Dublin accent
- After the success of "I Don't Like Mondays", he received a letter from Brenda Ann Spencer, the school shooter who inspired the song, in which she expressed pride in what she had done, because the song had made her famous. Geldof was of course disgusted at this idea, considering the song is a comment on the sheer senselessness of Spencer's crime.
- Geldof and Paula Yates had three daughters-- Fifi Trixiebelle (Fifi Geldof) (b. 31 March 1983), Peaches Geldof (b. 16 March 1989 d. 7 April 2014), and Pixie Geldof (b. 17 September 1990)-- who live with custodial parent Geldof. He is also the custodial guardian of Paula Yates' orphaned daughter Tiger-Lily (b. 1996), who is his daughters' half-sister.
- Is often referred to, and credited - incorrectly - as Sir Bob Geldof. While indeed he was awarded a K.B.E. (Knight of the order of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, as he is an Irish citizen the award was honorary and he cannot be referred to as 'Sir'. Instead he is more correctly addressed as Robert (or Bob) Geldof K.B.E.
- He has custody of Tiger Lily Hutchence-Yates (b. 1996), the daughter of his late ex-wife, Paula Yates, and Australian singer Michael Hutchence.
- British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was so impressed by his charity entrepreneurship following the Band Aid and Live Aid (1985) efforts, she had him knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, which made him the first pop star to receive a knighthood (albeit honorary due to his Irish citizenship).
- [About his foster daughter Tiger Lily, the daughter of Paula Yates and Michael Hutchence] "She calls me Dad. We were shopping the other day and they played one of my songs then one of her dad's. She said, 'That's you, Dad'. Then she said, 'That's my real dad. My real dad's a better singer than you, Dad". I just said: 'Sheesh... Thanks".
- [About different motivations for taking up causes] "Bono as we all know, is in love with the world, he's enamoured by it. I'm enraged by it. He wants to give the world a great big hug, I want to punch its lights out."
- We need finally to move from charity (Band Aid, Live Aid) to political and economic justice. Charity deals with the pain of poverty, the hunger, disease and conflict, but to finally end these things one must focus not on the symptoms of poverty but on its structures. Why does it exist? How does it exist? What can we do to stop it and its awful symptoms? That can only be addressed by political change.
- I think people respond well to the facts. The fact that a few miles away from Europe there is a continent where the majority of the population go to bed hungry every night should resonate with all of us. It is in our interests too to look after our neighbors. I find that the best strategy is to make the public aware of the situation and what needs to be, and can be, done about it. Sometimes the politicians need a bit of an ear-bashing to help them on their way to these solutions (but if the voters told the politicians to sort it out I could pipe down a bit - it is in your power to shut me up!).
- Individual charity is essential, one human to another reaching over the impenetrable roar of political discourse to assist another in pain. Not to do this would kill us spiritually, but it will not deal with the structures of poverty that allow that pain to exist. Concerted, coherent, durable and massive political action can do that.
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