Bob Geldof biography

Synopsis

Early Life and Music Career

Rock musician, author and philanthropist Bob Geldoff was born Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof on October 5, 1951, in Dublin, Ireland. Geldof is best known as the singer of the punk band The Boomtown Rats and for his political activism -- particularly anti-poverty efforts in Africa -- with the organizations Band Aid and Live Aid.

Geldof studied at Black Rock College in Ireland, worked in Canada as a pop journalist, then returned home in 1975 to form the successful rock group, the Boomtown Rats (1975-'86). The group had a couple of No. 1 hits, including the single "I Don't Like Mondays." Their album Mondo Bongo (1980) was a hit and became part of the infant MTV network's video rotation.

Charity Work

Moved by television pictures of widespread suffering in famine-stricken Ethiopia, Geldof established the pop charity Band Aid trust in 1984, which raised $8 million for Africa famine relief through the release of the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" In 1985, simultaneous Live Aid charity concerts were held in London and Philadelphia which, transmitted by satellite throughout the world, raised a further $48 million.

In 2004 Geldof was appointed a member of the newly-launched Commission for Africa initiative, its task to produce new ideas for reducing poverty in the continent. In November that year a new "Band Aid" formed to record a second version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to raise funds for famine-stricken Darfur in western Sudan, and the single topped the charts for several weeks including Christmas.

In July 2005, Geldof organized the "Live 8" charity pop concerts timed to coincide with the G8 summit on world poverty, held in Perthshire, Scotland. In support of the Make Poverty History campaign, performances were broadcast in 10 cities around the world, including London and Philadelphia. That year he also presented Geldof in Africa for BBC 1 and wrote the book to accompany the series. At the 2005 Brit Awards he was honored with a lifetime achievement award. He received an honorary knighthood in 1986, and was awarded the freedom of the City of Dublin in 2005.

Personal Life

Bob Geldof has three daughters with rock journalist Paula Yates: Fifi Trixibelle Geldof (born on March 31, 1983), Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof (born March 13, 1989) and Pixie Geldof (born on September 17, 1990). In 1995, Paula Yates left Geldof for INXS rocker Michael Hutchence and the couple had a daughter, Tiger Lily. After Hutchence's suicide in 1997 and Yates' death from an overdose in 2000, Geldof became the legal guardian of Tiger Lily.

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