Bob Geldof's Biography

Band Aid co-founder, Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof, or Bob Geldof for short, was born on 5 October 1951 in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland.

Bob Geldof had a stint as a journalist before initially managing and then becoming lead singer of The Boomtown Rats, which played their first concert under the name The Nightlife Thugs on October 31st 1975.

The Boomtown Rats built up a reputation in Ireland and were signed by Ensign and in October 1976 the band moved to London.

Their first single, Lookin' after Number One proved popular, and more was to come: two of their best songs, Rat Trap spent 15 weeks in the singles charts and, I Don't Like Mondays spent 12 weeks at the top in 1979.

In 1982 Geldof appeared in Alan Parker's movie of Pink Floyd's The Wall.

In 1984, Bob Geldof established the "Bandaid" trust and brought together some of music's most popular stars with the Band Aid single, Do they know it's Christmas? A year later his charity efforts culminated in the Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia, transmitted by satellite round the world.

On 31 May 2005 Bob Geldof held a press conference to launch Live 8, on 2 July. There would be free concerts with many of the world's leading musicians as a prelude to a rally in Edinburgh on 6 July where the G8 summit was being held.

Geldof's aim was to pressure the summit to drop Third World debt. The concerts featured amongst others Madonna, Elton John, and Robbie Williams.

Bob Geldof was awarded an Hon. KBE in 1986.

From 1986-96 Geldof was married to Paula Yates. After their break-up a bitter custody battle for their children ensued, which also involved Paula's new partner, Michael Hutchence of INXS.

In The Observer, 22 November 1998, Geldof said:

"...I wrote a book [his autobiography Is That It?] which sold a lot and I've had amateur analysis. I've read stuff about me ... My mother's death was the formative moment, no question, because it fundamentally altered the way we lived and it changes you emotionally forever, though you may not be aware of it ..."

In an interesting article about Bob Geldof's daughter, Peaches, the Daily Telegraph points out a transformation in Bob Geldof:

"The former lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, who lives with his girlfriend, the French actress Jeanne Marine, admitted in a television documentary last year that he enjoyed nothing more than a home-cooked meal and the "emotional nerve centre" of family life. This from a man who once boasted that he got into music "to get rich, get famous and get laid"."

In February 2007, it was announced that Bob Geldof and his TV company Ten Alps are working on an internet TV channel to promote world peace.

In a similar vein, in April 2007, the BBC article Geldof unveils earth series plans, reported that Bob Geldof and the BBC were planning a website and television series that aim to record every human society: The Dictionary of Man website and The Human Planet television series.

In 2011 Bob Geldof released the album How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell. He was originally going to call it 58 1/2 because that was his age when he made the record.