Biography for
Bob Geldof More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

5 October 1951, Dublin, Ireland

Birth Name

Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof

Height

6' 2" (1.88 m)

Mini Biography

Frontman for the late 70s to late 80s band, the Boomtown Rats Also wrote and produced Band Aid's tune, "Do They Know It's Christmas-time?" with musician Midge Ure. Band Aid later evolved into Live Aid, the first international real-time concert, broadcast across the globe for two days. Live Aid and Band Aid were created to bring relief to the starving in Ethiopia.

IMDb Mini Biography By:

Spouse

Paula Yates

(31 August 1986 - May 1996) (divorced) 3 children

Trivia

Was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his continuing efforts to eradicate world hunger sparked by his creation of Live Aid.

Geldof and Yates had three daughters-- Fifi Trixiebelle (b. 1984), Peaches Geldof (b. 1989), and Pixie (b. 1991)-- 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.

Organized the "Live Aid" concert that was held in July of 1985 after seeing a BBC documentary on Ethiopia. He flew to Ethiopia, finding the worst living conditions, and children starving. Wrote the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the children of Ethiopia. The Live Aid concert was held at Wembley Stadium in the UK and JFK Stadium in Philidelphia, raising millions for Ethiopia.

He has performed with the SAS (Spike Edney's All Stars) Band.

He has custody of Tiger Lily Hutchence-Yates (b. 1996), the daughter of his late ex-wife Paula Yates and Australian singer Michael Hutchence.

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.

Is left-handed. Plays guitar with strings strung for a right-handed player (he forms chords backwards because of this.

May 31st 2005: Hosts the world launch of the "Live 8 Concerts", to fight poverty and hunger in Afica, together with Harvey Goldsmith, Sir Elton John, M. Jack Lang, Richard Curtis, Jack Kennedy and Midge Ure from Grosvenor House Hotel, London, UK.

Winner of the 2005 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution.

Personal Quotes

[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."

They had become conflated in my mind with this thing, which I had really thought was the death of music, prog rock and stuff like that. It was over-considered, middle class, intellectual English stuff. I didn't have it, uniquely amongst the planet I have to say, but it's only much later that I realized the scale of their achievement. What it is is a great record, that's what it is. It is absolutely one of the cardinal pillars of rock 'n' roll, in my view now. (On "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd)

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