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Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and
political activist.
News
Australian
Aboriginals And Casinos Generate Bob Geldof Heat,
by Greg Tingle - 20th May 2010
Gaming
and community entrepreneurs, what do Aussie indigenous
peoples, casinos and pop icon Bob Geldof share in
common? No, its not a game of what's red, white and
black all over... ok, bad joke... the answer is "a
nun in a blender". Getting serious, wonderful
Australian initiative GenerationOne, has once again
brought together an eclectic mix of society, business,
rock stars, humanitarians... the whole box and dice.
Media Man, passionate community campaigner and media
entrepreneur, and Gambling911, new media powerhouse,
hit the Aussie Outback in search of answers...
Live
Aid humanitarian and rock star "rat" tells
us Australia has "exiled" indigenous Australians
from the nation.
Australian
and Asia Pacific casino and lifestyle king, James
Packer of Crown, copped an earful, as did others...
more on that later, but here's an overview... the
calm before the storm friends...
"They
were forced to be exiled from themselves and that
must stop," he preached.
"You
need to pull them back into themselves because you’ve
acknowledged them as being. The spiritual core of
yourselves will only be filled when this is done.".
Mr
Boobtown Rat was speaking to a breakfast for Perth,
WA mining baron Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest’s
nation-touring GenerationOne movement. "Twiggy"
and the team aims to halt indigenous disparity within
this generation. Geldof likened indigenous affairs
in Australia to situations he’d witnessed in
3rd-world Africa, and you get the idea.
"I
said on the radio back in 1984 that to die of want
in a world of surplus is not only intellectually absurd,
it is morally repulsive. Well let’s add economically
illiterate to that.
It
already started to sound that he was talking to the
casino, development and mining industry... he has
a captive audience, that much is for certain, and
news media caught every word!
"You’ve
removed from your society of 'having a go' 500,000
of your own. That is absurd. It’s economically
stupid.
"Just
like those 44 million African children (given access
to education from the Live Aid campaign) will be a
massive driving force in the world economy, so your
own Aboriginal people require to be allowed in. The
access point is education."
Geldof
urged the "rich bastards" (Mr Packer et
al) in attendance at the breaky to contribute wholeheartedly
and dig deep re Mr Forrest’s fight to end indigenous
disparity. It's a shame 'Our Richard' (Branson), Steve
Wynn (still winning big), and billionaire 'Google
Guys' weren't in attendance.
Taking
shots at a guest representative of Mr Frank Lowy’s
Westfield empire and GenerationOne benefactor and
key supporter, casino king James Packer, Geldof said
"You can build a small shop and then you can
build very, very big shop. You can build a casino
and then you can build five casinos, you’re still
building fu...king casinos."
But
Geldof was more than happy to take a pot shot at himself,
thereby covering his ass for later heat...
"Or
you could be singularly responsible for two of the
worst pop records ever made (We Are the World and
Do They Know It’s Christmas?).
"You
can do all that, but it’s just not enough. It’s
all sort of empty. It doesn’t mean very much.
Of course, what it is is being able to take what you’re
doing, which is less than some and more than others,
and extend it out. Well that’s what Twiggy (Andrew
Forrest) is doing."
8
minutes of Geldoff speak, poetic tongue, relating
to all, Dreamtime included, it was appropriate that
Geldof (Mr Rat) signed off with a quote from German
writer Johann von Goethe "Whatever you can do
or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power
and magic in it.".
Media
Man and Gambling911 wish the loyal readership magic
of Enchanted Unicorn proportions and genius, be it
poker, casino classics, sports betting, or friends
and relationships. Geldof is not interested to have
a 'Boomtown Rats' themed slot machine, despite fellow
rocker, Aussie Angry Anderson doing well with his
'Rose Tattoo' casino club themes. Packer has not publicity
commented on a Kerry Packer or 'Underbelly' casino
slot game to date, which means its still a possibility.
Rock on my brothers, white, black or other! We are
one.
Media
Man is a supporter of GenerationOne
Profile
Early
career
Geldof
was born in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, in
the Republic of Ireland, to Roman Catholic parents.
His father, Robert, also known as Bob was the son
of a Belgian immigrant . At the age of 41 Geldof's
mother Evelyn complained of a headache and died shortly
thereafter, having suffered a haemorrhage. He also
has two older sisters, Lynn and Cleo.
Geldof
attended Blackrock College, near Dublin, a school
whose staunch Catholic ethos he disliked. After work
as a slaughter man, road navvy and pea canner, he
started as a music journalist in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada, for the weekly publication Georgia
Straight. Upon returning to Ireland in 1975, he became
the lead singer of the band The Boomtown Rats, a rock
group closely linked with the punk movement.
In
the year of 1978, The Boomtown Rats had their first
No. 1 single in the UK with "Rat Trap",
which was the first New Wave chart-topper in that
country. In 1979, the group shot to international
fame with their second UK No. 1, "I Don't Like
Mondays". This was equally successful, as well
as controversial; Geldof wrote it in the aftermath
of Brenda Ann Spencer's attempted massacre at an elementary
school across the street from her house in San Diego,
California, at the beginning of 1979.
Geldof
quickly became known as a colourful spokesman for
rock music. The Boomtown Rats' first appearance on
Ireland's The Late Late Show led to complaints from
viewers. He had limited success as an actor, his most
notable role being the lead in the 1982 film Pink
Floyd The Wall, based on Pink Floyd's album The Wall.
Personal life
Geldof's
long-term partner and later wife was Paula Yates.
Yates was a rock journalist, presenter of the cutting-edge
music show The Tube, and most notorious for her in-bed
interviews on the show The Big Breakfast. Geldof met
Paula when she became an obsessed fan of the Boomtown
Rats during the band's early days. They got together
as a couple in 1976 when Yates travelled by aeroplane
to Paris, to surprise him when the band was playing
there.
Before
they married, the couple had a daughter, Fifi Trixibelle
Geldof, born March 31, 1983 (and while Geldof was
still allegedly conducting an affair with the young
Claire King). After 10 years together, Bob and Paula
married in June 1986 in Las Vegas with Simon Le Bon
(of Duran Duran) acting as Geldof's best man. The
couple later had two more daughters, Peaches Honeyblossom
Geldof on March 16, 1989, and Pixie Frou-Frou Geldof
on September 17, 1990. Pixie is said to be named after
a celebrity daughter character from the cartoon Celeb
in the satirical magazine Private Eye, itself a lampoon
of the unusual names the Geldofs gave to their children.
In 1994, Yates left Geldof for Michael Hutchence (INXS),
whom she met when she interviewed him on "The
Big Breakfast". Geldof and Yates divorced in
May 1996 and Yates moved in with Hutchence. Yates
and Hutchence had a daughter, Heavenly Hiraana Tiger
Lily, born July 22, 1996. After Hutchence was found
hanged in a hotel room in 1997, Geldof went to court
and obtained full custody of his three daughters and
has since become an outspoken advocate of fathers'
rights. After Paula Yates's death from an overdose
in 2000, Geldof became the legal guardian of Tiger
Lily Hutchence, believing it best that she be raised
with her three half-sisters. Geldof lives in the Davington
area of Faversham in Kent with his French actress
girlfriend Jeanne Marine.
Charity work
Geldof's
first major charity involvement took place in September
1981, when he performed as a solo artist for Amnesty
International's benefit show The Secret Policeman's
Other Ball, at the invitation of Amnesty show producer
Martin Lewis; he performed a solo version of "I
Don't Like Mondays". Other rock artists performing
at the show included Sting, Eric Clapton and Phil
Collins. These people were later called on for Band
Aid and Live Aid (in 1985), a show co-organized by
Geldof. Geldof sang backing vocals on the all-star
version of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released",
alongside another musician he met at the show - Ultravox
singer Midge Ure. The show, and its spin-off albums
and movies, raised considerable sums of money for
Amnesty, and raised public consciousness about human
rights. Geldof was proud of his small involvement
in the benefit - and noted the impact that a group
of rock musicians assembled by one person could have
on a cause. Another future Geldof associate, U2 singer
Bono, noted of the 1981 Amnesty show in 1986 that
it had 'planted a seed' and appeared to have affected
Geldof in a similar manner.
Band
Aid
In
1984, Geldof reacted to a news report about starving
children in Ethiopia by mobilising the pop world to
do something about the images he had seen. Jointly,
with Midge Ure of Ultravox, they wrote 'Do They Know
It's Christmas?' in order to raise funds. The song
was recorded by various artists under the name of
Band Aid. They included:
-
Adam Clayton, Bono (U2) ; Phil Collins; Bob Geldof,
Johnnie Fingers, Gerry Cott, Simon Crowe (Boomtown
Rats); Midge Ure, Chris Cross (Ultravox); Tony HadIey,
John Keble, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Steve Norman (Spandau
Ballet); Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, John
Taylor, Roger Taylor (Duran Duran); Paul Young; Glenn
Gregory, Martyn Ware (Heaven 17); Siobhan Fahey, Sarah
Dallin, Keren Woodward (Bananarama); Paul Weller;
Robert Bell, Dennis Thomas, James Taylor (Kool and
the Gang); Peter Blake (designer of the record cover);
George Michael; Marilyn; Jody Watley; Boy George,
Jon Moss (Culture Club); Sting; Rick Parfitt, Francis
Rossi (Status Quo)
In
its first week of release the single became the UK's
fastest seller of all time, entering the chart at
number one and going on to sell over three million
copies, making it the biggest-selling single in UK
history up to that point, a title it held for almost
13 years. The single was also a major US hit, even
though Christmas was long gone by the time it could
be released in the States. 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'
returned to the UK chart a year later, reaching number
three, and eventually it raised over £8 million.
Following
this massive success (the single reached number one
in the charts) preparations were started for the biggest
rock concerts the world had ever seen, the following
summer.
Live Aid
As
Geldof began to learn more about the situation, he
discovered that one of the main reasons why African
nations were in such dire peril was because of repayments
on loans that their countries had taken from Western
banks. For every pound donated in aid, ten times as
much would have to leave the country in loan repayments.
It became obvious that one song was not enough.
On
13 July 1985, Geldof and Ure organized Live Aid, a
mammoth event staged simultaneously at Wembley Stadium
in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
Thanks to an unprecedented decision by the BBC to
clear its schedules for 16 hours of rock music, the
event was also broadcast live in the UK on television
and radio.
It
was the most monumental stage show in history with
Phil Collins flying on Concorde so that he could play
at both Wembley and Philadelphia on the same day.
During
the broadcast of Live Aid, Geldof shocked viewers
into giving cash by slamming his fist on the table
and practically ordering them not to go out to the
pub, but to stay in and watch the show. The harrowing
video of dying, skeletal children that had been made
to the tune of "Drive" by The Cars, contributed
to the concert's success.
In
total, Live Aid raised over $150 million for famine
relief. Geldof was subsequently knighted, at age 34,
for his efforts. His autobiography, written soon after
with Paul Vallely, was entitled Is That It?.
Much
of the money raised by Live Aid went to NGOs in Ethiopia,
some of which were under the influence or control
of the Derg military junta. Some journalists have
suggested that the Derg was able to use Live Aid and
Oxfam money to fund its enforced resettlement and
"villagification" programmes, under which
at least 3 million people are said to have been displaced
and between 50,000 and 100,000 killed
The Commission for Africa
In
January 2004, on a visit to friends in Ethiopia, Geldof
came to believe that more people were at risk of starvation
there than had died in the famine of 1984/85 which
had prompted Live Aid. He rang the British Prime Minister
Tony Blair from Addis Ababa. According to the Live
8 programme notes by Geldof's biographer and friend,
Paul Vallely, the Prime Minister responded: “Calm
down Bob. . . And come and see me as soon as you get
back.[10]”
The
result was the Commission for Africa. Blair invited
Geldof and 16 other Commissioners, the majority from
Africa and many of them politicians in power, to undertake
a year-long study of Africa’s problems. They
came up with two conclusions: that Africa needed to
change, to improve its governance and combat corruption,
and that the rich world needed to support that change
in new ways. That meant doubling aid, delivering debt
cancellation, and reforming trade rules. The Commission
drew up a detailed plan of how that can be done. It
reported in March 2005. In the months that followed
it became clear that world leaders were not taking
its recommendations seriously. To force the issue
Geldof decided to create a new international lobby
for Africa with eight simultaneous concerts around
the world to put pressure on the G8. He called it
Live 8.
The Live 8 concerts
On
the 31 March 2005, Geldof and Ure announced the Live
8 project, to raise awareness of issues that burden
Africa, such as government debt, trade barriers, and
AIDS issues. Geldof organised six concerts on 2 July
2005: in London, with U2, Elton John, Coldplay, Velvet
Revolver, Pink Floyd, The Who, Madonna, and Paul McCartney;
in Paris, with Andrea Bocelli, Muse; and Youssou N'Dour;
in Rome, with Duran Duran and Faith Hill; in Berlin,
with Brian Wilson, Green Day, Audioslave, and Crosby
Stills & Nash; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
with Bon Jovi, Linkin Park, Dave Matthews, Sarah McLachlan,
and Stevie Wonder; Barrie, Ontario, Canada with Neil
Young, The Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Deep Purple,
Gordon Lightfoot and the Tragically Hip. Pink Floyd's
performance in London was its first since 1981 to
include original bassist, Roger Waters.
The
concerts were free, and were scheduled just days before
world leaders gathered in Gleneagles, for the G8 economic
summit, on 6 July.Ure organised the 'final push' Live
8 concert at Edinburgh. 'The boys and girls with guitars
will finally get to turn the world on its axis,' Geldof
said in a statement.[11]
This
is where the concerts took place and who performed:
When:
Saturday 2nd July, 2005.
Where:
UK
– Hyde Park, London
France
– Palais de Versailles, Paris
Germany
– Siegessäule, Berlin
Italy
– Circus Maximus, Rome
USA
–Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Canada
–Park Place, Barrie
Japan
–Makuhari Messe, Tokyo
South
Africa –Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown, Johannesburg
The
Russian Federation - Red Square, Moscow
UK
- The Eden Project
Criticism of Live 8
Although
part of the campaign "Make Poverty History"
(MPH), Live 8 was then accused of hijacking MPH by
planning its concerts on the same day as the giant
MPH march in Edinburgh, which was said to be the biggest
social justice march in Scottish history.
Geldof
was also criticised for the lack of African acts performing
at Live 8, however, Geldof responded that only the
biggest-selling artists would attract the huge audience
required to capture the attention of the world in
the run-up to the G8 meeting. Geldof added that there
was insufficient public interest in African music
among the concert's target markets in Europe and the
United States. Including African artists at the expense
of recognised artists would have been tokenist, he
said, and would have undermined the effect of the
concert.
In
the lead-up to the G8 summit, Geldof who had been
a member of Tony Blair's Commission for Africa on
which the Gleneagles recommendations were largely
based, labelled critics of the summit 'a disgrace'.
Some leading African campaigners have asked Geldof
to stand down from the global anti-poverty movement,
and the New Internationalist (between January and
February 2006) said 'It would be long overdue if he
did.'
There
were also accusations that Live 8 gave unqualified
support to the personal and political agendas of Tony
Blair and Gordon Brown, particularly in the lead up
to an election. Though many felt that it was the British
politicians who had accepted Geldof's agenda, rather
than the other way round, this led to accusations
that Geldof had compromised his cause. In contrast
with the media support given to Live Aid, Live 8 was
subject to criticism by some sections of the media.
The
promises made for Africa at the Gleneagles summit,
were widely praised: 'the greatest summit for Africa
ever' (Kofi Annan), 'an important, if incomplete,
boost to the development prospects of the poorest
countries' (Professor Jeffrey Sachs) or 'a major breakthrough
on debt' (Kevin Wakins, until recently head of research
at Oxfam). But many aid agencies pronounced their
disappointment with the outcome, feeling that the
strict conditions imposed on African countries for
accepting debt relief left them little better off
than before. Some cynics have claimed that Live 8
had been more about rehabilitating the careers of
aging rock stars, including Geldof himself, than it
was about the poor people of Africa. However, Geldof
has made no attempt to revive his music career, somewhat
disproving this accusation. However, the New Internationalist
points out that since becoming prominent in the salvation
of Africa, "Geldof has re-released the entire
back catalogue of the Boomtown Rats, "
Oasis's
Noel Gallagher became one of the more vocal skeptics
about the impact of Live 8, citing his belief that
rock stars are not as influencing over world leaders
as popular culture may believe. His explanation was
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but are they hoping
that one of these guys from the G8 is on a quick 15-minute
break at Gleneagles and sees Annie Lennox singing
"Sweet Dreams" and thinks, 'Fuck me, she
might have a point there, you know?' And Keane doing
"Somewhere Only We Know" and some Japanese
businessman going, 'Aw, look at him… we should
really fucking drop that debt, you know.' It's not
going to happen, is it?"
Business interests
In
1992, Geldof co-founded Planet 24, a television production
company that has made such programmes as The Big Breakfast,
The Word and Survivor. In 1994, the company was sold
to Carlton Television for an estimated $7 million,
while the rights to Survivor were retained. He then
launched an online travel business, which sold in
2001 for an estimated $17 million. His company Ten
Alps Communications is a media, entertainment and
marketing venture in which he retains 8%. A subsidiary
of Ten Alps creates 'branded environments' and has
worked for BP, JP Morgan, EMI, Disney, FHM, L'oreal,
the British Ministry of Defence, GlaxoSmithKline,
Microsoft and the British Foreign Office.
Career after the Boomtown Rats
Geldof
left the Boomtown Rats in 1986, to launch a solo career
and release his autobiography, Is That It?, which
was a best-seller.
His
first solo records sold reasonably well and spawned
the hit singles "Love or Something" (co-written
with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics) and "The Great
Song of Indifference". He also occasionally performed
with other artists, such as Thin Lizzy and David Gilmour
of Pink Floyd. A performance of "Comfortably
Numb" with David Gilmour is documented in the
2002 DVD David Gilmour in Concert.
Geldof
has also worked as a DJ for XFM radio. In 1998, he
erroneously announced Ian Dury's death from cancer,
possibly due to hoax information from a listener who
was disgruntled at the station's change of ownership.
The event caused music paper NME to call Geldof 'the
world's worst DJ'.
Along
with U2's Bono, he has devoted much time since 2000
to campaigning for debt relief for developing countries.
His commitments in this field, including the organisation
of the Live 8 concerts, kept Geldof from producing
any more musical output since 2001's "Sex, Age
& Death" album.
After
Live 8, Geldof returned to his career as a musician
by releasing a box set containing all of his solo
albums entitled "Great Songs of Indifference
- The Anthology 1986 - 2001" in late 2005. Following
that release, Geldof also toured, albeit with mixed
success.
In
July of 2006 Geldof arrived at the Milan's Civic Arena,
a venue capable of holding 12,000 people, to play
a scheduled concert to find that the organisers had
not put the tickets on general sale and that only
45 people had showed up.[13]. Geldof refused to go
on stage once he found out how small the attendance
was. Subsequently, the remaining two Italian concerts
on the island of Sicily and in Rome were also cancelled
due to lack of interest, the latter having sold only
around 300 tickets. To offer some compensation for
fans, Geldof played a free "Storytellers"
concert for MTV Italy in October 2006.
In
August 2006, two thoroughly advertised concerts in
Denmark at Århus Stadion and Farum Arena, with
seating for 20,200 and 3,000 people respectively,
were cancelled as well after only 29 tickets had been
sold. Local media cited general lack of interest as
well as high ticket prices of €65 as the reason
for the poor sales.
Fame
and infamy
After
Live Aid, Geldof became one of the world's most recognisable
people. He also became particularly known for his
use of strong language in conversation, regardless
of his target audience. It was widely claimed that
he exhorted viewers to 'give us your fuckin' money'
in the course of an afternoon session at the BBC's
Wembley studio during Live Aid. However, this is slightly
innacurate; he actually said 'fuck the addresses,
just give us the money'.
The
BBC subsequently apologised for Geldof's outburst
but his phonetical interpretation of the expletive
went down in history; Spitting Image made many references
to it.
In
mid July 2006, he infuriated many New Zealanders by
criticizing the New Zealand governments's foreign
aid contribution 'shameful' and 'pathetic' [5]. Winston
Peters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs responded
that Geldof failed to recognise the 'quality' of New
Zealand aid as well as other New Zealand contributions.
Awards and honours
Geldof
has received many awards for his fund-raising work,
including an honorary knighthood (as Knight Commander
of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth
II, in 1986 . Geldof is entitled to use the post-nominal
letters "KBE", but as he is not a citizen
of a Commonwealth realm, he is precluded from using
the title "Sir". Regardless, the nickname
'Sir Bob' has stuck, and even media reports will frequently
(but erroneously) refer to him as 'Sir Bob Geldof'
as if that were his correct title.
In
1986 Geldof was made a Freeman of the Borough of Swale,
in north Kent, England. Geldof had for some years
been resident in the borough, at Davington Priory,
Faversham, and was still living there in 2006. He
received his award during a special meeting of the
Swale Borough Council from the Mayor, Cllr Richard
Moreton and Mayoress Rose Moreton.
Geldof
works closely with DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa),
an organization founded by U2's Bono to advocate for
Africa.
In
2005 he received the prestigious Beacon Fellowship
Prize for his leadership role in alleviating poverty,
famine and genocide, especially in the Third World,
and his advocacy for the rights of fathers. In this
year he was also awarded the Honorary Patronage of
the University Philosophical Society.
In
a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman, in
2006, he was voted third in the list of 'Heroes of
our time'.
In
2005, Bob Geldof received the Free Your Mind Award
at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
In
2006, Bob Geldof was the recipient of the Lyndon Baines
Johnson Moral Courage Award by Holocaust Museum Houston.
In
2007, Bob Geldof was made an Honorary Fellow at the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Political
views and controversies
Bob
Geldof adopted an anti-euro stance by appearing in
an advertisement against the single currency, in 2002.
Geldof also criticised the European Union (EU), in
2004, for what he called its 'pathetic' response to
Ethiopia's food crisis,[17] although one MEP has claimed
he is "misinformed".
During
a visit to Ethiopia, Geldof also praised President
George W. Bush's proposal to fight AIDS in Africa.This
proposal has been criticised from aid groups, due
to its heavy emphasis on Christian morality and sexual
abstinence.
Geldof
has recently spoken out about environmental issues,
taking some positions that may be considered unusual,
compared to many other prominent artists and performers,
such as advocating for the increased use of nuclear
power, saying that "In the UK, we'll soon have
to scramble for more nuclear power. On this issue,
I don't care what anyone says: we're going to go with
it, big-time. We may mess around with wind and waves
and other renewable energy sources, trying to make
them sustainable, but they're not. They're Mickey
Mouse."
Geldof
has also called for the industrial development of
developing nations such as China and India to be taken
into account when negotiating greenhouse gas emissions
targets, and has suggested that the developed world
has a role to play in assisting these nations to roll
out non-fossil energy systems.
Some
on the political left have charged Geldof with hypocrisy,
due to his lack of support for causes such as the
UK miners' strike (1984-1985) and the anti-war movement.
In 2006, Geldof told a business conference that "Back
in the 1970s there was no chance for a boy with an
idea. Everything was stitched up by the unions."
From
January 2002, until sometime in 2005, Geldof listened
very closely to Father's Rights campaigners, and it
was reported that he had sacks of mail arriving at
his door on a daily basis from fathers who were denied
justice from the British family courts. He was noted
as saying, "I am heartbroken. I just cannot believe
what happens to people, what is done to them in the
name of the law. "You only have to open your
eyes to see what I call the 'Sad Dads on Sundays Syndrome'.
He has also called for The Children Act to be repealed
and his latest statement to Father's Rights campaigners
was "'It's not in my nature to shut up'".
In
December 2005, Geldof agreed to give advice on global
poverty to the British Conservative Party. He stated,
however, that he was uninterested in party politics,
and would continue to 'shake hands with the devil
on my left and the devil on my right,' in order to
achieve results.
Geldof
is profitably involved in business activities, and
was rumoured for a time to be considering seeking
election to the office of President of Ireland in
2004. He was snubbed by all political parties, at
one point waiting three hours for a meeting before
realising.
In
2006, Geldof was outed as having an affair with British
actress Claire King in her autobiography, Confessions
of a Bad Girl. Their on-off relationship allegedly
started in 1979, when King was 17, and finished in
February of 1984. Part of their relationship would
have overlapped with Geldof's association with Paula
Yates, including her pregnancy and the birth of their
daughter, Fifi Trixibelle. The song 'Skin on Skin'
on the album V Deep was supposedly written for/about
King. Geldof has been quoted as saying "I have
no recollection of a Claire King... affair, my arse...
It's possible she was one of the girls I met on the
road, there were so many, that I don't recall the
name." King changed her surname from 'Seed' after
their alleged relationship and this has been cited
as a possible reason for Geldof's reticence.
Wealth
Ten
Alps, a PR, broadcast and television company, was
founded by Alex Connock, Bob Geldof and Des Shaw.
Connock bought Planet 24 Radio for £1, on the
day that Carlton Television acquired Geldof's previous
company Planet 24 for a reported £15 million.
Ten Alps posted profits of £600,000 in 2005,
on a turnover of £37,000,000.
Brook
Lapping, a part of the Ten Alps Empire, were the first
to produce a 'documentary' on Flight 93, 'The flight
that fought back' as well as producing '9/11: The
Twin Towers' which was screened on BBC to 6.4 million
viewers. Both are considered works of dramatic fiction.
Geldof's
wealth was estimated by Broadcast magazine, in 2001,
to be £30 million , a position of 18th in a
list of UK broadcasters. How much of his earnings
he donates to charity is not known. He is currently
embroiled in a legal wrangle with his former bandmates
in the Boomtown Rats, who accuse him of withholding
substantial profits from the band's recordings from
them.
Honorary degree
Bob
Geldof was awarded a honorary degree in Civil Law
from Newcastle University, England. The University
held a special honorary degree ceremony to honour
key figures in the campaign against world poverty.
The ceremony was held at The Sage Gateshead on 8 January
2007, at 2.00 pm.
Bob
Geldof, initiator and organizer of Band Aid, Live
Aid and, more recently, Live 8, was honoured along
with His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa, former
President of Tanzania; Susan George, political economist
and author of a dozen books on hunger, debt, international
institutions and North-South issues; and Dr David
Golding, Development Co-ordinator of Make Poverty
History North East.
Actor
Geldof
played the central character Pink in the film of Pink
Floyd's The Wall, and made a cameo appearance as himself
in the Spice Girls' pop music satire Spiceworld.
He
also starred in the 2007 short film 'I am Bob' in
which he loses a look-a-like contest (even after singing
the Boomtown Rats' hit I Don't Like Mondays.) (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Profiles
U2
Music
Bono
Make
Poverty History
Websites
Bob
Geldoff official website
U2
Make
Poverty History
Fathers
Group
Dad's
In Distress
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