Bob Geldof
b. Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof, 5 October 1954, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, Eire. Geldof initially entered the music scene as a journalist on Canada's premier underground rock journal Georgia Straight. Further experience with the New Musical Express sharpened his prose and upon returning to Dublin, he formed the group Nitelife Thugs, which subsequently evolved into The Boomtown Rats, one of the first groups to emerge during the punk/New Wave explosion of 1976/77. After a series of hits, including two UK number 1 singles, the group fell from favour, but Geldof was about to emerge unexpectedly as one of the most well-known pop personalities of his era. He had always had an acerbic wit and provided excellent interviews with an energy and enthusiasm that matched any of his articulate rivals. After appearing in the film of Pink Floyd's THE WALL, he turned his attention to the dreadful famine that was plaguing Ethiopia in 1984. Shocked by the horrific pictures that he saw on television, Geldof organized the celebrated Band Aid aggregation for the charity record which he wrote, Do They Know It's Christmas? The single sold in excess of three million copies and thanks to Geldof's foresight in gaining financial control of every aspect of the record's production, manufacture and distribution, famine relief received over 96 pence of the £1.35 retail price. The record inspired the subsequent mammoth Live Aid extravaganza in which Geldof herded together rock's elite to play before a worldwide television audience of over 1,000,000,000. Geldof continued to help with the administration of Band Aid, which effectively put his singing career on hold for a couple of years. After the publication of his autobiography, he recorded the solo album, DEEP IN THE HEART OF NOWHERE, which spawned the minor hit This Is The World Calling. Unfortunately, Geldof's celebrity status seems to have worked against him in the fashion-conscious pop world, a fact that he freely admits. His second album, THE VEGETARIANS OF LOVE, was recorded in a mere five days and proved a hit with critics and fans alike. Complete with folk and cajun flavourings and an irreverent stab at apathy in The Great Song Of Indifference, the album brought some hope that Geldof might be able to continue his recording career, despite the perennial publicity that associates his name almost exclusively with Live Aid.