But no matter how indifferent Bob is to media people, just like a normal person there are things he does not passively put up with. BBC regretted selling a sensational story at his expense. They never got away with it. BBC did an unprecedented event in history. In November 2010, the news giant apologized publicly to Bob for maligning him in a report that insinuated misuse of Band Aid funds. They accused him of using charity revenues to finance a leftist movement but failed to back their story with sufficient evidence.

Bob could not care less about how people see him as a person. What infuriated him was the audacity of those journalists to mislead people about where their hard–earned money (supposedly for the poorest of the poor) was used. It’s not so much an issue of trust for Bob. On the contrary, it was more of BBC resorting to cheap tricks just to get attention.

They learned a thing or two about journalism ethics the hard way from an ex-journalist himself. That served as a lesson to anyone who dares question Bob’s efforts in Africa. It’s not that he hates being questioned. What he cannot stand is being accused and lectured on by people who do not even know what’s going on in Africa.

In terms of transparency, we can’t really ask more from Bob who went out of his way to pool powerful people for them to see what it’s like to live like an African. Bob would answer questions pertaining to the people and the continent which already earned a spot in his heart but do not ever put malice in his agenda. Why he helps is his personal choice. How others realize they could also help is his mission.

Bob Geldof, in spite of his unruly tongue, is a man who does not sit back and relax knowing others are in pain. That’s very unlikely for a toughie like him. More unlikely it is to make him an inspiration in doing something good.

Maybe we will fully understand this complex man if we take a closer look at what made him into the philanthropist rock star he is now.

Early Biography

Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof was born in Ireland on 5 October 1954. He spent his childhood in his hometown, Dún Laoghaire. His father, Robert Geldof, was of Jewish descent. Bob had two more sisters, Cleo and Lynn. Their father became a widower when Bob was only seven years old. Evelyn, their mom, complained of a severe headache which turned out to be something serious, leading to her early demise. Bob was still very young to understand what was going on.

Their father was a traveling merchant: leaving home on Mondays to sell towels and returning on Fridays. He remembered growing up in a home where intellectual exchange was encouraged even if it meant having moments of serious arguments. It was this kind of upbringing that instilled in Bob a very keen sense of social awareness and trained him to be vocal about his views and feelings.

Bob went to Blackrock College wherein he got bullied for being lousy at rugby. It was not the bullying though that Bob detested about Blackrock. He was peeved by its pompous Catholic teachings. He got so fed-up with all the trappings of religion that he decided he would be better off without it. So great was the resentment he felt for his school that he would later on bash it in an interview with Gay Byrne at Ireland’s “The Late Late Show.”

As a child, Bob knew he wanted a career in music. But being a rock star was not so practical a career. He had to start somewhere. After graduating from Blackrock, he figured he had to make a living. So he worked as a slaughter man, a road navvy, and a pea canner in Wisbech. The odd jobs did not bring him any nearer to his targeted industry so he left Ireland and went to Canada in hopes that life would treat him kinder there. Although his job as a music journalist in Georgia Straight publication was closer to his first love, which is music, it did not do anything to realize his dream of becoming a rock star.

Founding the Boomtown Rats

Instead of waiting for nothing, he chose to go home and start a band of his own. After forming his band, Bob secured them their first booking and suggested that they be called ‘The Nightlife Thugs’. One of their members, Garry Roberts, abhorred the name so much that he threatened to leave the band if they didn’t change it right away. To keep from rendering the band incomplete on their first gig, they decided to replace it with the ‘Boomtown Rats.’ Bob derived that name from “Bound for Glory,” Woody Guthrie’s autobiography. The ‘Boomtown Rats,’ according to the book, referred to a children’s gang.

In October 1976, the Boomtown Rats went to London and participated in the punk rock movement. In August of the following year, the band released their first single “Lookin' After No. 1,” which got included in the Top 40 UK Singles Chart. Following the single’s success, their first album “The Boomtown Rats” was released the following month. The single “Mary of the 4th Form” was featured upon the release of their self-titled debut album. Critics are beginning to notice the Irish band for their distinct music and radical songs.

As the band was becoming more and more popular, their fan base also grew bigger and bigger. One of their die-hard female fans was rock journalist Paula Yates. There was nothing Paula would not do for Bob, and that included renting an aeroplane to take her to Paris where his rock star idol was playing. She won Bob’s heart and they officially became a couple after that grand gesture of love.

The Boomtown Rats’ first album was followed shortly after by “A Tonic for the Troops,” their second one. Like their first, the second album featured singles such as, “Like Clockwork,” “She's So Modern,” and “Rat Trap”—all became a hit. Among them, the most successful was “Rat Trap,” which garnered the first spot in the UK. It was the first song of the rock genre to gain that much following.

“I Don’t Like Mondays” and “Banana Republic” Lyrics become Controversial

In 1979 the Boomtown Rats released their most controversial single “I Don’t Like Mondays.” It was largely inspired by the shooting that took place in a school in California. Then–16–year–old Brenda Ann Spencer was convicted of murder when she went into a shooting spree on 29 January 1979. Bob wrote the song after hearing Brenda Ann’s reason for cold-bloodedly shooting people at school, killing two and fatally wounding nine. According to her, she “hated Mondays” and the shooting “livened up the day.”

The silicon chip inside her head
Gets switched to overload
And nobody’s gonna go to school today
She’s gonna make them stay at home
And daddy doesn’t understand it
He always said she was good as gold
And he can see no reasons
'Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be show-ow-ow-ow-own?

Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
I wanna shoo-oo-woo-woo-woo-oot the whole day down

The Telex machine is kept so clean
And it types to a waiting world
And mother feels so shocked
Father’s world is rocked
And their thoughts turn to their own little girl
Sweet 16 ain’t that peachy keen
Now that ain’t so neat to admit defeat
They can see no reasons
'Cuz there are no reasons
What reasons do you need?
Oh Oh oh whoa whoa

Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
I wanna shoo-oo-oo-woo-woo-oot
The whole day down, down, down, shoot it all down

And all the playing's stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with the toys a while
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die
And then the bullhorn crackles
And the captain tackles
(With the problems of the how's and why's)
And he can see no reasons
'Cos there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die, die?
Oh Oh Oh

Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like
I don’t like (Tell me why)
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don’t like
I don’t like (Tell me why)
I don’t like Mondays
Tell me why
I don't like Mondays
I wanna shoo-oo-oo-woo-woo-woot the whole day down

It’s easy to see why the single did not earn as much following in the US as it did in the UK. Radio stations in America were apprehensive of playing the song as it might rouse bitter reaction. In spite of America’s boycotting the single, it still came out to be one of the most successful Boomtown Rats single. The infamous song was part of their third album, “The Fine Art of Surfacing.” Along with “I Hate Mondays,” the album included other singles that also made it to the charts: “Someone's Looking at You” and “Diamond Smiles.” Bob, with his band’s success, was then living the life of a true-blue rock star.

His candidness earned the ire of music critics, but everybody loved watching his interviews because of his no-nonsense stance. “Banana Republic” was released in 1980 and it became a Top 10 hit in spite of its scandalous lyrics:

Banana Republic
Septic Isle
Screaming in the Suffering sea
It sounds like crying (crying, crying)
Everywhere I go, oh yeah
Everywhere I see
The black and blue uniforms
Police and priests

And I wonder do you wonder
While you're sleeping with your whore
That sharing beds with history
Is like a-licking running sores
Forty shades of green yeah
Sixty shades of red
Heroes going cheap these days
Price; a bullet in the head

Banana Republic
Septic Isle
Suffer in the Screaming sea
It sounds like dying (dying, dying)
Everywhere I go, oh yeah
Everywhere I see
The black and blue uniforms
Police and priests

Take your hand and lead you
Up a garden path
Let me stand aside here
And watch you pass
Striking up a soldier's song
I know that tune
It begs too many questions
And answers too

Banana Republic
Septic Isle
Suffer in the Screaming sea
It sounds like dying (dying, dying)
Everywhere I go, oh yeah
Everywhere I see
The black and blue uniforms
Police and priests

The purple and the pinstripe
Mutely shake their heads
A silense shrieking volumes
A violence worse than they condemn
Stab you in the back yeah
Laughing in your face
Glad to see the place again

It's a pity nothing's changed
Banana Republic
Septic Isle
Suffer in the Screaming sea
It sounds like dying
Everywhere I go
Everywhere I see
The black and blue uniforms
Police and priests

It was the Boomtown Rats’ response to their getting banned from playing in Ireland, their very own country. The band got blacklisted following the interview with Gay Byrne. It was in the same interview where Bob criticized his alma mater, Blackrock College. It was not just Blackrock that was dissed. Gay also asked Bob about his take on Catholicism and the latter got sanctioned for giving an honest answer. This is the feisty Bob Geldof side, a side nobody wants to mess with.

The single was part of their fourth album, “Mondo Bongo.” In 1981, before the group concluded their world tour, Gerry Cott, their guitarist, left the group. Bob thinks Gerry became tired of the other members’ ‘laziness.’ Gerry did not like the idea of dabbling into cod-reggae. Their fifth album was released with only the five of them remaining in the group.

“V Deep” achieved moderate success in 1982. “Never In A Million Years,” their first single from the album, did not do very well on the charts. The second single, “House on Fire,” made it to number 24. It was evident that the group was losing the support of their fans who must have preferred seeing all six of them playing. As it was, the Boomtown Rats’ popularity was fast declining.

Taking a much-deserved break from the limelight, Bob savored the moment of being a first-time father to his daughter Fifi Trixibelle Geldof who was born on 31 March 1983. The girl was named after Bob’s Aunt Fifi. Her middle name ‘Trixibelle’ was added to indulge Paula’s whim to have a ‘Belle’ in the family.

When Bob returned to the recording studio, the Boomtown Rats recorded their last album, “In the Long Grass,” and released it in 1985. Unlike their previous albums, the last one did not have the distinct quality that their band became known for. It was not at all surprising since they were all preoccupied with Live Aid concerts that time and Bob’s involvement in African activism was getting more profound.

Bob’s first charity performance was at The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball organized by Amnesty International. His despair over the death toll in Africa was exacerbated when he saw Michael Buerk’s documentary highlighting how bad poverty was in Africa. Bob knew Africa needed help, especially, the children whose education was put aside due to debt payments. Bob felt compelled to do something to keep millions of people from dying. He couldn’t just go back to his luxurious life as a rock star without doing whatever he could to make Africa a better place for its wonderful people.

Band Aid and Live Aid

Since Bob’s active involvement—setting up Band Aid in 1984 and organizing Live Aid in 1985—he was so thinly spread to give his band the full attention it needed to keep them from disbanding. Unfortunately, parting ways was inevitable. Bob loved his band and still wanted to sing and write but he couldn’t just bail out of the cause he was fighting in Africa.

After 10 years of making music, the Boomtown Rats separated and Bob pursued a solo career with Pete Briquette.

A chapter of his life started when he bade his band farewell. He and Paula decided to finally get married after living together for 10 years. Theirs was a happy marriage and a fruitful one. The couple had two more daughters: Peaches Honeyblossom and Little Pixie.

Co-writing “Do They Know It’s Christmas” with Midge Ure

The humanitarian projects that Bob got involved with started with his composition “Do They Know It’s Christmas” which he co-wrote with Midge Ure. It was a song that meant to mobilize people to do something about the plight of African citizens:

It's Christmas time
There's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time
We let in light and we banish shade

And in our world of plenty
We can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At Christmas time

But say a prayer
Pray for the other ones
At Christmas time, it's hard
But when you're having fun

There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dreaded fear
Where the only water flowing
Is a bitter sting of tears

And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
We'll, tonight, thank God, it's them
Instead of you

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Here's to you
Raise your glass for everyone
Here's to them
Underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Feed the world
Feed the world

Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time and
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time and

As if that weren’t enough, Bob talked to other artists about organizing a concert to raise funds. The concert was called Band Aid and it proved to be a successful undertaking. Bob knew that he needed lots of publicity to make the project work. What he did was set an appointment with BBC Radio 1 DJ Richard Skinner on the pretext of promoting his latest album. Little did they know that Bob’s agenda was to ‘sell a famine’ to the viewers.

By the time he got the artists assembled to sing the much-awaited song, people were already more than curious about his project. It successfully generated the buzz it needed to focus everybody’s attention on the reason behind the album’s production. The song “Do They Know It’s Christmas” achieved the effect they wanted. It became popular all over the UK and earned the number 1 spot in the charts. For five weeks “Do They Know It’s Christmas” stayed on the top spot making it the bestselling single of all time until Elton John’s tribute to the late Princess Diana was released in 1997.

Bob then discovered that he was very good at promoting issues. The successful Band Aid concert can attest to that. After Band Aid, Bob went on to continue raising funds, this time they called it Live Aid. Live Aid was an even bigger success. What they thought would generate £1 million turned out to make £150 million of revenues. It was far more than Bob hoped for. This effort contributed to Bob’s being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Among the many things Bob aspired for, being a philanthropist was something totally beyond his wildest imagination. He wanted to be a rock star, he became a rock star. He wanted fame, he became internationally popular. He wanted to be rich, he did become rich. But as his fame grew, so was his responsibility to be a good influence. By then, being a father of three, Bob had developed a fondness for children. It was the children that he found irresistible to help. Asked if he decisively chose to be involved, Bob said in retrospect, "I don't think I've chosen it (NGO). I think once you're in, how do you get out?"

Paula Leaves Bob for Michael Hutchence

In 1995, Bob’s wife left him for another man. Paula never got over her obsession with rock singers. Michael Hutchence, lead singer of INXS, was a frequent guest in her show. Paula was then a presenter in “The Big Breakfast” and she again had Michael as a guest in 1994. Paula left their family and took off with Michael.

Just like that, Paula was out of Bob’s life, out of their children’s lives. Before they knew it, she had succumbed to a lifestyle of cocaine and liquor.

Peaches Geldof’s Interview

It was more than Bob could bear. He was so engrossed in doing charity work that he did not notice his wife drifting away. What’s worse was the kids were caught in between. Peaches, now a mother herself at 23 years old, would often tell the press how that ugly chapter unfolded in their lives. She was only seven when Paula left them for Michael. It was too much for a young girl who was so accustomed to having both of her parents looking after her and her other sisters. According to Peaches, Bob coped with it by subduing his emotions:

"I was completely aware of the whole situation, the transition of my mother who was amazing, who wrote books on parenting, who gave us this idyllic childhood in Kent; and who then turned into this heartbroken shell of a woman who was just medicating to get through the day.

‘On top of that, there was my father who was very embittered and depressed about it and for us children, an environment that was impossible, veering between a week with my mother that was complete chaos, and then with my father, which was almost Dickensian – homework, dinner, bed – because he was trying in his own way to combat what was going on at my mother’s."

Michael and Paula had a daughter who they named Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. What Bob thought to be the worst was topped by Michael’s suicide and Paula’s overdose rendering their daughter an orphan. Of course, with Bob being betrayed, he could just give up the girl for adoption. But he’s better than that. The man who took pity on other kids couldn’t bring himself to ignore his late wife’s daughter from another man. He did what a noble man would do—adopt her and raise her like his own. Bob might be one profane man, but when he loves, he loves deeply.

Bob, with his family torn apart, had work left to do in Africa. He decided to bring in the most influential people in the world thinking that the ‘agents of change are no less than the politicians.’ Who else would he contact first but UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair? He called Tony and told him about Africa. Bob sounded so adamant that Tony had not succeeded in turning him down. They arranged a meeting with other powerful leaders from the first world countries and it gave birth to Commission for Africa.

The development plan boiled down to two main agenda in Africa. First is to increase aid by cancelling debt and giving more financial help, second is to give African people more opportunities to trade with other countries in order to be self-sufficient. What we now know as the G8 Gleneagles African Debt and Aid Package was patterned from what Bob and Tony thought was best to do for Africa.

The man who was betrayed by his wife had to move on with his life because millions of people needed help.

That sums up who Bob is—love him or hate him.

Organizations and Campaigns Supported

• 21st Century Leaders
• 46664
• Aegis Trust
• Africa Progress Panel
• Amnesty International
• Bottletop
• Band Aid
• Cinema For Peace
• Commission for Africa
• Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa
• Estamos
• Exeter Entrepreneurs Society
• Fathers' Rights Movement
• Live Aid
• Live 8
• Make Poverty History
• Mo Farah Foundation
• ONE Campaign
• One Young World
• Population Services International
• RADD
• Raisa Gorbachev Foundation
• War Child
• Whatever It Takes
• Willow Foundation

Achievements

• 1975: Became lead singer of The Boomtown Rats
• 1984: Co-founded Band Aid
• 1984: The song he wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?" became the biggest-selling song in the UK
• 1985: Co-organized Live Aid
• 1985: Was a Master of Arts honorary from the University of Kent
• 1986: Has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II when he was 34
• 1986: Named Freeman of the Borough of Swale
• 2002: Included in the list of 100 Greatest Britons
• 2004: Was University of East Anglia's honorary doctorate awardee
• 2005: Received Honorary Patronage of the Trinity College Dublin University Philosophical Society
• 2005: Received the North-South Prize
• 2005: Recipient of Man of Peace award
• 2005: Received the Free Your Mind Award
• 2005: Awarded the Beacon Fellowship Prize
• 2006: Number three among "Heroes of our time"
• 2006: Recipient of the Freedom of Dublin City award
• 2006: Received the Lyndon Baines Johnson Moral Courage Award
• 2006: Earned a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
• 2007: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland made him an Honorary Fellow
• 2007: Received the Cinema for Peace Pioneer Award
• 2007: Newcastle University awarded him an honorary Degree in Civil Law
• 2008: Vanderbilt University awarded him the Nichols-Chancellor's Medal
• 2008: Earned a Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
• 2008: University of East London awarded him an honorary Degree in Music
• 2009: Awarded by ROTA with a Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2011: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy
• 2012: Groupcall, which he co-founded, was awarded the BETT Award