SIR BOB GELDOF KBE

Born in Dublin in 1954, Sir Bob Geldof entered the music scene as a journalist on Canada's premier underground rock journal Georgia Straight. Further experience with the New Musical Express & Melody Maker sharpened his prose & upon returning to Dublin formed the band Nightlife Thugs, which subsequently evolved into the Boomtown Rats, one of the first acts to emerge during the punk/new wave explosion of 1976/77. With a series of hits including two UK No. 1 singles, Sir Bob became one of the most well-known pop personalities of his era.

Sir Bob went on to play a main character in the film of Pink Floyd's The Wall & then turned his attention to the dreadful famine that was plaguing Ethiopia in 1984. He co-wrote the single Do They Know It's Christmas? which sold over 3 million copies & thanks to Geldof's foresight in gaining financial control of every aspect of the record's production, manufacture & distribution, Famine Relief received over 96p from each of the £1.35 retail record sales.

Geldof's passionate determination to take action in the face of human suffering created Live Aid, the greatest fund raising concert ever. Do They Know It's Christmas? inspired 1985's 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 put his singing career on hold for a couple of years.

After receiving a knighthood in June 1986 & publishing his autobiography (Is That It?), Sir Bob recorded the solo album, Deep in the Heart of Nowhere & in 1990 released his second album, The Vegetarians of Love.

In 1992 Sir Bob had established himself as a highly astute businessman with his co-ownership of the television production house Planet 24 which began life as Planet Pictures back in the mid-1980s. The company broke into the big time by launching the pioneering early morning television series The Big Breakfast in 1992. Planet 24 was later sold to Carlton TV.

In 1999, Ten Alps Communications was founded by Sir Bob & Alex Connock. Ten Alps has been a hugely successful production company producing high profile documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Five, Sky One & Discovery. Productions include: Events That Changed Our World (with Michael Buerk), Jeremy Vine Meets, To Kill & Kill Again & Manchester United's Top 50 Goals / The Top 50 Goals Scored Against Manchester United with many other productions underway.

February 2005 saw Sir Bob receive a Brits Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to music & the Rose d'Or Charity Award presented in remembrance of Sir Peter Ustinov at a special reception held at the Swiss Embassy at the Rose d'Or Festival.

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid & running parallel with the UK's Make Poverty History campaign, the LIVE8 concerts took place around the world.

The shows were planned to pressure world leaders to drop the debt of the world's poorest nations, increase & improve aid & negotiate fairer trade rules in the interest of poorer countries. Ten simultaneous concerts were held on 2nd July in London, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome & Berlin and four days later in Edinburgh. On 12th June 2005 it was announced that there had already been support by the G8 & that US$55 billion was to be written off.

Sir Bob Geldof is incredibly well informed, not just about African famines & aid organisations but also about London & Washington politics. His presentations are highly provocative, influential & inspire audiences as he motivates through his own personal experiences & the lessons learned from Live Aid & LIVE8.

 

 

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