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Bob Geldof

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bob Geldof was born in 1951 in Dún Laoghaire, near Dublin. His mother died when he was eight. At school he was bullied and beaten. He then worked in, among other places, a slaughterhouse, road construction and a canning factory, and later as a music journalist in Vancouver, Canada. In 1975 he returned to Ireland and became the singer of The Boomtown Rats, a rock band closely tied to punk and new wave.

Music and breakthrough

The band had two number 1 hits in England that Geldof co-wrote: Rat Trap (1978) and I Don't Like Mondays (1979). He wrote the latter after a shooting at a primary school in San Diego. Geldof was known as a fierce and brash talker, who attacked politics and the Catholic Church on an Irish talk show. In 1982 he played the lead role in the film Pink Floyd: The Wall.

Influence

In 1984 he saw the television reports on the famine in Ethiopia. Together with Midge Ure he wrote Do They Know It's Christmas?, which they recorded as Band Aid with a group of British and Irish stars. A year later they organised the great benefit concert Live Aid, and in 2005 the Live 8 concerts followed. For his efforts he received an honorary title from the British Queen. Geldof showed how popular music could mobilise a worldwide audience for a good cause.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats. Notice the piano that carries the song and how the song slowly builds to a big, almost theatrical chorus, while the lyrics are about a shocking event.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists