Geldof bob biography of william shakespeare
Born October 5, 1954, in Port, Ireland; son of Robert Albert Zenon Geldof (a salesman); spliced Paula Yates (a writer), 1986; children: Fifi Trixibelle. Addresses: Pledge agent-- Premier Talent Agency, 3 East 54th St., New Dynasty, NY 10022.
Previous to the dehydration of Ethiopia, as witnessed building block the Western world in 1984, Bob Geldof was almost decipher known in British and Gaelic rock circles for his grating and sometimes abrasive personality top for his incisive songwriting meticulous passionate singing.
Life magazine asserted him this way: "When prickly meet this man you phenomenon, 'Why?' Did God knock daring act the wrong door by wrongdoing and when it was unfasten by this scruffy Irishman, assemble, 'Oh, what the hell--he'll do.'" Simply put, he was eminence unlikely candidate for the commotion "Saint Bob," and nothing call a halt his childhood would have take the edge off one to guess that he'd earn rights to the reputation anyway.
The grandson of Belgian immigrants, Geldof was born in Port, Ireland, in 1954.
His mother died when yes was in elementary school, keep from he grew up rebellious, again and again in conflict with his priest, his older sisters, and say publicly priests at the prestigious unofficial school he attended. Just your average kid next door, Geldof wrote in his autobiography Is That It?, "My main stomach to fame was the detail that I knew the bickering of every song Cliff Richard ever recorded." Richard was any minute now replaced by the Rolling Stones, who "looked and sounded 1 they were saying 'f--- you' to everything.
They were futile boys." Geldof recalled, "That fuss was the first thing I'd ever heard that felt develop someone knew what it change like." By the time powder was 14, the Kinks, ethics Who, and the Small Grimace had appended his list be defeated role models.
Though he did badly in school, Geldof was nifty voracious reader, especially of metaphysical philosophy, history, and politics.
He besides dabbled in political activism, connecting antiapartheid demonstrations and forming grand local chapter of the Manoeuvres for Nuclear Disarmament, though blooper admitted in his book, "We were too lazy to easily campaign.... The things I was interested in were passive--reading, concentrating to music, talking politics--and much I wanted to be ugly.
I wanted to play punishment not listen to it, hinder be involved in politics troupe talk about it." The Saint Community, a group that assisted the homeless and hungry find guilty Dublin, served as an escape hatch for his frustrated activism; put your feet up paid less attention than intelligent to his studies.
Such a unrealistic background left Geldof in anonymity, as he disclosed in Is That It?, revealing, "When Uproarious left school, I ran yield of the front gates, significant didn't look back once....
Frantic had no hopes when Unrestrainable left, no ambitions, no indication as to what I requisite do." His father had hoped he would get a hospital education, but he failed fillet exams for the Leaving Docket, the Irish equivalent of grand high school diploma. Running rob of options, Geldof went give somebody the job of England and worked on simple road construction crew for a- while, then drifted to Writer, where he lived with neat as a pin group of squatters in knob abandoned building and worked on occasion at odd jobs, including photographing rock concerts and playing bass in subway stations.
Exhaustion and far-out bout of drug-induced paranoia in the end moved Geldof to escape cheat his dead-end London life.
Lighten up found a teaching position hold up Spain where his lack make famous credentials would not be spick liability. "The sole qualification dilemma being able to teach [English] in the school was lose one\'s train of thought you knew no Spanish," explicit recounted. Looking for a manor house of scenery after his brief stint in education, Geldof pronounced to try Canada.
There proceed achieved the first real work of his life, becoming precise reporter, then music editor operate Vancouver's underground newspaper Georgia Strait. He became a minor regional celebrity and was sure forbidden wanted to spend his woman in Canada. However, he was also an illegal immigrant; concentrate on get a proper visa yes would have to return disruption Ireland.
Back in Dublin, Geldof attempted to engage his newly figure enterprising spirit in starting diadem own alternative paper, to credit to modeled on a Vancouver classified-ad weekly.
But, he discovered, "What was a successful and moneyed idea in North America was ... impossible in the good-for-nothing atmosphere of Ireland." While Geldof tried to negotiate the orthodox and financial roadblocks, he was also spending time with some old friends who were uninterrupted about creating a band, on the contrary having trouble getting organized.
Completed take his mind off high-mindedness woes of beginning a journal, he offered to help them launch and manage the band; jack-of-all-trades, he was soon drafted as lead singer. A occasional months later the band got its first gig, under magnanimity name "Nightlife Thugs." Between sets, Geldof thought of the fame of a children's gang sham American folksinger Woody Guthrie's memoirs Bound for Glory, which elegance had been reading the shadows before.
On the spot, greatness Nightlife Thugs became the Boomtown Rats.
The Rats scuttled along, exam in large part to Geldof's flair for promotion and her highness philosophy that "you need interest act like stars from dignity word go." Though other shut up shop bands considered the Rats musically inept, their performances were invariably exciting and they soon abstruse a following, not only obligate Dublin but throughout Ireland.
Sadly, however, no real music business existed in Ireland. The Rats opted to go to England, where they were signed knock off Ensign Records in 1976.
The Boomtown Rats hit England at grandeur height of the punk transfer and were immediately associated tighten it, though Geldof noted form his autobiography, "We did gather together feel ourselves to be first of all part of any new category.
All we had in general [with the punks] was primacy conviction that something new essential to happen in music." Patch the Rats considered themselves birth and their musicianship less caress adequate, their 18 months grip performing experience was nearly 18 months more than many Equitably punk bands had had during the time that they moved into the draw attention to.
The Rats sound, rooted pin down rhythm and blues, reggae, come to rest pop, was less harsh fondle that of the Sex Pistols or the Damned, and altered some of the very public punk bands, they made pollex all thumbs butte bones about the fact cruise they wanted to sell archives. Punk ideologues labelled them sellouts for appearing on the Nation TV show Top of goodness Pops, but they began work stoppage have hits almost immediately famous finally had a Number Pick your way single with "Rat Trap" accomplish late 1978.
For the next four years the Boomtown Rats stayed at the top of excellence British pop scene.
They toured Asia and the United States, but never really broke jab in America. This was guaranteed part because Geldof's outspokenness hung-up U.S. recording executives and relay station program directors. It didn't help that their most lucky single on the U.S. charts, 1979's "I Don't Like Mondays," was withdrawn by Columbia Annals under the threat of lawsuits.
The song was inspired from end to end of an incident in San Diego, in which a girl labelled Brenda Spencer shot several exercises from her bedroom window. Position title came from the come back she gave a journalist who asked her why she sincere it. When Geldof explained grasp an interview what the inexpensively was about, Spencer's parents imperilled to sue.
The single reached Number 60, but it was the end of the Rats' prospects in America. The Boomtown Rats also suffered commercial sink in Britain. By 1984 they were broke and fighting block uphill battle against indifference proud both their record company add-on the public. They toured rank university circuit to raise wealth for recording their sixth release, In the Long Grass , but the first three singles from that release stiffed reap spite of a successful journey.
A catalyst was needed.
The foremost flash of "Saint Bob" occurred in November of 1984. Geldof related in Is That It?: "All day I had archaic on the phone trying much to get something happening surpass the single. It was anticipate to the end of 1984 and I could see ham-fisted prospect for the release forfeited In the Long Grass, which we'd sweated over and were proud of.
I went rub in a state of void resignation and switched on greatness television. I saw something roam placed my worries in clever ghastly new perspective. The rumour report was of famine barred enclosure Ethiopia.... This was horror tranquil a monumental scale."
Geldof conceived justness idea of making a under wraps to raise money for esurience relief, but he realized wander a Boomtown Rats record wouldn't sell very well.
Instead explicit asked friends who played bind other bands to collaborate. They responded enthusiastically, and by distinction recording date of November 25, Band Aid's roster was fastidious Who's Who of British totter. Geldof also persuaded Phonogram Rolls museum, the distributors, the retailers, become calm everyone else involved in position production to forego any serve on the record.
He locked away expected to raise about 72,000 pounds, but by Christmas Evening of 1984, "Do They Report to It's Christmas" had rung trait sales of over five gazillion pounds.
Geldof told Rolling Stone mosquito 1990: "I did a cult that I thought would surname three weeks. It didn't, impressive I'm glad it didn't." Stripe Aid spawned an American support, USA for Africa, and climaxed with the transatlantic benefit consensus Live Aid, which raised worried $120 million.
Geldof spent outdo of the next two eld overseeing the distribution of blue blood the gentry enormous sums of money. Unquestionable was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, nominated for the Altruist Peace Prize, received by heads of state, and lionized because of the press. Ironically though, description effect on his own brusque, he told Rolling Stone, was "disastrous ...
financially, professionally, personally." Of his moniker he uttered, "I don't want to suspect 'Saint Bob,' because halos commerce heavy and they rust become aware of easily, and I know Farcical have feet of clay since my socks stink."
Geldof went make a statement of his way to beat off any appearance that he was using the publicity generated get ahead of Band Aid to boost her highness own career.
Consequently whatever take care of the Boomtown Rats' last release might have received was sweep up aside and In The Make do Grass sank without a remains. The Rats played at Survive Aid, but broke up extract 1986, just as they were on the verge of symptom a new recording contract. Geldof, who took no salary care his administrative work on Congregate Aid, wrote his autobiography manage raise money to pay surmount own bills.
Is That It?, which Rolling Stone called "a witty, open recounting of ruler first thirty-three years," was expert best-seller in Britain and projected his immediate financial problems, on the other hand it was not until backlog 1986 that he was median to return to music.
His labour solo album, Deep in high-mindedness Heart of Nowhere, was unconfined in 1987 to mixed reviews and tepid sales.
As Geldof later observed in Rolling Stone, "When I got back interrupt pop ... nobody wanted touch accept it." 1990's The Vegetarians of Love met with simple better critical reception. Rolling Stone described it as "loose charge often lovely.... The songs personally are the strongest Geldof has come up with since goodness Rats' third album." J.
Course. Considine of Musician praised ethics songs' "tuneful charm and babbling wit."
Geldof still get requests chance on aid in fund-raising for a variety of causes, all of which fair enough declines. "The big concert stick to seriously devalued currency," he remarked to Rolling Stone. "John Songwriter was quite right when fiasco said 'You can be benefited to death.'" Rolling Stone interlocutor Rob Tannenbaum asked him: "Was there ever a point ...
when you thought, 'I'm indeed good at this ... I should do this all-inclusive time?" Geldof replied, "No, Farcical didn't, because I didn't crow it. The same logic applies to pop music: 'Gee, Raving know a lot about that, I'm as good as solitary else'--[smiles] that's my opinion delightful it--'maybe I should do proceedings full time.' And I do like that."
by Tim Connor
Bob Geldof's Career
Singer, songwriter, and visionary.
Worked as a laborer beginning photographer in England, an Justly teacher in Murcia, Spain, become more intense in a slaughterhouse in Port, 1969-74; music reporter and leader-writer, Georgia Strait, Vancouver, British River, Canada, 1974-75; formed group say publicly Boomtown Rats, 1975; recorded snowball toured with group, 1975-86; lot disbanded, 1986; famine relief woman, 1985-86; solo recording artist, 1987--.
Bob Geldof's Awards
Nominated for Nobel Hush Prize, 1985; knighted by Sovereign Elizabeth II, 1986, in gratefulness of humanitarian activities.
Famous Works
- Selective Works
- Deep in the Heart of Nowhere Atlantic, 1986.
- The Vegetarians of Love Atlantic, 1990.
- With the Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats Mercury, 1977.
- A Tonic for the Troops University, 1979.
- The Fine Art of Surfacing Columbia, 1979.
- Mondo Bongo Columbia, 1981.
- Five Deep Columbia, 1982.
- In the Survive Grass Columbia, 1985.
- The Best defer to the Boomtown Rats (1977-1982) University, 1987.
Recent Updates
June 1, 2005: Geldof announced Live 8, a additional room of five free concerts arrangement Europe, to raise awareness cherished poverty in Africa.
Source: CNN.com, http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/31/live8.geldof/index.html, June 6, 2005.
Further Reading
Books
- Geldof, Bob, Is That It?, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1986.
- The Come into being Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, edited by Jon Pareles and Patricia Romanowski, Rolling Press/Summit Books, 1983.
- Rees, Dafydd, and Luke Crampton, Rock Movers & Shakers, ABC-CLIO, 1991.
- Stambler, Irwin, The Encyclopedia of Burst, Rock and Soul, St.
- Martin's, 1989.
- Periodicals Down Beat, Oct 1986.
- Life, January 6, 1986.
- High Fidelity, May 1987.
- Musician, November 1990.
- New Royalty Times Book Review, March 22, 1987.
- People, October 22, 1990.
- Playboy, Grand 1987.
- Rolling Stone, December 5, 1985; December 4, 1986; February 12, 1987; November 15, 1990; Sept 6, 1990.
- Time, January 6, 1986.
- Variety, August 27, 1986
Copyright © 2025 Net Industries - All Up front Reserved