Bob Geldof Biography

NAME: Bob Geldof

OCCUPATION: Activist, Songwriter, Singer, Philanthropist

BIRTH DATE: October 05, 1951 (Age: 60)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Dublin, Ireland

ALTERNATE NAME(S): Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof

Rock musician, author, and philanthropist. Born Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof on October 5, 1951 in Dublin, Ireland, Bob Geldof is best known as the singer of the punk band The Boomtown Rats and for his political activism -- particularly anti-poverty efforts in Africa ?? BandAid and Live Aid.

Geldof studied at Black Rock College in Ireland, worked in Canada as a pop journalist, then returned home in 1975 to form the successful rock group, the Boomtown Rats (1975??86). The group had a couple of number one hits, including the single "I Don't Like Mondays." Their album "Mondo Bongo" (1980) was a hit and became part of the infant MTV network's video rotation.

In 1984, Geldof initiated the Band-Aid project, a charity for the victims of famine in Africa. In 1985 he organised the Live Aid concert and Sports Aid in 1986, and established the Band-Aid Trust to administer the $150,000,000 raised. Band-Aid continues to operate in eight African countries. In 1986, he was awarded a Knighthood for this work, and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.

For the rest of the decade, Geldof continued his fight against world hunger, specifically African famine. He joined Wyclef Jean, Bono and others such as Bryan Ferry, Jimmy Page, Stereophonics and Sean "Puffy" Combs for NetAid in October 1999. Three stadium concerts, which took place in New York, London, and Geneva, were simulcasted live on the Internet, radio, and television, staging a multimedia event that aimed to help end world poverty. In the new millennium, Geldof returned to music for 2002's Sex, Age and Death. In 2004 he was asked to participate in DMC Records Under the Influence series, a project that compiles songs that influenced the chosen performer's career, with extensive liner notes from the artists themselves. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide.