Nude. (Anna Akhmatova) Painting by Amedo Modigalini

Bob Geldof shall ever be remembered for his humanism and desire to help the needy.

There is a controversy regarding his date of birth. It is now generally accepted that he was born on October 5, 1954. His father was a vendor of clothes in Ireland. He lost his mother at an early age. Bob did not show much interest in studies and was expelled from school at the age of 17. He worked as an editor of a music magazine in Canada. Later, he founded an orchestra band and named it ‘Boom-town Rats’. His first record was ‘Boom-town rats. Another album called ‘Do They Know it’s Christmas’ became quite popular. Some of hils popular songs are; ‘Rat Trap’ and d’ I don’t like Mondays.

In 1984, he saw the heart-rending scenes of famine in Ethiopia live on T.V. He was deeply affected by the sight of dying children and adults. He immediately decided that he would have to help these unfortunate people who were mostly non-whites. He immediately brought out a record with the help of other pop singers and established a trust named ‘Band Aid’. ‘Band Aid’morganised live programs in London and philadelpphia in which top singers participated. Millions of people witnessed this program. A sum of one hundred million dollars was collected from this show. It was immediately sent to Africa to purchase he organized ‘Sport Aid’ programmed in 1986 with well-known sportsmen and artists. People in India had been very much impressed by the ‘Live Aid’ program organized on July 13, 1985.

Bob Geldof has been declared a saint for his selfless service to famine stricken Africans. He has also been made Knight Commander of British Empire in 1986