Bob Geldof: 'Live Aid ruined my life'

Bob Geldof has confessed his Live Aid heroics cost him his marriage to the late Paula Yates and his career.Bob Geldof has confessed his Live Aid heroics cost him his marriage to the late Paula Yates and his career.

The Boomtown Rats singer was dubbed Saint Bob for putting together the global music event 35 years ago along with Ultravox frontman Midge Ure. The concerts raised more than $127 million (£100 million) for the victims of African famine, and Geldof has always been the face of the event, but in a new interview to mark the 35th anniversary, the singer said the shows took a huge personal toll on his life.

"For a while I was bewildered," he told the Associated Press. Adding that he didn't have much money at the time, Geldof said fronting the concerts impinged entirely on his private life and likely cost him his marriage.

Yates eventually left Geldof for Australian rock star Michael Hutchence. The Rat Trap singer also admitted it was difficult to revive his music career after Live Aid.

"I wasn’t allowed go back to my job," he explained, "I’m a pop singer. That’s literally how I make my money. That’s my job. I get up in the morning, if I’m in the mood. I’ll try and write tunes. I’ll go and try and rehearse."

This work was seen as superficial after Geldof was cast into humanitarian circles: "No one was interested. Saint Bob, which I was called, wasn’t allowed to (make music) anymore because it’s so petty and so meaningless. So, I was lost."

Reference: Cover Media:1 day ago 14th July 2020