While Live Aid may have brought a lot of good with millions of dollars in donations for hunger relief, for Bob Geldof, one of the main organizers, the project brought with it some problems.
In an interview with the Associated Press, the Irish musician spoke about private problems – his fame was so overwhelming for him that his marriage to his then wife Paula Yates fell apart.
Strong criticism of the concept
In 1985 Bob Geldof organized the legendary Live Aid concerts. At that time, Queen, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Madonna and many other musicians came together to draw attention to the famine in Ethiopia and to collect donations for the African country.
The concerts raised around 100 million US dollars – the equivalent of around 88 million euros. The event was considered the largest rock concert in history up to that point, but it wasn’t all applause. The project was criticized early on because some of the acts were said to have acted on their own behalf and donations supposedly didn’t reach where they were supposed to. It was also said that the causes of the famine were not addressed by this type of financial development assistance.
“It probably cost me my marriage.”
Bob Geldof, then and again since 2020 the frontman of the Boomtown Rats, was only called “Saint Bob” after Live Aid. In the interview, he emphasized that he had not coped well with the attention from Live Aid. “I hated it,” Geldof said. “I was confused for a while. I didn’t have much money back then. It completely affected my personal life. It probably cost me my marriage.”
Geldof also shared that his efforts left him unable to pursue his passion for music. He said: “I wasn’t allowed to return to my job. I am a pop singer. This is literally how I earn my living. (…) Nobody was interested. Saint Bob, as I was called, was no longer allowed to do this because it was so petty and so meaningless. I was lost.”
But the pressure from Live Aid seems to have eased after more than 30 years. Today Bob Geldof is proud of the activism concerts – and he has also found his way back to music. Most recently he released the album “Citizens of Boomtown” with the Boomtown Rats. Their last album before that, “In the Long Grass,” was released in 1984.
The idea behind Live Aid came from the 1984 charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, which brought together Phil Collins, George Michael, Bono from U2 and many other musicians. Under the title “Band Aid”, this campaign also collected donations to fight the famine in Ethiopia. Bob Geldof was also one of the co-organizers.
However, criticism of Geldof does not subside. In 2019 it came out that the musician owned the investment company “8 Miles LLP” is said to have founded in the African island state of Mauritius. It is assumed that as an entrepreneur he benefits from a tax model that is damaging to Africa.