Bob Geldof – Saint Bob?

Introduction
The outline of the Bob Geldof story is quite simple. He was born in Ireland in 1951
and was the lead singer of the group ‘The Boomtown Rats’ which lasted from 1975 to
1986. He then pursued a varied career as a solo artist with some of his songs
reflecting difficult events in his private life. In the mid 1980s he became active in
using popular music to raise funds for, and awareness of, poverty and famine in
Africa. His passionate commitment to this cause has been sustained and he is now a
major international figure in this field.

Relieving poverty – ‘feed the world’

His first prominent involvement in social action was as a performer at an Amnesty
International benefit concert in 1981 but it was in 1984 that Geldof really came to
notice. He was moved by a BBC television documentary about the famine in Ethiopia
to put his energies into campaigning for the poor and the hungry. The immediate
result of this was the production, with the musician and songwriter Midge Ure, of the
Band Aid single ‘Do They Know it’s Christmas?’ in 1984. This remained the biggest
selling single in the UK for many years and raised over £8 million for aid to Ethiopia
(Bobgeldof.info 2005). The artists were some of the most famous popular musicians
at the time and gave their time without charge. In later years the formula was repeated
with Band Aid II and Band Aid 20.
The initial Band Aid single was followed in July 1985 by the massive Live Aid
concerts at Wembley in the United Kingdom and the JFK stadium in Philadelphia.
Once again the biggest names in popular music took part – raising over £150 million
for famine relief. The events combined live performances, challenging video footage
of poverty and famine, and robust challenges from Bob Geldof to the public to give
their money. In 1999 there were ‘Net Aid’ events though these did not have the same
impact. Geldof’s strong concern for social justice continued with a greater emphasis
on campaigning, though still seeking to raise funds. On a visit to Africa in 2004,
horrified by what he saw, Geldof is said to have phoned the (then) prime minister of
the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, to urge international action. Following this he was a
member of the Commission for Africa. Politicians, initially, seem not to have taken
too much notice of their findings. This led Geldof to initiate the Live 8 events in 2005,
in parallel with the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign, to put pressure on the G8
leaders to adopt the proposals from the commission. The Gleneagles Agreement by
the G8 leaders included the setting up of The Africa Progress Panel – of which Geldof
is a member. At the time of writing Geldof plans to set up an international peace
channel on the internet.
Geldof appears to have made a considerable impact in his fundraising and
campaigning. His charitable work was officially recognised by an honorary
knighthood awarded to him by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986 (though as a citizen of
Ireland he may not use the title ‘Sir’). Yet it is fair to ask two questions about the
account given above. First, is it a true picture or is this just another celebrity seeking
publicity and acclaim? Second, if this is a true picture, how was it achieved? These
two questions will shape the remainder of this examination of Bob Geldof as a leader.
‘Saint Bob’ – is he too good to be true?
Lifestyle
There are likely to be questions about how the lifestyle of a popular musician fits with
campaigning for social justice. Geldof’s life as a member of the Boomtown Rats was
no different to that of others in the entertainment industry. Currently he seems to
value his family life, but in his earlier career he is reported as having said his reasons
for being a pop musician were to ‘get rich, get famous and get laid’. There is nothing
inauthentic here. Geldof is exactly what he claims to be; a popular musician who is
engaged in political activity for a better world.
There is an apparent contradiction between the wealth of the popular music industry
and campaigning for the relief of poverty. There are a few reports of Geldof charging
a large fee for speaking and about the hospitality for stars performing at Live Aid in
America – but these reports are few in number. Again Geldof is consistent; he is a
popular musician (with all that entails) who is also committed to improving the lot of
those in great need.

Naivety
The field of international aid and famine relief is highly political and complex and
there is an inference of naivety on Geldof’s part. For example, Noel Gallagher, a
fellow musician, is reported as having pointed out (in robust language!) how unlikely
it was that G8 world leaders would take time out from their deliberations to have their
attitudes changed by watching one of the artists performing in a Live 8 event. An
article on the World Socialist website points out that Live 8 events were rather strange
protests as they simply supported the establishment i.e. New Labour’s existing
policies (Ingram 2005). Geldof was also criticised when he became a consultant to a
Conservative party committee on global poverty, for aligning himself with a
Conservative member of parliament over the erosion of civil liberties and for
supporting the ‘Fathers for Justice’ campaign. Geldof’s response to these sorts of
criticisms is that he is not aligned to any political party and he will help wherever he
can – and this is borne out by what he does in practice.
Geldof is outspoken and has made the occasional gaffe, for instance, he is reported as
saying that a town where he was to switch on the Christmas illuminations was ugly!

Ineffectiveness
Allied to the inference of naivety there are suggestions that the funds raised could
have been used more effectively. Two examples will suffice. It is suggested that the
funds raised for educating children in Africa might have been targeted in a more
effective way (Tooley 2005) and that Live Aid and Oxfam interventions in Ethiopia
may have made things worse, not better. In the first case this is a difference of
professional views over how best to tackle a complex issue. In the second instance, if
the accusation is correct, then Oxfam got it wrong as well!

Review of the criticisms

Some of the points have been addressed already and these criticisms seem very
limited when set against the achievements. In some cases, e.g. the World Socialist
website, it is fair to comment, ‘Well, they would say that wouldn’t they?’ Indeed,
anyone having an impact in the political environment of reducing poverty is going to
be controversial and attract some criticism. Entrepreneurs like Geldof need to be
single minded, and possibly a touch naïve, to make progress against entrenched
positions and do what has not been done before. Such campaigners may be deeply
unpopular with those whose current position and interests are threatened by the
campaigning effort.
Overall it seems that Geldof’s commitment is authentic. The broadcaster and
commentator Clive James expressed his view on the matter thus:
‘The idea that he started the Live Aid campaign in order to revive the
fortunes of the Boomtown Rats is a kite that not even the music press
could get off the ground. Broke then and since, he did it for the
starving.’
(James 1986)

How was it all achieved?

Geldof worked in cooperation with other people to achieve these things. Westley
(1991) summarised her findings saying Geldof achieved what he did:
‘through the skilful juxtaposition of structures and processes from the
music industry to the aid context, and by skilfully linking the [...
feelings and emotions] generated by popular music with that generated
by famine imagery to trigger philanthropic activity among consumers
of popular music.’
There are two useful ideas from this which we can briefly explore a little further.

Utilising his networks and relationships in the music industry

Because of his links in the world of popular music Geldof was able to draw together
top performers for his events. The Band Aid single was recorded by over forty of the
most famous popular musicians and top performers were keen to be part of the Live
Aid concerts. This was also the case for the Live 8 events; so, for example, the Hyde
Park concert for Live 8 included Elton John, Coldplay, Madonna, Paul McCartney
and U2 among the performers. He also utilised his network of contacts in the
technical side of the industry such as recording studios. This was particularly evident
in getting the Band Aid single produced in a very short timescale. Additionally, his
identity as a popular musician meant that the media were interested in reporting what
he said and did.

Connecting with popular culture and people’s emotions and feelings

Geldof certainly seems to have been able to motivate people. In a MORI poll carried
out in Great Britain in 2004 Bob Geldof was the ‘celebrity most likely to encourage
involvement with charity and voluntary work’ (CSV 2005). His name came out top
from a list of twelve celebrities including Princess Diana, Lenny Henry and David
Beckham. It may be that his status as a popular musician and the genuineness of his
commitment was a combination which appealed to people. A strong visual symbol of
his effectiveness in linking social action with popular music is the Live Aid logo – the
guitar-stemmed outline of Africa. (As an aside, it is worth noting that the link between
popular music and social concern is not a new one as can be seen, for example, in folk
music and the blues.)
Geldof’s involvement in social action seems also to have coincided with an increasing
awareness and sensitivity to the problems of poverty on a global scale.
Documentaries, such as the one which spurred Geldof into action, have touched the
sensitivities of many people. A consequence of such documentaries, and news
reporting of human tragedy in Africa and elsewhere, is the feeling ‘it is awful, but
what can I do about it?’ While it would be hard to prove cause and effect, there is a
strong inference that Geldof was the means whereby popular music was linked to the
complex emotions raised by the reporting of human tragedy in Africa together with
the outlet to do something tangible about the problems.

Conclusion
It would seem that Geldof’s authenticity, his ability to mobilise people in his social
and business networks, the provision of a means to make a tangible response to
human need, coupled with the emotional impact of popular music have all played
their part in the Bob Geldof story.

Links
• Bobgeldof.info (2005) Band Aid/Live Aid/Live 8
http://www.bobgeldof.info/Charity/
[accessed 29th December 2008]
• CSV (2005) Sir Bob Geldof tops ‘giving time’ poll,
http://www.csv.org.uk/News/Press+Releases/Press+Releases+Geldof.htm
[Accessed 22nd December 2008]
• Ingram, M. (2005) Live 8 Edinburgh: marching for the establishment
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jul2005/live-j04.shtml
[Accessed 27th December 2008]
• James, C. (1986) Boomtown Saint: Bob Geldof,
http://www.clivejames.com/pieces/snakecharmers/geldof
[Accessed 27th December 2008]
• Tooley, J (2005) Why Bob Geldof is WRONG
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-
chronicle/tm_objectid=15679305&method=full&siteid=50081&headline=why
-bob-geldof-is-wrong-name_page.html
[Accessed 27th December 2008]
• Westley, F. (1991) ‘Bob Geldof and Live Aid: the affective side of global
social innovation’, in Human Relations; 44 (Oct 91) p.1011-36