If you believe it or can believe it. The Boomtown Rats are marking fifty odd years in the business, and the group wouldn't be the only thing that Bob Geldof did, of course, that changed music all the world. It's also the fortieth anniversary of band Aid. He put it all together in a stage show and got a couple of dates here. It's called an Evening with Bob Geldoff. Songs and Stories from an Extraordinary Life, and the great Bob Geldoff is with us. Good morning, good morning, good to see you you too, mate. We were talking about health off air and because you look amazing, because the last time I was explaining on the show before you arrived, last time I saw you was twenty years ago and you didn't look a lot different then. So either you were aging.

If you believe it or can believe it. The Boomtown Rats are marking fifty odd years in the business, and the group wouldn't be the only thing that Bob Geldof did, of course, that changed music all the world. It's also the fortieth anniversary of band Aid. He put it all together in a stage show and got a couple of dates here. It's called an Evening with Bob Geldoff. Songs and Stories from an Extraordinary Life, and the great Bob Geldoff is with us. Good morning, good morning, good to see you you too, mate. We were talking about health off air and because you look amazing, because the last time I was explaining on the show before you arrived, last time I saw you was twenty years ago and you didn't look a lot different then. So either you were aging.

You've got to say something else you look terrible to me. I don't know, Yeah, yeah, you were.

You've got to say something else you look terrible to me. I don't know, Yeah, yeah, you were.

You were either aging poorly then and brilliantly now. I don't know what's going on, but you look and fine fettle and good health. But it does remind me of in talking about health and all the performance stuff. To do something each day, to have purpose, keeps you young is that fair? Do you think?

You were either aging poorly then and brilliantly now. I don't know what's going on, but you look and fine fettle and good health. But it does remind me of in talking about health and all the performance stuff. To do something each day, to have purpose, keeps you young is that fair? Do you think?

Absolutely fair? There's you know, if a human doesn't have purpose and it can be whatever, then what's it about? You know, there has to be some point to existence, I guess. And the problem with unemployment is simply that, you know, you fall into this sort of you know, I don't dissitute this lethargy and you can't get up. It's just like I woke up and now what. And it's a very good point because I tend to do things. If the phone doesn't ring, I get worried and I then have some mad idea that I'll embark on. And because I live in London, the possibility of an idea happening is quite high. So two days later it's these people ring me. Yeah, let's do that. And five years later, I'm still involved in this thing that bored me in the first place. I never wanted to start it. So yeah, that's it. And I don't even know, like, you know, I just get up and do stuff.

Absolutely fair? There's you know, if a human doesn't have purpose and it can be whatever, then what's it about? You know, there has to be some point to existence, I guess. And the problem with unemployment is simply that, you know, you fall into this sort of you know, I don't dissitute this lethargy and you can't get up. It's just like I woke up and now what. And it's a very good point because I tend to do things. If the phone doesn't ring, I get worried and I then have some mad idea that I'll embark on. And because I live in London, the possibility of an idea happening is quite high. So two days later it's these people ring me. Yeah, let's do that. And five years later, I'm still involved in this thing that bored me in the first place. I never wanted to start it. So yeah, that's it. And I don't even know, like, you know, I just get up and do stuff.

That's it, And it's worked out, okay, hasn't it?

That's it, And it's worked out, okay, hasn't it?

In general? Yeah? I mean, you know, I think most people think they get up and do a job, and they're not particularly satisfied with the job. But imagine if you didn't do that, you know, you can't imagine.

In general? Yeah? I mean, you know, I think most people think they get up and do a job, and they're not particularly satisfied with the job. But imagine if you didn't do that, you know, you can't imagine.

Do you still enjoy performing?

Do you still enjoy performing?

I do. It's very cathartic and it varies, like this thing we're doing. I mean, you've read the long opening to it. I said, why call it? Why call it the life and extraor whatever? I said, I just call it life WTF, you know, because you know who'd have thought? So? I do enjoy doing this because it's why would I do it? Because it was put to me just before Christmas in Australia when I was talking about band Aid the fortieth anniversary, and they said, why don't you tell those stories in this sort of show thing? And I'd seen the An Evening with stuff where you just sit down with a guy like yourself, and I do these interviews all the time, and I didn't want to do that. And I'd seen Springsteen's One Man Show, I'd seen Bono's One Man Show. They're both Irish. I'm Irish. We can tell stories, and I thought I'd do it more like that, more theatrical, with you know, visuals and songs and all that. And I really enjoy it because it's not something i'd normally do in the summer. As you said, the rats are fifty, we'll do all the big festivals. And then we're talking off Mike about you know, suddenly Bobby Boontown's in the house and it's lame for anyone listening. But the you know, the sagacious, quiet person you're listening to right now becomes something else, and that band start up, and it must be that the music excites me and I go absolutely nuts and I don't mean to. It's not something considered and by the end of it, I'm completely exhausted. But it's a great Catharsis. It's a great sense of something being done. I was going to say being achieved, but that's two grand so.

I do. It's very cathartic and it varies, like this thing we're doing. I mean, you've read the long opening to it. I said, why call it? Why call it the life and extraor whatever? I said, I just call it life WTF, you know, because you know who'd have thought? So? I do enjoy doing this because it's why would I do it? Because it was put to me just before Christmas in Australia when I was talking about band Aid the fortieth anniversary, and they said, why don't you tell those stories in this sort of show thing? And I'd seen the An Evening with stuff where you just sit down with a guy like yourself, and I do these interviews all the time, and I didn't want to do that. And I'd seen Springsteen's One Man Show, I'd seen Bono's One Man Show. They're both Irish. I'm Irish. We can tell stories, and I thought I'd do it more like that, more theatrical, with you know, visuals and songs and all that. And I really enjoy it because it's not something i'd normally do in the summer. As you said, the rats are fifty, we'll do all the big festivals. And then we're talking off Mike about you know, suddenly Bobby Boontown's in the house and it's lame for anyone listening. But the you know, the sagacious, quiet person you're listening to right now becomes something else, and that band start up, and it must be that the music excites me and I go absolutely nuts and I don't mean to. It's not something considered and by the end of it, I'm completely exhausted. But it's a great Catharsis. It's a great sense of something being done. I was going to say being achieved, but that's two grand so.

That the show goes on. In reading you in Australia can go for all any length of time.

That the show goes on. In reading you in Australia can go for all any length of time.

Yeah, a thing you and I did a thing in two thousand and six with the great Malcolm MacLaren, you know, certainly a cultural avatar of our times, you know, Vivian Westwards, partner and designer and the Sex Pistols manager and one of the great speakers. Yeah, and did you that some did The audience asked him a question and the answer took up forty five minutes and he never once addressed the question. So it's a bit like that with this show. It can it can't bring a sleeping bag, It's all I'm saying. It could go on.

Yeah, a thing you and I did a thing in two thousand and six with the great Malcolm MacLaren, you know, certainly a cultural avatar of our times, you know, Vivian Westwards, partner and designer and the Sex Pistols manager and one of the great speakers. Yeah, and did you that some did The audience asked him a question and the answer took up forty five minutes and he never once addressed the question. So it's a bit like that with this show. It can it can't bring a sleeping bag, It's all I'm saying. It could go on.

By the way, speaking of Irish people, Colin mcgrigord, you realize he wants to run for the President of Ireland.

By the way, speaking of Irish people, Colin mcgrigord, you realize he wants to run for the President of Ireland.

Yeah, Woody, he's creep.

Yeah, Woody, he's creep.

Okay, so not no vote from Bob.

Okay, so not no vote from Bob.

Did you see how he humiliated himself and Ireland with Trump? You know? Awful? I mean I had so many memes from people saying how shame they are?

Did you see how he humiliated himself and Ireland with Trump? You know? Awful? I mean I had so many memes from people saying how shame they are?

You know, did you do you from where you came from? Speaking of Ireland? When you start out, you know, in the meat works and the diggers and stuff, do you appreciate what you've achieved more as opposed to have been born into it and you've got a guitar and success came your way, And no.

You know, did you do you from where you came from? Speaking of Ireland? When you start out, you know, in the meat works and the diggers and stuff, do you appreciate what you've achieved more as opposed to have been born into it and you've got a guitar and success came your way, And no.

I don't appreciate it because it's if you're living a life as anyone listening or you know, it's sort of a linear thing. In retrospecting, things appear inevitable. The only thing I know is that because I was offered no choices, Ireland was very poor. My dad had no money. I did nothing in school, so you know, you leave and you invent yourself into being. And the only thing I know is that initially I just went for jobs where I could get a bit of money, take me to the next country, the next job. Something was going to happen, and I was working towards something when out of the blue the band started. But I would always take that road left traveled, and that seemed to me to offer the most opportunities. And even when the band was really peaking at its height, I got distracted by something that interested me. And if it interests me, and it's got something to do with an interest in the past, and I'll go down that route. So but everything spins off of rock and roll, really, everything spins off of it. Things were not great when I was a kid, so the only avenues of possibility were suggested by you know, John and Paul, Mick and Keith, Bob and Pete and those people. And I clung onto that. And the message seemed to be that the world was not immutable, that change was necessary, desirable, inevitable. And because I was young and listening to these people suggesting that rock and roll became the rhetoric of change and indeed the platform, so that leads you to live aid, you know that sort of stuff, and uh, you know, retrospectively again, all the other stuff spins out of that fact. That's central fact of pop music and rock and roll, which seems, I suppose, seemingly lame, but for me was a true a golden thread lowered out of the purple ether of rock and roll which I've clung on too ferociously ever since.

I don't appreciate it because it's if you're living a life as anyone listening or you know, it's sort of a linear thing. In retrospecting, things appear inevitable. The only thing I know is that because I was offered no choices, Ireland was very poor. My dad had no money. I did nothing in school, so you know, you leave and you invent yourself into being. And the only thing I know is that initially I just went for jobs where I could get a bit of money, take me to the next country, the next job. Something was going to happen, and I was working towards something when out of the blue the band started. But I would always take that road left traveled, and that seemed to me to offer the most opportunities. And even when the band was really peaking at its height, I got distracted by something that interested me. And if it interests me, and it's got something to do with an interest in the past, and I'll go down that route. So but everything spins off of rock and roll, really, everything spins off of it. Things were not great when I was a kid, so the only avenues of possibility were suggested by you know, John and Paul, Mick and Keith, Bob and Pete and those people. And I clung onto that. And the message seemed to be that the world was not immutable, that change was necessary, desirable, inevitable. And because I was young and listening to these people suggesting that rock and roll became the rhetoric of change and indeed the platform, so that leads you to live aid, you know that sort of stuff, and uh, you know, retrospectively again, all the other stuff spins out of that fact. That's central fact of pop music and rock and roll, which seems, I suppose, seemingly lame, but for me was a true a golden thread lowered out of the purple ether of rock and roll which I've clung on too ferociously ever since.

A couple of quick questions before I forget, I don't know that most people know this. What was it called PS twenty four year company? It was planning twenty yeah, yeah, and it got sold eventually. But did you ben survival?

A couple of quick questions before I forget, I don't know that most people know this. What was it called PS twenty four year company? It was planning twenty yeah, yeah, and it got sold eventually. But did you ben survival?

Yeah?

Yeah?

See, people don't know that about you. They think band aid and I don't like mondays, but don't put it on my gravestone. Did you clip the ticket on it? Did I what clip the ticket?

See, people don't know that about you. They think band aid and I don't like mondays, but don't put it on my gravestone. Did you clip the ticket on it? Did I what clip the ticket?

You know?

You know?

Did the money come flying?

Did the money come flying?

That was? That was that was the big payoff.

That was? That was that was the big payoff.

That was the magic.

That was the magic.

Yeah. We had So after live Aid, I hadn't worked for two years because you know, trying to all do all this stuff and focus on it and set up the structure and the trust and the actual enabling of you know, putting everything into place. And I was broke because I promised that every single penny we got will go to someone in need. And after we're forty years old now I have to tell you that not a single sandwich, cup of coffee or phone call has come out of that money. And we do it every day. But I was broke, and the band, because we hadn't worked for two years, they'd gone off and done separate things. Pete became a big producer. Some of the band played with other guys. So the first thing I did was write a book. Then I did some ads to get some money. Then I started making solo records. But because I've been as I say, everything spins off rock and roll, because I've been in music for ten years, on every TV and radio show, it was second nature to me. So I set up a TV company with two friends of mine, and again the attitude was very like the Rats, was very punk. You know, let's turn over the apple cards. There's got to be something underneath it, and there was. We had a the go go, go to rock and roll show of the nineties was the word that was ours, and there was. We had the Breakfast franchise for ten years, two hours every day, five days a week. That was the big make or break thing. But out of the word came there was a section called I do anything to be on television, and you know, it got grotesque people as people wrote in with things. And I remember once was a lady of ninety in a bath full of worms being kissed by a seventeen year old boy and that is grotesque. And I mean it probably appeared to your you know, disgusting sense of humor in this country. But you know, I just thought no. So we got called in by Channel four, which is the alternative channel in the UK, and they said, look, there's this new thing called reality television. We want you to make this edgy, you know sort of thing. We said, what are you talking about? He said, you know, like police cameras action you get real footage of people being arrested and all that stuff. And Charlie, my partner, just said, that's our reality. And he said, so what is reality? And life is reality? You're compressed into this short time period with all these pressures put upon you. How do you deal with that? And you know, you've got to make friends with people, So what happens if that's artificially constructed over a short period of time and people get to vote on whether you know they like you or not. And so that was Survivor. We sold it first to Scandinavia. We never made it. We saw Scandava and Charlie said, look, people will react to this very differently. You need to profile people coming on this. And I think I can't remember which country exactly ran at first, Sweden, Norway, Denmarks and the first guy I think voted off killed himself. I think that's what happened, and the place went nuts and they hadn't profiled he was very vulnerable. People had, you know, his peers had voted him off, and so I think it was went off the air, but everywhere else bought it. That's as sick it was, you know. So in America turned out to be the Beatles of television. So Beyonce did I'm a Survivor, Destiny's Child. Pontiac brought out the Pontiac Survivor and yeah, we killed it and we never made it. We franchised it.

Yeah. We had So after live Aid, I hadn't worked for two years because you know, trying to all do all this stuff and focus on it and set up the structure and the trust and the actual enabling of you know, putting everything into place. And I was broke because I promised that every single penny we got will go to someone in need. And after we're forty years old now I have to tell you that not a single sandwich, cup of coffee or phone call has come out of that money. And we do it every day. But I was broke, and the band, because we hadn't worked for two years, they'd gone off and done separate things. Pete became a big producer. Some of the band played with other guys. So the first thing I did was write a book. Then I did some ads to get some money. Then I started making solo records. But because I've been as I say, everything spins off rock and roll, because I've been in music for ten years, on every TV and radio show, it was second nature to me. So I set up a TV company with two friends of mine, and again the attitude was very like the Rats, was very punk. You know, let's turn over the apple cards. There's got to be something underneath it, and there was. We had a the go go, go to rock and roll show of the nineties was the word that was ours, and there was. We had the Breakfast franchise for ten years, two hours every day, five days a week. That was the big make or break thing. But out of the word came there was a section called I do anything to be on television, and you know, it got grotesque people as people wrote in with things. And I remember once was a lady of ninety in a bath full of worms being kissed by a seventeen year old boy and that is grotesque. And I mean it probably appeared to your you know, disgusting sense of humor in this country. But you know, I just thought no. So we got called in by Channel four, which is the alternative channel in the UK, and they said, look, there's this new thing called reality television. We want you to make this edgy, you know sort of thing. We said, what are you talking about? He said, you know, like police cameras action you get real footage of people being arrested and all that stuff. And Charlie, my partner, just said, that's our reality. And he said, so what is reality? And life is reality? You're compressed into this short time period with all these pressures put upon you. How do you deal with that? And you know, you've got to make friends with people, So what happens if that's artificially constructed over a short period of time and people get to vote on whether you know they like you or not. And so that was Survivor. We sold it first to Scandinavia. We never made it. We saw Scandava and Charlie said, look, people will react to this very differently. You need to profile people coming on this. And I think I can't remember which country exactly ran at first, Sweden, Norway, Denmarks and the first guy I think voted off killed himself. I think that's what happened, and the place went nuts and they hadn't profiled he was very vulnerable. People had, you know, his peers had voted him off, and so I think it was went off the air, but everywhere else bought it. That's as sick it was, you know. So in America turned out to be the Beatles of television. So Beyonce did I'm a Survivor, Destiny's Child. Pontiac brought out the Pontiac Survivor and yeah, we killed it and we never made it. We franchised it.

And the idea is the magic though, wasn't it the magic? The idea?

And the idea is the magic though, wasn't it the magic? The idea?

Yeah, yeah, exactly, And you know, thank God for Survivor. You know.

Yeah, yeah, exactly, And you know, thank God for Survivor. You know.

I watched you on British television last year. I felt bad for you. When the fortieth anniversary aband out live, I came along because I thought that it summed up everything that's gone wrong with the world. What you did forty years ago was a stroke of genius and was done from the heart and for the right reasons. Forty years later, it's a Wina thon. It's like, yeah, you tear you're preaching to the Africans. It's like, you know, let's tew. The world is changed, isn't it.

I watched you on British television last year. I felt bad for you. When the fortieth anniversary aband out live, I came along because I thought that it summed up everything that's gone wrong with the world. What you did forty years ago was a stroke of genius and was done from the heart and for the right reasons. Forty years later, it's a Wina thon. It's like, yeah, you tear you're preaching to the Africans. It's like, you know, let's tew. The world is changed, isn't it.

Yeah, there were two things going on. One is you want to keep as many people alive as possible from starving in a world of food surplus. It's absurd. And then there's a newer sensibility which is completely different to what we were doing about especially from the children of African emigrets, a pride and where they come from, and they feel this is sort of shameful, you know that, what's it? But we didn't care what sort of people were dying. If they were Martians, if it was happening in Yorkshire, it was happening in Wellington, I'd have done the same exactly. And so you know, there's two separate issues. You understand both of them, but one gets in the way of the other. The simple act of helping them. Just change your head. Let me give you a hand up here, mate. Yeah, and that's all it was exactly Mike.

Yeah, there were two things going on. One is you want to keep as many people alive as possible from starving in a world of food surplus. It's absurd. And then there's a newer sensibility which is completely different to what we were doing about especially from the children of African emigrets, a pride and where they come from, and they feel this is sort of shameful, you know that, what's it? But we didn't care what sort of people were dying. If they were Martians, if it was happening in Yorkshire, it was happening in Wellington, I'd have done the same exactly. And so you know, there's two separate issues. You understand both of them, but one gets in the way of the other. The simple act of helping them. Just change your head. Let me give you a hand up here, mate. Yeah, and that's all it was exactly Mike.

Good to see you. Yeah you too, after twenty years, come back in another twenty Malcamist, you'll be ninety, tell you pretty malgamist. Lovely to see you. How a good couple of we'll give the details. Nice to see you, Sir Bob Gelder.

Good to see you. Yeah you too, after twenty years, come back in another twenty Malcamist, you'll be ninety, tell you pretty malgamist. Lovely to see you. How a good couple of we'll give the details. Nice to see you, Sir Bob Gelder.

For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news Talks at B from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.

For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news Talks at B from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.