Bob Geldof is an Irish singer-songwriter from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland. He is best known as a former member of The Boomtown Rats, the rock band associated with the hit single “I Don’t Like Mondays”. His work spans classic rock, folk, folk rock, pop rock and rock.

Career with The Boomtown Rats

Geldof is a member of The Boomtown Rats and later rejoins the band after his solo career. The group ends after its final album In the Long Grass, after which he moves into solo recording. He also appears in Pink Floyd’s film and music video The Wall as the character Pink.

Solo work

Geldof begins his solo career with Deep in the Heart of Nowhere, which includes the minor hit “This Is the World Calling”. He follows it with The Vegetarians of Love, an album that blends traditional Irish music with rock and pop and includes “Love or Something” and “The Great Song of Indifference”. His third album, The Happy Club, continues in a similar vein, with songs including “Attitude Chicken”, “The Soft Soil” and “A Sex Thing”.

He later releases the compilation Loudmouth, which gathers highlights from both his solo catalogue and The Boomtown Rats, and adds the duet “Crazy” with Sting. After a long break from music, he issues Sex, Age & Death, a personal album drawing on a wide range of styles. He also releases Great Songs of Indifference – The Anthology 1986–2001, a four-disc box set with bonus tracks from his solo years. Another album, How to Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell, appears later and is presented as a companion to Sex, Age & Death.

Other work and recognition

Outside music, Geldof manages Live Aid in 1985 and Live 8 in 2005. He receives an honorary knighthood, though this does not give him the title “Sir”. He also writes an autobiography, Is This It?