Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof formed the punk group Boomtown Rats in 1975. During the band's existence, it moved from the pure energy and aggression of hits like "Looking After No. 1" to the more sophisticated but still provocative "I Don't Like Mondays" (its title derived from the answer given by a San Diego schoolgirl when asked why she'd killed her classmates). The band became a moderate success in the U.K., though it never really broke through in the U.S.
In the fall of 1984, Geldof watched a BBC documentary on Ethiopian poverty and was inspired to co-write, with Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" It featured a large number of British pop stars performing under the name Band Aid and became the best-selling single in U.K. history. Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie repeated the feat the following year in the U.S. with "We Are the World." By then Geldof was involved in plans for a massive charity concert that eventually became Live Aid, two marathon shows held July 13, 1985, at Wembley Stadium in London and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, featuring a who's who of pop/rock talent. Millions were raised and distributed to the African poor. Geldof was nominated for a Nobel Prize and knighted, and his autobiography Is That All? became a U.K. best-seller.
In 1986, the Rats split and Geldof launched a solo career, again with greater success in England than in the U.S. Deep in the Heart of Nowhere appeared that same year; however, Geldof's signature lyrical intellect wasn't up to par. He fared a bit better on 1990's The Vegetarians of Love. Instead of using an all-star cast found on his previous two albums, Geldof put a band together for the solid 1993 release Happy Club. For the rest of the decade, Geldof continued his fight against world hunger, specifically African famine. He joined Wyclef Jean, Bono, and others such as Bryan Ferry, Jimmy Page, Stereophonics, and Sean "Puffy" Combs for NetAid in October 1999. Three stadium concerts, which took place in New York, London, and Geneva, were simulcasted live on the Internet, radio, and television, staging a multimedia event that aimed to help end world poverty.
In the new millennium, Geldof returned to music for 2002's Sex, Age & Death. In 2004 he was asked to participate in DMC Records' Under the Influence series, a project that compiles songs that influenced the chosen performer's career, with extensive liner notes from the artists themselves. During the mid-2000s, Geldof devoted himself to charity work, most prominently re-teaming with Midge Ure for 2005's Live 8 concerts, which were designed to showcase the various social ills affecting Africa. Geldof did not return to pop music until 2011, when he released the full-length How to Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell in February.
© William Ruhlmann /TiVo
Discografia
9 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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Loudmouth - The Best Of Bob Geldof & The Boomtown Rats
Pop - Lançado por Emi em 01/01/1994
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chicago/Change The World
Chrissie Hynde, David Gilmour, Bob Geldof, Gary McKinnon
Rock - Lançado por Parlophone UK em 10/07/2009
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vegetarians Of Love
Pop - Lançado por Spectrum em 01/01/1990
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
How To Compose Popular Songs That Will Sell (Album)
Rock - Lançado por Spinefarm em 12/10/2010
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sex, Age & Death
Pop - Lançado por UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) em 01/01/2001
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere
Pop - Lançado por UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) em 01/01/1986
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Songs Of Indifference: The Bob Geldof Anthology 1986-2001
Pop - Lançado por UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) em 01/01/2005
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Happy Club
Pop - Lançado por UMC (Universal Music Catalogue) em 01/01/1992
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -