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Archive 1

Removed: Grumpy Old Man Controversy

Per Wiki guidelines (Controversial material of any kind that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous), I've removed this section. Claiming that Geldof insulted UK AIDS sufferers is potentially libelous. I can't find any reference to this odd-sounding 'controversy' online, despite the fact that the debate is supposedly 'still rife on such Web 2.0 websites as Myspace and YouTube', and there are no citations for the piece. The final line of Geldof's supposed phone call seems to end with cheap sexual references to his daughter 'tell Peaches to be waiting for me, legs spread, booty up in the air etc', which seems to indicate that part of this section, if not all of it, is vandalism.- 16/12/06

When was he born??

I have two sources which state that the year of birth was in fact 1954 and NOT 1951. One is Geldof's autobiography. The other is an interview he did with the GUARDIAN, published on February, 13, 1995. I cut out the whole page eleven years ago. It's lying right beside my keyboard at the moment, edges fringed and all but never mind. And what does Sir Bob state here? That he was born in 1954. How many more sources do you need? --Fromgermany 10:26, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

  • Unless the original hardback contains material absent from the paperback which came out a few months later (the edition I have), his date of birth is absent from his autobiography, but he does refer to being seventeen in July 1969, and twenty-four on his return to Ireland from Canada in 1975, both of which point to 1951. Jess Cully (talk) 12:04, 24 March 2010 (UTC)

His own website states his date of birth is 5 Oct 1954(http://www.bobgeldof.info/Appearances/speak.html), I just changed it and it was changed back to 1951, that link should clear things up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.101.12.26 (talk) 20:57, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

OK as far as it goes, but it's a self-published source, in which we don't place much reliance. And it's not unknown for celebs to "gild the lily" somewhat when stating their age. I suspect #Year of birth is the more likely situation in the absence of a birth certificate. Rodhullandemu 21:02, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

The Wall

Somebody should add that he played in the movie "The Wall" (Pink Floyd)...

But there is no link here to that film!


Guys, I am too drunk to do, or even remember that I thought of this edit, but when did he become a knight? And why, since he is an Irish Citizen, is he often called "Sir Bob"?

  • He has been awarded an honorary KBE, and as such is allowed to carry the titles KBE after his name. However, it is incorrect to address him as "Sir Robert" SteveCobden 16:26, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
  • If he were to become a naturalised British citizen then it would be customary for his honorary KBE to be upgraded to a substantive one. JAJ 03:31, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Has any found out if the award is truly honorary, or if it is a real knighthood apart from the fact that he is not allowed to use the title 'Sir' when he is not a Commonwealth citizen? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.49.172.42 (talk) 08:14, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Message to wiki vandals

This isn't the place to make your "voice" heard. Everyone has strong opinions about somebody or something, but Wikipedia articles isn't the place to do that. If it were, then the articles would become useless. So if you hate Geldof, just make your own website or go to a discussion forum, like this one and make your opinion known. Don't abuse the power you've been given - show you can use it responsibly.

Thank you.

Who wrote the above? Please sign. POVing is not vandalism, and claiming it is merely weakens your own position. Actually this article was too pro Geldof POV, in my opinion, and I have added some criticisms of his debt relief plans, and of the new concert being about promoting rock stars and not Africa, SqueakBox 17:40, Jun 12, 2005 (UTC)

"articles isn't"? Doh.

you can ignore the message for the wiki vandals as the person who made it (just an ip) also added some vandalism to the acticle itself when he wrote this. Boneyard 30 June 2005 13:18 (UTC)

someone should put in some rebuttals for the criticisms- xunflash


What the hell is this? This article is one of the most disgustingly POV riddled piles I have seen on Wikipedia to date. There's tons of statements that aren't even sourced, and this whole thing sounds like something I'd expect to see on a Bob Geldof MySpace page. I'd start rewriting this garbage, but frankly I think we're better off nuking the entire article and starting over. Good God. --69.0.99.137 02:51, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

I just checked this article tonight (23:20 Dutch Time 28th Feb 2008) by coincidence and discovered a 'Bob Geldof is a wanker' (with a link to the topic of masturbation) - can this contributor be named and shamed for this? Probably a teen that thought he/she could get a token 5 minutes of fame/shame. Come on - contributions should be checked and monitored correctly - 'wanker' is a derogeratory word in British English at least. This nonsense should be filtered out before it goes public. MagnificentMatthew (talk) 22:39, 28 February 2008 (UTC)

        • Maybe the reason the vandals don't like him is that he bitterly criticises their governments on tv for their supposed lack of aid funding. Is that mentioned on this wiki bio page?**** —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.49.172.42 (talk) 06:50, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

I DON'T LIKE BOB GELDOF!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.30.100.230 (talk) 12:54, 9 October 2008 (UTC)

Nobel Peace Prize

  • Geldof has received many awards for this work, including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize...

Being nominated for the Peace Prize is an honor, but it is not official and not necessarily prestigious. Any national legislator or about a third of the university professors in the world can make a nomination, and there have been as many as 140 some years. Nominators are requested to keep their nominations secret, so it's only those wishing publicity who make announcements. Altogether, I see no reason to keep it. No offense to the subject, this is a general Nobel Peace Prize "nominees" issue. -Willmcw 07:54, Jun 16, 2005 (UTC)

Since I wrote that I came back and removed the sentence. Then, today, an editor added:

This particular nomination announcement was reported in the BBC, therefore is verifiable and somewhat notable. On that basis I think that it should remain, at least until the award is announced. If he doesn't win then it might be removed (he'd just be one of 140+ nominees who didn't win). If he does win then the name of one of his nominators may be relevant and interesting. Cheers, -Willmcw 23:53, July 9, 2005 (UTC)

It's verifiable that he has been reported as having been nominated, but is it really verifiable that he has in fact been nominated? I thought the Nobel Committee never announces the names it is considering, and never comments on public discussion of any names. JackofOz 06:45, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
That is correct. (Actually, they starting releasing 50-year old nominations a few years ago.) If you'd like to change or remove the assertion, I wouldn't mind. The threshold for nomination is so low, and so many are nominated, that it really isn't notable. -Willmcw 07:05, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
We now know that Geldof did not win. Nor did Stanley Williams, or a hundred nominees, all of whose official nominations are sealed. Geldof's nomination did not become controversial , like Williams'. For the reasons stated previously I am going to remove the entry here. If someone has another press conference announcing a second nominaton then it may have enduring notability. -Will Beback 02:20, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
Not seeing this on the talk page, I put in the mention of the 2006 peace prize nomination. Evidently right after you took the other one out. Seeing this conversation, I was going to remove it, but then I realized that some of those dates are from last year; was he also nominated in 2005, or was that just early talk about the nomination for 2006? As you say, if he's been nominated more than once it might be notable. I don't know the scoop on all of this.
Anyway, I'm going to leave it in but if you want to remove it (or maybe expand on it, if this is his second nom) I won't be offended at all. Kafziel 23:31, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
I checked the source and it never said how the fact of the nomination was known. I'm in no rush to remove it again, let's see what develops. -Will Beback 23:54, 25 February 2006 (UTC)
These Nobel Prize "nominations" are just a big bunch of.....nonsense. Jerry Lewis has supposedly been "nominated" for 30 fuckin years already, for his work on the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. All reports on "nominees" are hearsay and unreliable. In any case, if you don't get it, you are not a Nobel Prize winner. Almost doesn't count. All I'm trying to say is that the assertion of somoeone having been "nominated" adds really nothing to the article, in terms of reliable informat5ion. 66.108.4.183 18:22, 18 September 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth


Surely if it is the case that nominations are kept secret for a long number of years, then the authority of the source is irrelevant; this can only be considered as speculation. If true, it is neither an award nor an honour, but merely speculation. If it is to be included in this article, this should surely be placed under the section "Fame and Infamey" Myredroom 13:38, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Contradiction

However, Geldof actually said "fuck the address" when the presenter suggested that people could send money by the postal system, as Geldof wanted more urgent and instant charitable contributions made by telephone. The phrase, even though he never said it, has since become synonymous with Geldof.

allright, so did he say it or did he not say it? -- Paniq 3 July 2005 00:04 (UTC)

No. He said "fuck the address". But people wrongly believe he said "gimme your fucking money". FearÉIREANN(talk) 3 July 2005 00:40 (UTC)

Year of birth

Is it 1951 or 1954? Sources list both dates. -Willmcw 19:52, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

I have corrected it to the right year, 1951.
How do we know which is the correct one? What's the best source? It keeps changing, so we should nail this down. -Willmcw 09:26, 15 November 2005 (UTC)
During his participation in 2003's Grumpy Old Men Bob himself referrs to his age as being 51 years (the shows went out in October that year so they would heve been recorded prior to his 52nd birthday that month). I don't think there should be any doubt that 1951 is correct. Crisso 14:15, 5 March 2006 (UTC)
I was in Waterstones today flicking through a copy of Bob's autobiography and found a photo taken in 1954 showing him as a toddler. This too confirms that he was born in '51. Crisso 18:46, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

See at the very top and even Sir Bob himself has made it confusing

Appeal for Brits and for Live Aid/Band Aid supporters

Please contribute to Claire Bertschinger article and support its removal from the deletion list.--Luci_Sandor (talk, contribs)   21:14, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

Spiceworld Connection

I watched Spice World tonight and I realized that the guy that Mel.B does a "Scary Spice" hairdo is Bob Geldof. He was listed in the credits.

Criminal Record

The subheading on Criminal Record appears to be a big lie and an attempt to be "funny". I can find no reference of these arrests.

Apparently over the weekend Bob had a concert in Milan and only 45 people showed up !! so he refused to go on stage !! ahahahahahahahahaha —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.144.138.183 (talk • contribs) .

Google doesn't return any results for that yet, so please provide a source if you're about to add it to the article. EVOCATIVEINTRIGUE TALKTOME | EMAILME | IMPROVEME 14:06, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Bognerigious?

The 'Genealogy' section states that the Geldof name 'is extremely rare in Ireland, and first appeared with his grandmother, who emigrated to Ireland from Bognerigious at the start of the twentieth century'. I assume that this is an attempt to spell Bognor Regis.--GagHalfrunt 13:34, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

I have moved this section here from the article because I find it unconvincing. I can find no online evidence to support the assertion and do not own the book. I be;ieve the surname to be of Belgian origin but can cite no source for this.

"==Genealogy== In his 1986 autobiography (with Paul Vallely) Is That It? (ISBN 0-14-009363-X), Geldof notes that his surname is extremely rare in Ireland, and first appeared with his grandmother, who emigrated to Ireland from Bognerigious at the start of the twentieth century."
—Theo (Talk) 20:23, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

This article is one of thousands on Wikipedia that have a link to YouTube in it. Based on the External links policy, most of these should probably be removed. I'm putting this message here, on this talk page, to request the regular editors take a look at the link and make sure it doesn't violate policy. In short: 1. 99% of the time YouTube should not be used as a source. 2. We must not link to material that violates someones copyright. If you are not sure if the link on this article should be removed or you would like to help spread this message contact us on this page. Thanks, ---J.S (t|c) 05:17, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I am putting the Youtube link back in and other videos made by WORLDWrite, I am a volunteer for this organistation and they themselves put these videos up on Youtube, no copyright is being broken I can assure you. One of these videos, Damned By Debt Relief, is part of a nationwide tour of schools, colleges and universities by this organisation.

Live Aid

There is nothing here about his doing with Life Aid. One would think that it might be something that would be notable in the life of Geldof, considering its what truly made him an international icon. Kaiser matias 09:16, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

He hates his parents?

What exactly is this supposed to mean? "Geldof was born Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland, to parents of Catholic nationalist ethos he disliked".

So, he hates his parents, or he hates their nationalist ethos?!?

I reworded it to what I believe was the original meaning, that he disliked his school's nationalist ethos. (as per the Nov 28/06 version). Cartwarmark 05:07, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

We absolutely must avoid incendiary and potentially libellous statements like he hated his parents, see WP:BLP, SqueakBox 16:10, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Charity work

This section (which reads as follows) seems to me to be poorly written, inaccurate, incomplete and confusing.

"Geldof's first major charity involvement took place in September 1981, when he performed as a solo artist for Amnesty International's benefit show The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, at the invitation of Amnesty show producer Martin Lewis; he performed a solo version of "I Don't Like Mondays". Other rock artists performing at the show included Sting, Eric Clapton and Phil Collins. These people were later called on for Band Aid and Live Aid (in 1985), a show co-organized by Geldof. Geldof sang backing vocals on the all-star version of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released", alongside another musician he met at the show - Ultravox singer Midge Ure. The show, and its spin-off albums and movies, raised considerable sums of money for Amnesty, and raised public consciousness about human rights. Geldof was proud of his small involvement in the benefit - and noted the impact that a group of rock musicians assembled by one person could have on a cause. Another future Geldof associate, U2 singer Bono, noted of the 1981 Amnesty show in 1986 that it had 'planted a seed' and appeared to have affected Geldof in a similar manner."

This section implies that Eric Clapton and Martin Lewis were involved in Band Aid, which isn't confirmed by the relevant articles in Wikipedia.

It is not clear what Bob Dylans song "I Shall be Released" relates to; was it part of "The Sleeping Policeman's Other Ball", "Liveaid" or just a separate project?

If Geldof's involvement with Midge Ure in this song is mentioned, surely his co-organisation of Bandaid and Liveaid is more relevant and interesting, but not mentioned.

"The show, and its spin-off albums and movies, raised......"

It is not clear which show is being referred to by this sentence.

"Another future Geldof associate, U2 singer Bono, noted of the 1981 Amnesty show in 1986 that it had 'planted a seed' and appeared to have affected Geldof in a similar manner"

Why is Bono referred to as a "future" associate? Which part of this sentence is a quote from him? Is this sentence just someone's opinion; surely a citation is required!

Should not THIS section include mention of Band Aid 2 and Live 8?

Perhaps this section would best be a list.

Myredroom 14:06, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Honorary Degree

Surely this section should be removed and the information (hopefully to be improved) placed under "Awards and Honours".

"Bob Geldof, initiator and organizer of Band Aid, Live Aid and, more recently, Live 8, was honoured along with His Excellency Benjamin William Mkapa, former President of Tanzania; Susan George, political economist and author of a dozen books on hunger, debt, international institutions and North-South issues; and Dr David Golding, Development Co-ordinator of Make Poverty History North East."

This sentence is virtually meaningless! Who bestowed this honor on Geldof and Mkapa and what honor was it? What do George and Golding have to do with it? Did they also receive the same award or did they present the award? Incorrect use of semi-colons whatever the case.

Myredroom 14:18, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

The Live 8 Concerts

I think this section should be removed, and instead mention made of these concerts under "Charity Work" section. The list of participating artists is more exhaustive than the Wikipedia article on the subject itself, and does not belong here, but rather there! The extensive criticism of Live 8 does not belong here, but rather in the relevant article. It may be worth summarising these criticisms under the "Political views and controversies" section.

Myredroom 14:44, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Awards and honors

This section ought to include the honorary degree.

"In a list compiled by the magazine New Statesman, in 2006, he was voted third in the list of 'Heroes of our time'"

This is neither an honor nor an award, and surely belongs in the "Fame and infamy" section.

Myredroom 14:48, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Books

Isn't this an omission, as Geldof has published a number of books, but I find no mention of them here!

Myredroom 14:48, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Wealth

"Ten Alps, a PR, broadcast and television company, was founded by Alex Connock, Bob Geldof and Des Shaw. Connock bought Planet 24 Radio for £1, on the day that Carlton Television acquired Geldof's previous company Planet 24 for a reported £15 million. Ten Alps posted profits of £600,000 in 2005, on a turnover of £37,000,000."

This should be included under "Business interests" section and not here. The profit of this company (in which, according to the "Business interest" section, Geldof holds 8% of the shares) is surely not relevant to this article at all.

"Brook Lapping, a part of the Ten Alps Empire, were the first to produce a 'documentary' on Flight 93, 'The flight that fought back' as well as producing '9/11: The Twin Towers' which was screened on BBC to 6.4 million viewers. Both are considered works of dramatic fiction."

How is this relevant to this article, bearing in mind Geldof only holds 8% of this company? If it is relevant, surely it belongs under "Political views and controversy", though I doubt it. It would be relevant to an article on Brook Lapping or Ten Alps, and perhaps Geldof's interest may be of some interest in that context.

"He is currently embroiled in a legal wrangle with his former bandmates in the Boomtown Rats, who accuse him of withholding substantial profits from the band's recordings from them."

This does not belong in this section. It surely belongs under Controversies, but certainly not under wealth.

Myredroom 15:09, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

Incorrect dates

The date for Pixie's birthday is INCORRECT. It should say Pixie: 17th September 1990 - not Peaches. Aferwe45 17:33, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Jeanne Marine

Shouldn't there be at least a few lines about Bob's actress girlfriend Jeanne Marine? They'd been together a long time, she helped him through the divorce with Paula and with his daughters. Just a thought INXS-Girl 21:12, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

There were 4 youtube links in this article, one of which was a dead link, the other 3 which didn't appear to have anything to do with Bob Geldof, I've removed them all. --Xyzzyplugh 12:54, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

Vandalism

Can someone revert the page back to the way it was-vandalism on the first sentence and maybe other parts of the page.

(i don't know how to do it myself)

Err, according to the history I can see, the page hasn't been edited since 02:00 GMT which was itself reverting vandalism. Try refreshing, see if that makes a difference. --81.129.212.197 16:34, 1 June 2007 (UTC).

Is this written in some sort of secret code?

"His father was also known as Bob; at the age of 41 his wife, the mother of Robert "Bob" complained of a headache and died shortly thereafter, having suffered a haemorrage. As of 2005, his father Bob is in his 90s."

It's supposed to mean (as far as I understand) that Bob Geldof's father was also known was Bob. Furthermore, Bob Geldof's mother, the wife of his father, died. But his father is still alive and in his nineties. It's complicated because Bob Geldof and his father have the same name. Feel free to change the wording to make it easier to understandBlur4760 19:48, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

"The couple famously claimed they at apples on the plane sponsored by Bob Kiranely" Pardon? AuntFlo (talk) 05:59, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Broken Toe?

I know that Bob and Russell Brand aren't the best of friends. But was the change made on 15:07, September 15, 2008 by 82.25.129.71 really correct?
Under Personal Life: He recently broke his toe in an apparent fight with Russell Brand.
I Googled news sources and couldn't find any reference to this incident. Bernfarr (talk) 17:43, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Things that are wrong with this article

Having read this article for the first time today, I would like to flag up the following salient points for anyone who may care to do something about them:

  • "Geldof quickly became known as a colourful spokesman for rock music. The Boomtown Rats' first appearance on Ireland's The Late Late Show led to complaints from viewers." Tantalising, but without any explanation of what they were complaining about, less than useful.
  • Various stuff about his campaigns, but specifically Live Aid and Live 8: lists of the artists who performed at these events and criticisms of the motives behind them are relevant to the articles on those topics, rather than the Geldof one.
  • Political views: Totally random grab bag of things Geldof has commented on at various times, with no coherent structure. Particularly appalling is the Fathers' Rights section: "From January 2002, until sometime in 2005, Geldof listened very closely to Father's Rights campaigners, and it was reported that he had sacks of mail arriving at his door on a daily basis..." He only "listened closely" (whatever that means) between those specific dates and neither cared about the issue before or since? What did Geldof say or do that prompted fathers to contact him? For that matter, the article makes no attempt to explain what his views on the subject actually are.

Apart from that, it's all fine. Carry on.  ;) Jellyman (talk) 23:36, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

My observations re: needed changes here..

Re: Bob Geldof, the person. The article lacks a clear transition in time from each phase of his life. I applaud the piecemeal attempts to fix specific things here, but the article lacks flow ! It left me confused as to what the whole thing was about, to be honest.

Why is the photo in the infobox over 20 years old? There are many other acceptable ones here.. if he's known best for Live 8, most recently, why not exchange the 3rd photo with it? (The one halfway down holding the t-shirt there instead)- There still are places where you can use the other photo. I think the connection between Geldof and Pink Floyd and his work as actor for their film, The Wall, has been virutally ignored, with the exception of one sentence. He was the only person to bring the warring Roger Waters and David Gilmour together for a momentous reunion (and as a large bonus for Live 8) in a huge reunion of Pink Floyd. Suggestion- check out the barnstar rated Pink Floyd series of articles. He also made a cameo appearance onscreen for the induction of Pink Floyd into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. [2].

Last, maybe the confusion here about nominations for awards might have sprung from Geldof receiving the "Man of Peace" award, (along with such luminaries as Cat Stevens, and I don't see it mentioned here, but it IS there in a referenced wikipedia article with the same name if you look. Cheers! --leahtwosaints (talk) 20:23, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

middle name

can anyone clear up how geldof's middle name is spelt?

here it is listed as zenon, other places i've seen it spelt Xenon or Xennon, i know they're probabely pronounced the the same, but which is correct?

Child Pornography Arrest?

I noticed this first part of the article wasn't sourced at all and given that it was posted on the very beginning of the article and I noticed a grammatical mistake it could be illegitimate... Unless someone can confirm this, should this section just be deleted? 81.151.77.240 (talk) 09:54, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

I've removed it. It was unsourced, and smacks of abuse. If it's true, it would've been all over the news and it hasn't been anywhere. Not to mention that anything like that would DEFINITELY need a citation. Sky83 (talk) 10:13, 6 April 2009 (UTC)
Aye. The first thing that came to me was when i put it into google news and it returned no results. Avast, not many people like him so it's no surprise they'll be slandering him like that. 81.151.77.240 (talk) 10:31, 6 April 2009 (UTC)


Wealth

"Geldof's wealth was estimated by Broadcast magazine, in 2001, to be £30 million,[61] a position of 18th in a list of UK broadcasters. How much of his earnings he donates to charity is not known. He is currently embroiled in a legal wrangle with his former bandmates in the Boomtown Rats, who accuse him of withholding substantial profits from the band's recordings from them.

Geldof has been actively engaging in tax avoidance while at the same time demanding increased aid for Africa paid for from taxation.[62] In 2007, his two UK properties were owned by companies based in the British Virgin Islands as a tax avoidance measure.[63] As Geldof is a non-domiciled taxpayer, it means the houses—together worth an estimated £4 million—would avoid the normal inheritance tax of 40%, or £1.6 million.[62]"

This section, and much of the article lacks balance.

" How much of his earnings he donates to charity is not known." is editorial speculation that presumably is designed to call into question his credentials as a charity campaigner.

The "legal wrangle" should have a source.

The reference at 62 is possible spam, as it is an opinion piece in a blog that merely quotes from the article referenced at 63 and offers no further source material relating to Geldof.

Although the paragraph's claims are taken from the source at 63, the same source also includes the following:

"Patrick Savage, Geldof's accountant at O.J. Kilkenny, claimed that the Land Registry details showing the star's Battersea home is owned by Quiet Ventures were a mistake, which he would rectify."

I would suggest making refrence to this counter-claim as it would help to balance up the section.

The phrase "actively engaging in tax avoidance" is inappropriate, as not only is the article relatively speculative (and disputed by Geldof's accountant), but also at no time is evidence put forward in the source that Geldof himself is an "active" party.

At best this phrase should be changed to "it is claimed that", and the reference at 62 removed as it adds nothing to the article other than a wikipedia link to some person's blog who knows how to use the cut n paste function. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.151.247.166 (talk) 01:49, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

This has been sitting uncorrected for several months. I've deleted uncorroborated allegations. If you can find real sources, and not personal blogs, then feel free to add back what is sourced.

Longstanding unsourced potentially libellous probable vandalism reverted

Much of the last two paras of "Post-Boomtown Rats" was unsourced, and seemed highly unlikely, eg "two thoroughly advertised concerts...were cancelled...after only 2 tickets had been sold."

It seemed likely to be defamatory vandalism, so I checked it's history. The main change was made by anonymous editor 85.81.127.21. The other edits made from that address all seem good (hence my full explanation here rather than a peremptory revert), and made by person(s) with an interest in Copenhagen. Nonetheless, their Bob Geldof edit at 17.54 on 14 Nov 06 (diff [3]) has the look of vandalism, perhaps by a different person to the other edits:

It removes a positive comment "In October he returned to Milan and played a packed concert" which seems to have been added back later by others with differing wording, "Geldof played a free "Storytellers" concert for MTV Italy in October 2006".

It then adds a long negative comment "Two concerts on the island of Sicily, as well as one concert in Rome were also cancelled due to lack of interest, the latter having sold only around 300 tickets. Later, in August of 2006, two thoroughly advertised concerts in Denmark at Århus Stadion and Farum Arena, with seating for 20,200 and 3,000 people respectively, were cancelled as well after only 29 tickets had been sold. Local media cited general lack of interest as well as outrageous ticket prices of €65 as the reason for the poor sales."

The style is poor (and different to most other edits from that address) with implications of POV. The extemely low number of tickets seems extremely unlikely. €65 is stated as an outrageous price: I have no knowledge of Danish ticket prices, but in England that would be very low for a well known performer with several hits to his name.

Since the original edit, others have to some extent improved the style, though there has been one new case of vandalism -- the already unlikely "29 tickets" was changed to a laughable "2 tickets" by editor 194.73.109.37 at 10.52 on 20 Jun 08.

Since this is a biography of a living person and the edit is unsourced, unlikely, and potentially libellous, I shall now, in accordance with Wikipedia policy, excise it. Enginear (talk) 06:47, 18 February 2010 (UTC)

Anti-Geldof Compilation (Criticism of Live8)

Is there any way to smoothly fit this into the Criticsm of Live8 section? In 2007, U.K. black metal label Supernal Records released the Anti-Geldof Compilation[99], advertised as "the only musical effort in the world that took a stand against the global insanity" with "exclusive, never-heard-before tracks by twenty one Black Metal and Dark Ambient artists of proud European heritage from both sides of the Atlantic, including ASHES, ASTROFAES, BENIGHTED LEAMS, BEWITCHED, CONTRA IGNEM FATUUM, DARK AGES, DARKTHULE, DEFIANCE, (HAKENKREUZZUG side project), DER STURMER, ETHEREAL WOODS, FANISK, FOREFATHER, HAMMER, KENAZ, :STALAGGH:, TANNGRISNIR, THE WIZZARD, THESYRE, ULFHETHNAR, WHITE HUNTER, and WOODS OF INFINITY," according the description in Iron Sky Publishing's website[100]. The 2-CD set came with a 28-page booklet "with information and a polemic exposing the repugnant ideology that lurks beneath Geldof's foul-mouthed diatribes and the high-flown universalism associated with the self-righteous poverty campaign."[100]

99.[1] 100.[2]

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 150.252.146.31 (talk) 22:32, 13 July 2012‎ (UTC)

References

  1. ^ "Various-- Anti-Geldof Compilation". Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Various Artists (v/c) Anti-Geldof Compilation 2CD". Wermod & Wermod. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
I'd have to say "No." Far too much detail and vitriol - it sounds too much like both a rant at Geldof, and an advert to sell CD's. Chaheel Riens (talk) 06:54, 14 July 2012 (UTC)

It could be combined with a mention of Chumbawumba's "Pictures of Starving Children sell records" which was released at the time of Live aid. Perhaps with a comment that some pop musicians openly opposed Geldof's work Pignut (talk) 14:28, 20 April 2016 (UTC) Wythy (talk) 13:53, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Paula Yates - Geldof's wife

Under Personal Life it says: "Geldof met Paula when she became an obsessed fan of the Boomtown Rats during the band's early days. They got together as a couple in 1976 when Yates travelled by aeroplane to Paris, to surprise him when the band was playing there." What is the source of this info and what exactly does "got together" mean? Was Paula just 16 years old when they "got together"? Lomboksurf (talk) 14:05, 4 April 2010 (UTC)k

Steady on, old boy Wythy (talk) 14:03, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Geldof's Net Worth?

What is Geldof's net worth? How has his wealth increased from the mid-80s to today? Lomboksurf (talk) 14:51, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

POV

"the nickname 'Sir Bob' has stuck, and media reports will frequently (but erroneously) refer to him as 'Sir Bob Geldof' as if that were his correct title." It may well be erroneous, but the wording in the brackets express an original point of view, and isnot needed because "as if that were his correct title" also implicitly conveys the same information. So unless a reliable secondary source is cited the words "(but erroneously)" should be removed, as a breach of POV or OR (take your pick). -- PBS (talk) 10:40, 2 September 2010 (UTC)

BBC retracts claims

I have removed these claims per the latest retractions from the BBC.[4] Full coverage can be found archived on the BBC World Service website for November 4, 2010. Viriditas (talk) 02:59, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

Background

Out of intererst, is anyone aware of Geldof's background in more detail? Namely was the Belgian grandparent Wallonian or Flemish, or anything else? The Jewish grandparent also - any "pre-English roots"? East/Central European perhaps? Normally the Jews from Britain have ancenstry from these places. It's rare that one just converts to the faith without links (such as marriage) to an ethnic Jew. Just curious. Evlekis (Евлекис) (argue) 16:12, 9 January 2012 (UTC)

Having read his autobiography, there's no more information there. I doubt you'd be able to find anything verifiable in regards to that. Achowat (talk) 16:15, 9 January 2012 (UTC)
Thanks Achowat. I confess to never having thought that he might have some external background to him and so my guess what that he was "pure" Irish. It would be nice if something ever emerges to update the information but until then, it looks good to me. Evlekis (Евлекис) (argue) 15:14, 10 January 2012 (UTC)

Criticism/Controversy sections

The criticism and controversy sections should be merged into the relevant normal sections as per WP policy. Ashmoo (talk) 19:50, 1 September 2012 (UTC)

Sir Bob Geldof?

Isn't the restriction on using the title "Sir" only for Commonwealth realms? The Republic of Ireland probably doesn't recognize titles at all. So I would assume any media (if it is not in a Commonwealth realms nation) reporting on him would not be legally required to drop the title part of his name. I think in the U.S., for example, anyone can legally change their name to a name with "Sir" or "Lord" in front of it, because the title carries no legal status/privilege/precedence in America anyway. Isn't Wikipedia based in the U.S. (ie, legally, it follows U.S. laws/rules, not Commonwealth ones). So you could argue that any media organizations in non-Commonwealth realms countries can legally can him "Sir" (even if that would not be considered appropriate by some). I suppose the status of the "Sir" title is decided by the UK anyway, as it is their award. But not all countries would have any recognition *at all* for having or not having the title. Isn't Wikipedia supposed to be a website for the whole world, not just the Commonwealth realms or the U.S.? Maybe the title on his Wikipedia page should be based on the status in the Republic of Ireland (which probably doesn't like people using "Sir" in front of their name, even if it has no legal status/privileges in their country. Whether it is actually illegal to use the title "Sir" in the Irish republic, I don't know. Presumably the UK has no control over what the Irish (and their media) do.

Perusing our List of honorary British knights and dames, I note names such as Bob Hope, Spike Milligan, Ravi Shankar, Steven Spielberg, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton, Bill Gates, Billy Graham, J Edgar Hoover, George H W Bush, Ronald Reagan, Rudy Giuliani, Alan Greenspan, Teddy Kennedy, Hamid Karzai, Nelson Mandela, Fidel Ramos, Suharto, Josip Tito, and hundreds of others. Not a single one of these people ever used the title Sir, in any context whatsoever. That's because an honorary knighthood simply does not carry with it any sort of title. Recipients get postnominal letters, that's all.
Why should Mr Bob Geldof KBE, alone of all these notable people, be an exception? Answer: He shouldn't and he isn't. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 11:43, 23 February 2014 (UTC)
That said, because he is so often referred to as "Sir Bob" by independent, reliable sources, the name should be (and is) mentioned in the text. Achowat (talk) 01:45, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
I'd call them otherwise-reliable sources. If a lot of independent, otherwise-reliable sources say that, for example, Tom Cruise's real name is Frederick Smith, we should certainly mention that, but only by way of refuting it with reference to more-reliable sources that say his real name is Thomas Cruise Mapother. Similarly, we can report that many sources give Geldof a pre-nominal "Sir", but we should not give the impression that this is any way a correct or appropriate title. Twenty million Frenchmen can sometimes be dead wrong. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 01:57, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
It is not simply a matter of custom. Geldorf remains an Irish citizen, and the knighthood honorary. He was not dubbed by the Queen, and the dubbing creates a knighthood. If he became a British citizen/subject of the Queen, his knighthood would become substantive if he was dubbed by the Queen, but would not automatically be "upgraded". In a real sense an honorary knighthood is not a "knighthood", but a "KBE".101.98.175.68 (talk) 05:20, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
It's not strictly true that the dubbing creates the knighthood. Knights may use the "Sir" as soon as their title is gazetted. And dames aren't dubbed at all, but they still use a title. A recipient of an honorary knighthood or damehood actually usually starts to use the title as soon as they receive British or Commonwealth Realm citizenship. Sometimes there is an announcement in the London Gazette that the honour has been made substantive, but that's the exception rather than the rule. -- Necrothesp (talk) 15:14, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

politics section re bush proposal

The politics section mentioned that Geldof supported a Bush program to fight AIDS in Africa. This was followed by a remark that the program has been criticized for its emphasis on "Christian morality"; I removed this remark as only being tangentially related to the subject of the article. There is plenty of criticism (and support) for any political position that Geldof (or whoever) could take. They can go in the appropriate articles for those positions, and shouldn't be selectively added to this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.12.245.132 (talk) 22:21, 24 December 2015 (UTC)

Fathers rights movement

[5] seems inconsistent. Kittybrewster ☎ 07:39, 8 March 2011 (UTC)

Cos he is. He is associated with Tory Party members, too. Wythy (talk) 14:09, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Parents

There are some strange dates here. It is hard to believe that he was born after the death of his mother.--Grahame (talk) 01:15, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

It is easy if you are The Son of God. Wythy (talk) 14:43, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Opening sentence

Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE (born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. Isn't he also a (very wealthy) businessman? Headhitter (talk) 13:04, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

Is he a "political activist"? He claims that he avoids politics.101.98.175.68 (talk) 05:16, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
He would say that, wouldn't he? Wythy (talk) 14:44, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

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Personal Life (Possible) Bias

This sentence sounds a bit emotive:

"While Geldof was preventing Yates from visiting Australia with Hutchence's baby, Hutchence committed suicide in a hotel room on 22 November 1997."

Presumably Geldof was stopping his own daughters from leaving the country, not specifically Yates? There's also an implied connection between this scenario and Hutchence's death, which reads like bias. Kammer06 (talk) 16:35, 29 November 2016 (UTC)

V-sign at fisherman

Is there a free / usable image of him sticking the V-sign at the fisherman on the Thames. It's what has probably got him the most media coverage over the past 10 years. 88.212.36.193 (talk) 08:25, 22 April 2017 (UTC)

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Deprecate to SEMI?

Do we need whitelock anymore? Daily disruption levels seem to have dropped, but I do think that like most BLPs, it should stay semi'd if whitelock is dropped. Please ping me. L3X1 (distænt write) 17:34, 16 November 2017 (UTC)

Section on Views: Population

This whole section is poorly worded and makes absolutly no sense. Let's look at the first line:

"He noted that populations had risen by an average of 1.7 percent a year (compared with the global average of 1.2 percent) while water available had dropped 75 percent since 1950."

So are the populations rising by 1.7% or 1.2%? How can both be the world average? In the reference is specifically aimed at a UAE audience, but for some reason this is just jammed in the last sentence of the section. Overall if no one comments I was thinking of just triming off the excess to "Geldof is concerned about the rising human population, he thinks educating women will help." Inter&anthro (talk) 01:43, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

Of Fishermen & Brexit

Snow Rise, just for info - I reverted the same addition back in July here. Looking at the geolocation of the two IP addresses, they're coincidentally close to each other, both resolving to the general Newcastle Upon Tyne area. I also agreed that the attached source didn't support inclusion. Chaheel Riens (talk) 06:35, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

AIDS 2014 Conference

Based on the content and (especially) the sources, this entire section seems WP:UNDUE. 74.76.164.230 (talk) 07:58, 8 November 2020 (UTC)

Spin Live Aid Article

This has been stated as unsubstantiated yet according to Spin they stand by the reporting decades on. Furthermore, there was a Routledge book which referred to it? Why would this not been seen as legitimate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Greenpark79 (talk • contribs) 18:11, 26 March 2022 (UTC)

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