Bob Geldof opens up about his friendship with David Bowie and plans for the future
He joined us for a chat at Greatest Hits Radio
In the year that we celebrate 40 years of Live Aid, Bob Geldof spoke us at Greatest Hits Radio. He joined Ken Bruce for Golden Years and chose 1973, a year when he was in his early 20s, working at a newspaper in Canada.
The singer, who rose to fame as part of The Boomtown Rats is also celebrating 50 years of the band, and took a trip down memory lane with Ken, as he opened up about his friendship with David Bowie, as well as the current plans for the band.
Bob Geldof's friendship with David Bowie
One of the songs Bob chose for Golden Years was 'Drive in Saturday' by David Bowie, which led him to opening up about his friendship with the late singer.
"There isn't enough you can say about David Bowie," Bob told Ken. "David tried everything until he understood what it was he was supposed to do, and he brought all that to bear then around Ziggy. And he just went through this… well he continued writing brilliant stuff and you know, as I said much to my delight, he became a friend and you know, the fact that I was a friend with one of the supreme artists in the whole genre dismays me.
"But he was a lovely, kind man, and this is one of the great songs anyway."
Plans for the future
When asked about his plans for the future, Bob opened up about the album that's just been released celebrating 50 years of The Boomtown Rats. He explained: "Yes, an album out which has got about 50 songs on it of, you know... tunes that people on social media wanted to hear.
"So we put out a thing saying, 'What songs would you like to hear from 50 years of making music?'
"And back came these, you know, bizarre choices, great choices, the band had final say. 'The First 50 Years: Songs of Boomtown Glory' and I looked at the back of it, and it's just track after track, and they're amazing and I wrote them!"
He went on to reveal he's sometimes surprised at the tracks that are chosen by the public, saying: "I am (surprised), but I'm amazed that...I've written so many, and they're really good because else the band doesn't survive.
"I've spent 50 years in a great rock'n'roll band and someone’s seen this sort of thing. And here I am in my dotage collecting yet another lifetime achievement award. I'm not done yet!"
The band are now embarking on their 50th anniversary tour across the UK, throughout October and November.
Live Aid
In a separate interview for Greatest Hits Radio with Jackie Brambles, she asked Bob if he felt proud of Live Aid, he said: "I'm totally overwhelmed by the response. I went to see Oasis and I came down in the morning to come back to London, and at the hotel lobby, it said, Happy Live Aid Day Bob.
"Sorry, what do you mean, Happy Live Aid Day? You know, and it obviously was the 13th July or something, it has that societal knowledge, you know. There's been documentaries all over the world, CNN run four hours, BBC three hours, there's a huge book coming out. There's the Just for One Day, the West End Musical, which has extended its run."
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