Bob Geldof @ Norwood Concert Hall, Norwood SA 25/3/2025
If you were to assemble all the most interesting people in the world and invite them over for dinner one of those would have to be Bob Geldof who coincidentally was in Adelaide bringing his show to Norwood Concert. The show was about the songs and stories from an extraordinary life with the underpinning theme running through is “Life… WTF!” The show was incredible and deep on so many levels with Geldof giving fans greater insight to his life and the stories behind the music. The show itself spanned nearly four hours but was so captivating and attention grabbing that the time literally whizzed by.
No one will ever forget his influence on Live Aid in 1985 and that footage marked the start of the show essentially being a one man band playing the tune One Man Show with much gusto. There is no denying that Geldof is charismatic but the way he delivered his personal stories about this life, both comedic and tragic, with such eloquence and precision left the audience in awe. The stories started right from birth and how his mum and dad met even tracing back through his family tree that was projected on screen suggesting that he “was from a long line of Kunts” (check the family tree!). Geldof reflected a lot on his childhood and the complex relationship he had with his dad compounded further by the passing of his mother. The theme “Life… WTF!” rang true so many times throughout his performance.
His resilience was clearly tested as he spoke about “life as episodic” and bands such as The Beatles giving the possibility of the inevitability of change described as “the rhetoric of change”. The songs Young and Sober and an excerpt of The Who’s Substitute were equally as powerful. There were stories of learning to play guitar upside down as a left hander to the challenges of school and surviving tough economic conditions in Dublin. Interesting hear more about being editor of “Georgia Straight” as a visiting journalist to first band aptly titled the Nightlife Thugs to the Woody Gutherie book Bound For Glory which famously inspired the band name for the Boomtown Rats.
As the band started breaking the songs Rat Trap and I Don’t Like Mondays took on even greater meaning in the show. Geldof wasn’t shy about talking about the women in his life notably Paula Yates but it the stories of poverty and famine in Ethiopia that commanded attention described as the “closest thing to hell on Earth”. The images on screen were a stark reminder of the progress made and something we should never forget with Geldof suggesting one of the images was the “pornography of poverty” later revealing this young girl went on to great things by being able to get an education. Do They Know It’s Christmas was one of those poignant moments and the logistics behind Live Aid was phenomenal making it happen in a short space of time and negotiations with the likes of Margaret Thatcher to return tax revenue from sales of the record back in to the relief was interesting to hear.
Geldof described the other things and that he is “rich”, his other projects was a book and creator of the concept for the reality TV show Survivor (Cha-ching, Cha-ching). There were sad moments when Geldof speaking of his wife leaving him having not seen it coming which left him in a “cataclysmic pit of absolute despair” even making a list of the reasons to live. The impact of Paula’s passing was sad and even now the emotional toll seems just as raw when he described it. Dazzled By You was inspired by Geldof’s now wife Jeanne Marine who is a significant part of his life amidst personal tragedy. As elements of the show are tied together by the theme of “Life… WTF!” Geldof pointed out that this year is one full of milestones being the fiftieth anniversary of The Boomtown Rats, fortieth anniversary of Live Aid and the twentieth anniversary of Live 8. It was an incredible performance and one I won’t forget finishing on the song Great Song Of Indifference but no doubt the message was not lost as we reflect on the show.
Live Review By Rob Lyon