Bob Geldof is touring Australia for evenings of intimate chat about life, which “happens to everyone”, and – “WTF” – he’ll sing a few of his fave songs too.

It would be nice to spend some time with Bob Geldof, wouldn’t it?

I was thinking this when I almost bumped into him in Brisbane a few months ago. He was deep in conversation but I’m pushy and I was going to butt in – until my wife held me back.

Geldof was a guest of the Brisbane International Film Festival that night and was also shooting a cameo in a zombie flick on the Gold Coast, as you do. The film is called Zombie Plane and also stars Chuck Norris and Vanilla Ice. Can’t wait.

Then the offer came through for an interview. Geldof was keen to spruik his upcoming show, An Evening With Bob Geldof: Songs and Stories from an Extraordinary Life. It kicks off in Sydney on March 15 before moving to Newcastle, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Auckland, Wellington, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth, where he will wind up on April 5.

It will be something of a whirlwind, a travelling gabfest with a cast of one, although his wingman Mark Cowne is along for the ride. (Cowne is not a roadie – he’s co-owner of Kruger Cowne, a company that represents Geldof and other keynote speakers.)

Cowne is in the background when I chat to Geldof on a rainy Monday, the appropriate day to speak to the man whose most famous song is I Don’t Like Mondays. Geldof shouts out to Cowne as we chat:

“They’re advertising it as An Evening With Bob Geldof!” he hollers.

“Am I supposed to agree with that because the advertising says that’s what the show is called? It’s actually called Life – WTF?! Life happens to everybody and when you find yourself in a situation where s–t happens, you go WTF. Right?”

Whatever the title, audiences get two hours and 20 minutes (including interval) with him, according to the QPAC website. But wait a minute, that’s wrong, too.

“No way will be I be doing 2½ f—ing hours,” Geldof says in his unmistakable Irish brogue. “It will be 90 minutes.”

Glad that’s settled.

Bob Geldof with David Bowie (left) and Paul McCartney (centre) at Live Aid in 1985. Photo: AAP

We are approaching the 40th anniversary of Live Aid – one of the world’s most iconic charitable events. Geldof was the main force behind that and other initiatives rallying musicians and the world.

He is a global icon whose impact spans music, activism and global change. But what do we really know about him?

In this night of chat (he’ll talk and sing and we will listen), Geldof will take us from his teenage years in Dublin to his music career with the Boomtown Rats and his tireless global activism through Band Aid and Live Aid. He will share his driving passion for global justice, revealing the man behind his groundbreaking story.

The blurb for the show says it is “a unique blend of live storytelling with intimate acoustic performances of his favourite songs, revealing the backstory of a multifaceted and enduring career.

“Engaging conversations, enriched with multimedia presentations offer a rare opportunity to experience the charisma that has defined Bob Geldof’s extraordinary life journey.”

Expect F-bombs, too, a Geldof trademark – although he says there will be no C-bombs. That word is reserved for a certain American President, but don’t get him started on that.

“I’ve been working for 40 years on an issue [Donald] Trump just demolished,” Geldof says. “Trump is stupid and dangerous and the people around him are sociopathic and have no empathy whatsoever. Everything is transactional to them and that has to be resisted. Those people are disgusting.”

Geldof looks pretty good, so what does he do to stay in shape? I ask about other vital ageing rock stars, including another knight of the realm, Sir Mick Jagger, aged 81.

“I do f–k all to keep in shape,” Geldof says. “Mick has nutritionists and a whole team working on him and he does ballet and yoga. I do f–k all. I mean, if I’m putting on a few kilos, I’ll watch that. I only eat once a day, around 3pm. That’s when I get hungry.”

He adds that he does like a drop of wine now and then, but there are no exhausting regimens behind his relative youthfulness.

Geldof might tell his audiences some of this stuff, as well as stories never yet told in public. The challenge is to cram such a rich life into 90 minutes.

“They wanted me to do a Q&A at the end, but I don’t think there’s time,” he says. “I mean, if you’re doing six songs and telling your life story, well, that’s difficult to tell in 90 minutes.

“I could spend a whole afternoon just talking about Live Aid. I’m used to playing music, although I have done a lot of political conferences where I have talked for over an hour.

“But to do it as entertainment is different … I want to do it differently and I have to sing songs, too.”

He will have an acoustic guitar on stage and there will also be film footage.

“Narrowing it all down so it flows effortlessly, that will be hard,” Geldof says. “I’m not nervous about being on stage. It’s where I feel good usually, but I’m nervous about the process of getting there with this show.”

Frankly, whatever he says or does will be enough for us.

tegdainty.com/tour/bobgeldof2025

This article first appeared in InQueensland. Read the original here