Bob initially rose to fame as part of the rock group The Boomtown Rats as their lead singer. In 1978 The Boomtown Rats had their first UK number one, with Rat Trap topping the charts. In 1979 their song I Don’t Like Mondays reached number one again, and also gained the band international attention. Bob ultimately decided to leave The Boomtown Rats and pursue a solo career, publishing his UK best-seller autobiography Is That It?.
Alongside his chart-topping musical career, Bob has also dedicated much of his life to charitable causes and raising awareness of poverty and social injustice. Bob first began his philanthropic journey back in 1981, performing at The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball for Amnesty International. From that point on Bob was provoked to do something about the state of deprived and poverty laden countries. In 1984 Bob was inspired by a report on the famine in Ethiopia to create actionable change, he mobilised fellow musicians to create the single Do They Know It’s Christmas? and established Band Aid.
Do They Know It’s Christmas? raised over £8 million, but as poverty continued to befall people of deprived countries Bob knew that one song would not be enough. In a bid to further his philanthropy, Bob organised the concert Live Aid. The event was a huge success, held at Wembley Stadium and in total raised over £150 million for the relief of famine. In 2005 Bob launched the Live 8 project, a bid to raise awareness of social injustice that was happening in Africa such as debt, hunger and AIDS. Organising 10 Live 8 concerts, Bob furthered his philanthropy to an international stage holding concerts in a variety of places such as Berlin, Rome and Paris.
Throughout his career, Bob’s dedication has frequently been recognised. In 1986 he was appointed as an honorary KBE and Freeman of the Borough of Swale. In 2005 he was awarded the Man of Peace Award and a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2006 he was awarded the Medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Freedom of Dublin City. He was later awarded an Honorary Master of Arts from the University for the Creative Arts in 2010, Freedom of the City of London in 2013 and awarded the BASCA Gold Badge Award in 2014.
As a speaker, Bob is able to deliver passionately on social injustice, poverty, world politics and pressing current affairs. Philanthropic at heart, Bob encourages people to influence actionable and positive change within the world and to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Suitable for a range of events, Bob is an inspirational individual guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on audiences big or small.
