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Chancellor, and members of the University,
We are gathered here today to honour a rock star, a humanitarian, a businessman, a revolutionary, a true innovator in his use of spoken English in the mass media and, not least, an heroic father. I am sure some of you are already looking at your invitations and saying �but I thought only four people were being honoured today�. Friends, I have only started to describe the first of today�s honorees!
Bob Geldof was born in Dublin on 5 October 1951. After leaving Blackrock College, he entered the music scene as a journalist on Canada's premier underground rock journal Georgia Straight. Further experience with the New Musical Express and Melody Maker sharpened his prose and upon returning to Dublin in the mid-70s, he formed the band Nightlife Thugs, which subsequently evolved into the Boomtown Rats, one of the first acts to emerge during the punk/new wave explosion of 1976/77. A string of hits followed including Looking After Number 1, Rat Trap and, most famously, I Don�t Like Mondays.
In the light of what he has subsequently achieved as a humanitarian on the global stage, it is easy to overlook the achievement of Bob Geldof in terms of Irish rock music and popular culture generally. The first ever song played on RTE Radio 2 was the Boomtown Rats, 'Like Clockwork,' played by Larry Gogan on May 31st 1979. Until then, what passed for avant-garde Rock coverage was the heroic Gogan�s weekly hour-long Discs-a-Gogan programme. That Ireland moved, belatedly, into the 20th century and that other Irish bands went on to achieve global success is due in no small part to the pioneering figures of the 70s, where Bob Geldof stood shoulder to shoulder with those other two sadly departed giants, the late great Phil Lynott and Rory Gallagher.
The 80s saw Bob starring as Pink in the film of Pink Floyd's The Wall. But it is not for his movie career that Geldof of the 1980s is remembered or, indeed, honoured here today. Inspired by Michael Buerk�s reportage of the Ethiopian famine of 1984, Bob Geldof decided to do something, something that would change our relationship with Africa forever.
He put together the combination known as Band Aid whose single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?� sold over three million copies and is one of the most widely recognized songs of all time. The record inspired the mammoth Live Aid extravaganza of July 13, 1985 � a date which literally everyone can remember and remember where they were. Bob Geldof gathered together rock's elite on two continents to play before a worldwide television audience of over 1,000,000,000. After the event, Bob continued to help with the administration of Band Aid, which put his other careers on hold for years.
After receiving a knighthood in June 1986 and publishing his autobiography, he recorded the solo album, �Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere�, which spawned the minor hit "This Is The World Calling'. His second album, �1990�s The Vegetarians Of Love�, was recorded in only five days and proved a hit with critics and fans alike. It contained the hit single "The Great Song Of Indifference" and proved that Geldof could continue his recording career.
In 1992 Bob had established himself as a highly astute businessman with his co-ownership of the television production house Planet 24, which began life as Planet Pictures back in the mid-80s. The company broke into the big time by launching the pioneering early morning television series The Big Breakfast in 1992. Planet 24 was sold to Carlton TV.
Ten Alps Communications was founded by Bob in 1999 and sprouted from what was left of Planet 24. Ten Alps has been hugely successful and its productions have included high-profile documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Five, Sky One and Discovery. Thirty-five productions are currently underway fuelled by the growth in appetite for factual TV.
Bob has recently completed a TV series for BBC1 � �Geldof In Africa� where Bob travels through West Africa (Ghana, Benin and Mali); Central Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda); and East Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania and Somalia), and explores the continent that the rest of the world seems to be leaving behind. The series commences on 20th June 2005. Bob has produced a fabulous book, under the same
name as an accompaniment to the TV series and which was launched in �hard back� in May 2005.
In February 2005, at a special reception at the Swiss Embassy, the Rose d�Or Festival announced that Bob is to be the recipient of this year�s Rose d�Or Charity Award, presented in remembrance of Sir Peter Ustinov. February 2005 also saw Bob receive a Brits lifetime achievement award fro his outstanding contribution to music.
Bob has also been an inspiration to all of us who are parents, perhaps particularly to fathers. His courage in the face of tragedy, his commitment to his children and his advocacy of the rights and role of fathers everywhere are truly inspirational.
Now at the immediate forefront of Bob Geldof�s public activities are the Live 8 concerts which will take place in London, Paris, Philadelphia, Rome and Berlin on July 2 2005. A sixth concert will take place on Edinburgh�s Murrayfield Stadium four days later. The purpose of the concerts is to urge G8 leaders to boost aid to African states, cancel their debts and remove trade barriers which make them less competitive. On 12 June 2005 it was announced that there has already been support by the G8 and that 55 billion US$ is to be written off. The Live 8 work follows closely after Bob�s membership of the Tony Blair chaired Commission for Africa and the publication of its report Our Common Interest.
In my own inaugural lecture, I spoke of an aspiration that UCD would be an agenda-shaping institution, one that supported public agendas where appropriate and challenged them where necessary. I can think of no better role model as an agenda-shaper whose impact extends beyond this room where we are gathered today to, literally, every corner of the planet � Bob Geldof � no-one could ever accuse you of confining yourself to looking after number 1! It is my privilege; it is UCD�s privilege to honour you today.
Praehonorabilis Cancellarie, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hunc meum filium, quem scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneum esse qui admittatur, honoris causa, ad gradum Doctoratus in Utroque Jure, tam Civili quam Canonico; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.
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