When Bob Geldof organised Live Aid in 1985, he did something unprecedented, uniting nearly two billion people worldwide for a concert that raised over $100 million for Ethiopian famine relief. Now, the outspoken Irish rocker is back in Australia with a more intimate production that feels more like sitting down with an old friend than a rock show. An Evening with Bob Geldof: Songs and Stories from an Extraordinary Life marks both the 40th anniversary of Live Aid and the 50th anniversary of his band, The Boomtown Rats.
Up Close and Personal
During his March–April 2025 Australian tour, Geldof stripped things back to basics. With just an acoustic guitar and a lifetime of hard-earned stories, he guided audiences through his journey from rebellious Dublin punk to global activist. Between stripped-down performances, he offered honest and often humorous insights into how Band Aid and Live Aid came together, highlighting music’s power to create real-world impact.
Australia’s Special Connection to Live Aid
The tour struck a particularly strong chord in Australia, where memories of the country’s contribution to Live Aid still resonate. The local Oz for Africa concert, held in Sydney in 1985, featured massive homegrown acts like INXS and Men at Work. That event raised an impressive AU$10 million and was broadcast internationally as part of the Live Aid satellite feed, helping to showcase Australia’s generosity to a global audience.
Can Lightning Strike Twice?
While Live Aid was a once-in-a-generation phenomenon, even Geldof admits that pulling off something similar today would be a serious challenge. As he, Rick Springfield and John Oates have noted, today’s fractured media landscape and lack of shared cultural touchstones make it hard to rally the world around one cause the way Live Aid once did. Still, Geldof is hopeful that the concert’s legacy continues to inspire new forms of activism.
Keeping the Live Aid Spirit Alive
Geldof hasn’t just been reminiscing, he’s been actively working to keep the Live Aid story alive. He’s involved in the West End musical Just For One Day, which dramatizes the iconic 1985 event. The show has received strong reviews and is set to tour internationally, including Australian dates later this year.
He’s also released a new version of the iconic charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, blending parts of the 1984, 2004 and 2014 recordings into a fresh take aimed at younger listeners who may not have experienced the original.
Looking Forward While Honouring the Past
Geldof has never been one to rest on his laurels. His Australian tour wasn’t just a trip down memory lane, it was a reminder that the mission behind Live Aid is as urgent as ever. As Aussie fans reconnected with his music and message, they were reminded of their own capacity for compassion and collective action, just as they demonstrated so powerfully four decades ago.
