Bob Geldof has never been the shy and retiring type.

Whether it was belting out the tunes as lead singer of the Boomtown Rats or fighting famine in Ethiopia, the Dublin native had always been passionate and outspoken.

After a brief career as a rock journalist in Canada, Geldof returned to Dublin to front the Boomtown Rats. The band had two UK number ones and were hugely popular in the late 70s and early 80s.

Geldof wrote and produced the song “Do They Know It’s Christmastime?” with musician Midge Ure for Band Aid, which would evolve into Live Aid in 1985, the first globally broadcast real-time concert of its kind. The two-day concert was created in order to bring relief to starving people in Ethiopia.

In 1986 Geldof was awarded a knighthood and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He was the mastermind behind Live 8, a series of benefit concerts that took place on July 2, 2005 in the Group of Eight nations of the northern hemisphere and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concert that was broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio stations.

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