Bob Geldof praises Paula Yates for key role in Live Aid
Bob Geldof has praised his late ex-wife Paula Yates for being instrumental in Live Aid.
The Boomtown Rats frontman assembled a host of famous performers at the time for 1984's Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?, which then led to the huge global concert series the following summer, but he admitted he wouldn't have been able to bring the line-up together without the help of his then-partner, who was co-host of music show The Tube.
Speaking in upcoming documentary Live Aid At 40: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On The World, Bob said: 'All I had the power to do was write tunes. But the Boomtown Rats were not guaranteed to have hits any more. All these new guys had come along with beautiful suits and coiffed hair.
'And I understood this new thing because my wife had befriended all these people on the show that she was host of, The Tube.
'So I called Paula and I asked who was on the show that night and she said, 'Ultravox'. I said, 'Put Midge Ure on' and he just said, 'What do you want to do?'.'
And even setting up an initiative to ease Ethiopian famine was the brainchild of Paula when she and Bob were watching an infamous news report on the situation with their daughter Fifi, who was two at the time.
Bob, now 73, said: "My partner Paula couldn't stand watching it, she didn't want our child to watch it. She clearly associated what she was seeing with our child. She just grabbed her and went upstairs, but I stayed, transfixed.
'I came down the next morning and there was a green bowl on the table in the kitchen, and Paula had put a note in there saying, 'Anyone who comes to this house must put a pound or five pounds into this bowl'. I thought, 'That's not adequate'.'
Several of the musicians who took part in Band Aid praised Paula' - who died in 2000 aged 41 - for her calming presence during recording.
U2's Bono said: 'There was a lot of male egos in the room, not enough women.'
Gary Kemp noted: 'Paula Yates was really the lovely glue, carrying her child around, Fifi, and their dog, Growler. They're a great family.'
And Midge added: 'Everybody knew Paula, we all knew Bob through Paula.
'She was funny and witty and highly intelligent, and she kept everyone entertained, walking around chatting to them.'
Live Aid At 40: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On The World airs on BBC Two next week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
☕️🥐 FC Ptit Dej: wild announcement 🤣, Onana's viral video 🇨🇲
André Onana number 9 🤩 Back in Cameroon for his vacation, André Onana took the opportunity to play a little football on a folkloric field. Positioned as number 9, the goalkeeper could give Ruben Amorim some ideas. Advertisement Note that Zambo Anguissa was also present. Reims' brilliant announcement 🤣 On Friday evening, Stade de Reims officially announced the signing of Nicolas Pallois with a hilarious video. We'll let you enjoy it. Favorites for the Club World Cup 🔥 This Saturday, the round of 16 of the Club World Cup begins, an opportunity to look at the three favorites to win the final according to Opta. Yesterday's must-sees 🍿 - 🚨 Los Angeles announces Giroud's departure! - OL: another terrible news that dampens hopes of maintenance - Club World Cup 2025: top scorers after group stage TV schedule 📺 6:00 PM: Palmeiras - Botafogo (DAZN) Advertisement 10:00 PM: Benfica - Chelsea (DAZN) This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here. 📸 Ben Roberts Photo - 2025 Getty Images
CNET
14 hours ago
- CNET
A New Threads Feature Saves You From Seeing and Posting Spoilers: Here's How It Works
Social media can accidentally spoil a streaming movie or show for those who haven't yet watched it. Threads, the popular social media platform from Meta, now has a new feature that could save you from spoiling your next watch. The new feature allows users to mark media and text posts as spoilers. If it's a photo, the spoiler will then appear blurred in feeds, and text will be grayed out. Clicking on both types makes the spoiler visible. Netflix and Marvel are the first major studios to use the feature on their posts. Meta says the feature is rolling out globally, but we saw it available on Friday. Speaking of spoilers, you may want to stop reading now if you're not logged in to Threads, the embedded plot-spoiling posts in this story may not be blurred. Netflix posted a photo from one of the last scenes of Squid Game's third and final season, with the caption "do not tap until you've finished Squid Game 3." Marvel teased the villain in the new Ironheart series in a post. You won't meet the villain until the last episode. You can stream Ironheart on Disney Plus. We Were Liars on Prime also added a post that uses the new Threads spoiler text feature. We've seen several other updates from Threads this year, including the ability to copy images, thus replacing the need to screenshot. Threads also only recently started testing direct messaging, despite the app being out for around two years. How to use the spoiler feature on Threads Anyone can use the spoiler feature on their posts. All you have to do is highlight what you want to hide, tap and select "mark spoiler." That will blur the text or image you selected for others. This feature doesn't mean you won't see posts about your favorite pop culture and entertainment topics. It lets you choose when you're ready to know more. All it takes is a tap. However, it's worth pointing out that it's up to those who make the post to decide if they mark something as a spoiler. So spoilers could abound until most people adopt the feature. Even still, it's good to see a feature that allows you to stay in the loop without spoiling major plot points along the way.
Forbes
15 hours ago
- Forbes
How You Can Own Your Audience— Future Growth Is Media Led
For today's businesses, a major shift is underway in how to gain and keep customers. For both startups and growing companies, social media has moved beyond being a 'nice to have' tool for visibility to a 'must have' to grow and prosper. It's now a strategic asset, critical to differentiation, customer connection, and long-term resilience. The companies that win in the next decade will be the ones that build and own their own social media distribution. This is not 'maybe' – this is 'definitely.' Popular creator Chris Duncan with some of his viral TikToks The successful people on social media, who used to be known as 'influencers", are now called 'creators'. They use every type of social media – YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, podcasts – and increasingly are going into mainstream media such as music and TV, using these platforms, plus Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, X, Pinterest, and WhatsApp. Most of these platforms have more than one billion active monthly users. Social Media Moving From A Side Hustle To A Serious Business A recent article about Forbes' top social media creators states that this year, the 50 top creators earned $853 million. It was likely taken from traditional media, such as newspapers, magazines, and TV. The increase in spending on social media is up 18.5% in a year, and is continuing to grow, as the creators are changing 'the way people consume entertainment and engage with brands.' Increasingly, these creators, who used to do social media as a side hustle, are now making incredible inroads into other areas. Chris Duncan, cofounder of Creator Camp A great example of how creators are starting to take over traditional businesses is Chris Duncan. A creator on TikTok, whose posts often got millions of hits, he raised funds to help other creators by producing their films. He cofounded Creator Camp, a film studio built for the internet era. They are creating a new pipeline for stories to go from the bedrooms of creators and online storytellers to the big screen. Successful Companies Won't Just Have The Best Products — They'll Have the Best Stories In addition to creators starting their own businesses, traditional startups have also become much more focused on media and the distribution around their company. Increasingly, they recognize that it's not just about creating a great product or brand. It's also about being able to tell a compelling story about that product or brand. It's more than visibility and frequency. Companies that succeed today are those that build audiences, not just products. This means that many companies will have to put as much importance on media velocity as on product velocity. This shift has powerful implications. This is what companies are doing-- or should be doing --to stay on top: Own Your Audience To Stand Out In A Crowded Market Today's market is saturated with tools, platforms, and products that often look and function similarly. Whether you're building AI software, running a local coffee shop, or launching a consumer goods brand, the big question is: Why should anyone choose you? If there are so many different startups doing the same thing, what is the best way to differentiate and get users to use your specific product? One of the best ways is posting things online, because if you bring people into your mission, and into your journey, they're much more inclined to want to use your product or service over someone else's. One of the most effective answers is storytelling. When you share your company's journey, bring your audience into your mission, and create authentic content, you give people a reason to care. One example is a restaurant in Australia that became wildly successful, not just for their food, but for the stories they tell. Each week they highlight real customers on social media – some of the most popular have been couples on first dates--and other behind-the-scenes moments. Because it's very authentic content, a real story around two actual customers, it has made the restaurant hugely popular. That human connection drives loyalty and local traffic in ways no traditional advertising campaign ever could have. Learning what makes sense for your specific brand or business and consistently putting out content around that is a major differentiator between companies that have momentum, and companies that don't. Companies need to create momentum through consistently telling their story online -- and telling it authentically. They need to tell a story around their brand and to build community. Own The Distribution Of course you could hire an outside creator to help get your message out. But it's even better if you own the distribution. There are many advantages to companies that bring someone in house to help build their audience. They are less reliant on external marketing, so they don't have as large a marketing budget. But there's something even more important than getting rid of massive ad budgets or agency retainers. If you can do everything internally, you will have direct access to your customers. By hiring someone to own content and storytelling—whether it's a full-time creator, a content strategist, or a social-first marketer—you develop your own distribution channel. This becomes a long-term asset: a way to communicate directly with your audience, to test new ideas, and to build loyalty. Creator Camp Summit, Switzerland 2024 StartUps That Build Audiences Will Win A social media presence provides a direct, real-time feedback loop. You can see instantly what content resonates, what messaging works, and what features your users care about. This kind of immediate insight can dramatically shorten the distance between product development and customer need. As you get direct access to your customers, you're getting feedback much more quickly. You will know in real time if your product is aligned with their wants and needs. When you need to pivot, because a product isn't working, or the market shifts, you're not starting from zero. You've built an audience that believes in you, not just your product. That kind of community travels with you. It's an insurance policy against failure and a springboard for reinvention. And once you have developed a community that believes in you, if your product isn't working and you need to develop a completely different product, you can more easily pivot, because you will still have a loyal fan base. Therefore, it will be much better in the long run for companies to have this capability in house. And this will be even more important over the next 10 years for companies that want to thrive in this new environment. What Kind Of Talent Should You Hire? Since bringing this capability in-house is key, who should companies hire and how should they find them? Generally, you don't want someone who is just starting out, without real experience, who hasn't proven they can grow an audience. But they don't need to have millions of followers. Instead, look for middle-tier creators—those with 50,000 to 150,000 followers. These creators have demonstrated they can grow an audience and understand how various platforms work, but their income may be inconsistent and they may be looking for more stable, long-term roles. They're often in a perfect position to join a company, grow alongside it, and bring their storytelling skills to your brand. If you want a more affordable hire, and don't mind having it be a bit more of a gamble, there can also be value in hiring someone who hasn't grown their own audience but is deeply strategic and obsessed with social media. On occasion, companies have hired early-career creators or strategists without huge followings who have crushed it -- it's just riskier. Austin, TX, Camp Film Festival 2025 Where To Find These People Online, there are vibrant communities, or collectives, of creators. While they don't offer headhunting services, you can find potential talent by going on their Instagram or social pages to see what creators they are collaborating with. Start your search in spaces like: You Must Get The Essential Social Media Your Company Needs Social media is no longer optional for companies—it's critical. The ability to communicate authentically, build an audience, and control your own distribution is one of the strongest competitive advantages a company can have. Postponing it is not a wise financial decision. Build it now, and it will pay off for years to come.
