Latest news with #Bob
NZ Herald
18 hours ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Kerikeri retirees become first over-70s Hyrox world champions
Northland retirees Bob and Sophia Warren have achieved an 'incredible' feat, becoming the first over-70s world champions in a sport they'd only heard about six months ago. The Warrens were encouraged to try Hyrox - a global fitness competition that combines running and strength activities - by their son
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Bob Geldof tells why, 40 years on, Live Aid, wouldn't work today
As Live Aid celebrates its 40th anniversary, Sir Bob Geldof has told how it wouldn't work as a fund-raiser today because rock'n'roll no longer has the currency it did in the 1980s. And the Boomtown Rats star, who was knighted for his 1985 effort to raise money for starving victims of the Ethiopian famine, also claimed there was 'no such thing' as white saviour complex, and dismissed criticism that the event, which raised £350m in today's money, should have had more black British artists performing. 'Rock'n'roll was so powerful it was beyond language,' he explained. 'When Little Richard said 'a wop bop a loo bop, a wop bam boo' we all knew what he meant and by 1985 the entire world used the common language of rock 'n' roll. 'It won't happen again because this sort of thing isn't romantic any more, it's not a thing,' he said. 'Rock'n'roll is the most powerful art there has ever been - but it has ceased to be the spine of our culture, it was of the moment and could transmit an idea to the game-changing part of the population, but I'm not sure that exists now. 'The Six O'Clock News was a communal event - the news now is broken up, the algorithm is an echo-chamber of your own prejudices. It's sh*t and its dangerous but it can be used brilliantly.' Speaking after a BAFTA screening of a new BBC documentary to celebrate Live Aid's milestone anniversary, Sir Bob said it was up to others now to come up with new 'mad and fun' ideas, but added: 'Taylor Swift is a phenomenon. You could do one just with the women. That would be very effective.' Sir Bob, 73, said that complaints about 'white saviour complex' infuriated him, claiming it was a 'cultural artefact' that didn't exist. 'There isn't such a thing,' he told BBC journalist Maryam Moshiri, who interviewed him at the event. 'You can f*** off! It's nonsense. To pay lip service to this tripe is belittling. 'It was about 32 million people dying, live on TV, in a world of surplus food. Millions of people are alive today because us lot watched a f***ing pop concert. That's nuts. It's disgraceful.' He said that critics, including a journalist from The Voice who appears in the three-part series, were wrong to say there should have been more black British artists involved. 'It wasn't about black representation, it was about getting the artists who sold the most records so we could raise the most money,' he insisted. 'It was about stopping people from dying. 'That man from The Voice - name the band we should have had? Imagination and Aswad? They weren't huge. They sold 80,000 records, so do I take them, or the ones that sold 20million? These bands were not big enough.' Sir Bob also revealed that watching Michael Buerk's famous BBC news report, shot by cameraman Mohamed Amin, still makes him emotional. 'If I see that footage again, it makes me cry - it still bothers me a lot. It's won endless awards - it goes to, particularly in this day and age, reporting the truth, showing it how it is. "I remember Michael's report verbatim simply because the words were so well chosen. And Mo Amin's pitiless, cyclops eye. You could tell Michael's rage. He was being the objective reporter but his shame at what he was having to show us, that's why the entire country reacted as I did.' The I Don't Like Mondays singer said that plenty of people needed that sort of help today, but there was now embarrassment around the words aid and charity. 'I'm not embarrassed in the least by the word 'charity', but we can't say it any more, we have to put into inverted commas now.' He said it was hard 'not to see hurt, not to know, right now, 2.5million children in Sudan are not getting the American food that they were getting in February - and not react.' Blaming US policy, he branded Elon Musk, President Trump and Vice President Vance a 'confederacy of dunces' for freezing all the country's humanitarian aid, with Musk describing it as putting USAid 'In the wood chipper' at the start of the year. Dad-of-four Bob said:'Seriously? The strongest nation on earth, the most powerful man on the planet and the richest individual on the planet cackle over feeding aid to the weakest, most vulnerable people in the world into the wood chipper. There is something seriously f***ed about that.' He said that reports from reputable sources claim that a minimum of 300,000 people had died as a direct result of that policy. 'And I would argue that it's conceivably ten times that. In the UK, we need to re-arm right now and so does the rest of Europe. We're being invaded by a thug and he needs to be stopped.' With the wars in Ukraine and Palestine also ongoing, Bob feels that people didn't now have the 'emotional bandwidth' to cope with all the devastation in the world. 'It's just too easy to go 'f*** you'. If we can use this anniversary then perhaps there's a glimmer, a slight chance, that we can put back the argument that it is really not in our interest to abandon the marginalised.' He said he found it hard to watch the BBC documentary, quipping: 'I hate the stupid f***ing things I say, I hate looking at myself' and he also moaning that he wasn't keen on all the music choices the programme-makers had made, which included Status Quo, U2, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney and Queen. 'If you had Pete Townshend talking about The Who, I'd have had The Who on,' he said. 'And I would have had Bob Dylan's disastrous performance.'
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Bob Geoldof 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.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Why Paula Yates was the secret force behind Live Aid and why Bob Geldof's phone call with a pop star helped raise £74m
THE world will always remember 1985's Live Aid as the global fundraiser organised by Bob Geldof. But the truth was, he could not have pulled off the mega rock concert without his then-girlfriend, 9 Paula Yates was the secret force behind Live Aid 9 Paula and Bob Geldof began a romantic relationship in 1976 Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Four decades on from the historic event, a new documentary reveals how In Live Aid At 40, which airs next week, Sir Bob says it was really Paula who brought together the likes of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet to boost the appeal, which ended up raising about £150million for the starving in Ethiopia. She had access to big-name celebs through Channel 4's Eighties music show, The Tube, which she hosted with My wife had befriended all these new guys with beautiful suits and hair. I asked who was on her show and she put Midge Ure on the phone Bob On the BBC Two programme Bob, who married Paula in 1986, recalls: '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. READ MORE ON MUSIC '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?'.' That was the moment which led to the cream of British music coming together on November 25, 1984, to record Band Aid's Do they Know It's Christmas?, which then led to Live Aid on July 13, 1985. 'Lot of male egos' The global event saw Madonna, U2, David Bowie, Most read in Music They were broadcast worldwide in a bid to encourage donations to combat the Ethiopian famine. But fundraising to help victims was actually an idea dreamt up by Paula — who was just 25 — in the family home she shared with Bob, then 33, and their two-year-old daughter Fifi. Critics of Bob Geldof are WRONG - Band Aid saved my life and thousands more He can still vividly recall the moment they watched the evening news and witnessed Michael Buerk's now-famous 1984 news report on the humanitarian crisis. She couldn't stand watching the Ethiopia news. She put a bowl on the table with a note saying put £1 or £5 in here. I thought: That's not adequate Bob In the three-part documentary, Sir Bob says: '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'.' This saw Bob team up with Midge to write Do They Know It's Christmas?, with a little help from pals such as Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, who Bob pressured to sign up. 9 Paula hosted The Tube with Jools Holland Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 9 Paula and Bob join Prince Charles and Princess Diana to watch 1985 mega concert at Wembley Credit: Alamy In the documentary, Gary recalls: 'He came running in — his presence is huge, he takes over — and he said this report was from Ethiopia where the famine is huge and out of control and it broke my heart, and it broke Paula's heart.' Paula was also credited with holding things together when the Band Aid track was recorded — a day which could easily have been derailed by rivalries among the mostly male line-up of rock and pop superstars. As U2's Bono says in the programme: 'There was a lot of male egos in the room, not enough women.' Bringing together so many huge artists from the day — some of whom had sniped at one another in the past — could have ended with fighting and stars storming out. Gary says: 'Paula Yates was really the lovely glue, carrying her child around, Fifi, and their dog, Growler. They're a great family.' Midge adds: '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.' The glowing praise for the TV host is in stark contrast to the dark clouds that overshadowed her life in later years, when her marriage to Sir Bob imploded. After a decade together, they had wed in Las Vegas, with Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran as best man. They went on to have two more children — Peaches in 1989 and Pixie in 1990. But in 1995, Paula interviewed 9 The jubilant Live Aid crowd Credit: Getty 9 Co-organiser Midge Ure performs on the day Credit: Getty 9 Bob at launch of Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical, in May Credit: Getty That finished her marriage to Bob and led to her having a child, Tiger Lily, with the singer in 1996. Then, in 1997, he took his own life in a Sydney hotel room aged 37. Three years later, Paula died aged 41 of a heroin overdose at her home in Notting Hill, London. 'Wonderful spirit' Tragically Peaches, her daughter with Sir Bob, died the same way, aged 25, in 2014. But with the passing of time, the new BBC documentary provides a clearer look back at the day the world was changed by the unlikely force of rock and pop music. Do They Know It's Christmas? was a huge success, shooting straight to No1 and staying there for five weeks, which saw it sell three million copies in the UK alone. Bob laughs as he recalls convincing Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government to effectively wave the VAT on sales. 'BOB THOUGHT QUEEN WERE ROCK DINOSAURS' QUEEN'S mesmerising set at Live Aid was one of the concert's most memorable performances – but it almost never happened. Bob Geldof did not rate Freddie Mercury and Co and had to be convinced to add them to the bill because he simply 'didn't want them'. Drummer Roger Taylor explained: 'Bob came from the post-punk explosion, so he had pretensions of being a bit punk, so he must have thought we were dinosaurs.' However, after 'packing a few bangers in our set', Queen managed to somehow crank up the volume at Wembley to unparalleled levels. Their epic contribution, which included the songs Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga and We Are the Champions, soon changed Bob's tune. Forty years on years on, he says: 'I just thought it was over-blown operatic, you know 'we use the studio as an instrument', oh f*** off. 'Subsequently, of course, we all have to admit that we thought the songs were great. 'So with age, we're allowed to admit it.' Then another huge boost came when musicians across the Atlantic decided to record their own fundraiser for Africa in the form of We Are The World on January 28, 1985. The track was written by In the documentary, Bob recalls receiving a surprise phone call from a man who was instrumental in the US project. He says: 'The phone rings and it's just, 'Is that Bob Geldof?'. It's this husky, gravelly voice that's very slow and I go, 'Yep, who's that?'. And he says, 'It's Harry Belafonte . . . and here's Michael'. 'He goes, 'Hi Bob!' and, like, Paula's sitting on the sofa and I'm saying to her, 'It's Michael Jackson!'. And she gets up and sort of runs around excitedly. Anyway, he says, 'Will you come out and help us?'.' Bob flew to LA, where he effectively gave a pep talk to stars including Michael and Lionel, plus Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and Tina Turner. As a result of these huge names, the single sold a staggering 20million copies. More importantly, it forged a trans-Atlantic drive to do more. That led to the launch of Live Aid in London and the US, which was also joined by performances around the world. It soon became apparent just what a success it had been. Interviewed on the night, the ever-positive Paula was asked if she had doubted Bob could pull off the feat. 'No, I never did,' she replied. 'Right from when he first decided, I thought that it would work. 'When they did the record, there was such a wonderful spirit around it. People did want to do it for free. So I thought the concert would happen.' Live Aid At 40: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On The World is on BBC Two at 9pm on July 6. 9 David Bowie at Live Aid Credit: Getty 9 The historic event birthed Band Aid's Do they Know It's Christmas? Credit: Alamy 'DIDN'T DO HOMEWORK ON THEIR TITLE SONG' BAND AID's festive track Do They Know It's Christmas? raised more than £8million for Ethiopia within a year of its release. But it was not a hit with everyone. Despite its huge financial success – and the fact it featured an impressive collection of artists brought together by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure – some Ethiopians were offended by it. Two leading government figures admitted the song – which came after Michael Buerk highlighted the plight of starving Ethiopians in a 1984 news report – left them a bit miffed due to inaccuracies in its lyrics. Dawit Giorgis, former Minister for Aid for Ethiopia, told the documentary: 'We didn't like the title, Do They Know It's Christmas? It's the wrong title because they just didn't do their homework. 'Ethiopians are the oldest Christians in the world, so that offended us a little bit.' His deputy, Berhane Deressa, was equally bemused, questioning why the song referenced the country's perceived lack of water with the lyric, 'the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears'. He said: 'The country is that poor there is no rain? 'It supplies its neighbours with rivers that go into the Nile. Writing things like that isn't going to be right.'
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Klutch AI Emerges from Stealth with $8M Seed to Bring Intelligent AI Agents to Construction Teams
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Klutch AI, which provides AI-powered construction management, launched publicly today and announced $8 million in seed funding. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures and Bling Capital, with participation from Brick & Mortar Ventures, Original Capital, Anthology Fund and prominent angel investors from Autodesk and BuildZoom. With these funds, Klutch will advance workflow automation capabilities and build integrations with industry-standard tools to serve the broader construction market. Construction projects frequently suffer from delays, data fragmentation, and rework due to communication gaps between the field and the office. Despite widespread adoption of project management software, 96% of construction data remains unused. Project managers lose hours each day to manual inputs, and critical decisions suffer from fragmented or inaccessible information. Klutch addresses this knowledge gap by embedding field-tested AI agents that automate tasks like permit review, takeoffs and estimates, jobsite documentation, and vendor coordination—reducing manual work while improving project outcomes. Unlike AI that stops at GPT-powered copilots, Klutch agents orchestrate end-to-end workflows and advanced analytics. The agents pull jobsite updates, flag issues and surface vendor insights from photos, texts, calls and emails. Teams across residential and commercial construction can deploy Klutch as a complete construction management platform or integrate it seamlessly with their existing platforms and tools. With Klutch, construction teams save 10+ hours per week while unlocking higher-quality data to drive smarter decisions across every phase of a project. Early customers are already accelerating timelines, cutting manual work, reducing site visits and derisking millions with Klutch's AI agents. Key offerings include: Archie AI: Automates zoning and permit review for architecture and planning Bob AI: Captures 10x more jobsite data (e.g. photos, punch items, safety issues) in 10% of the time via SMS and WhatsApp for construction management Petra AI: Automates takeoffs, estimates, bid leveling, and vendor scoring for procurement Hailey AI: Manages warranty tickets and links issues to vendor performance for a better homeowner experience Custom Workflows: Tailored agents for specific business processes Klutch was founded by Xu Rui, CEO, and Tanin Na Nakorn, CTO. Xu Rui grew up on construction sites and later ran her own real estate investment company, experiencing firsthand how field teams still rely on photos and messages while office tools leaped ahead. Both previously worked at Stripe, where they led ML-driven analytics and revenue products. Together, they recognized an opportunity to bring the same intelligent workflows to construction. They built Klutch around the simple idea that the best AI doesn't feel like tech - it feels like second nature. 'The future of construction isn't forcing field teams to adopt complex software—it's AI that works within their existing habits,' said Xu Rui, cofounder and CEO of Klutch. 'Our early customers are already capturing 10x more jobsite data while saving hours on repetitive work, and making faster, data-backed decisions. With this funding, we're building an AI workforce that transforms how the built world gets built, one workflow at a time.' "Construction is one of the largest, least-digitized sectors in the economy,' said Kevin Zhang, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. 'Xu Rui's experience running a property management business, combined with a world-class product mindset, positions her to transform one of the biggest untapped markets in enterprise software. We're eager to back Xu Rui and the Klutch team as they modernize residential and commercial construction." 'There are many legacy point solutions in the construction industry today. With AI advancements, there is an opening to build a compound startup,' said Ben Ling, Founder & General Partner at Bling Capital. 'We've seen this before as early investors in Rippling and Palantir, and we're excited to partner with Klutch to pursue this opportunity in the $2T construction market.' To learn more or bring Klutch agents to your team, visit About Klutch AI Klutch AI builds intelligent, field-tested agents that automate workflows across the construction lifecycle. Designed to work within the tools teams already use, like SMS, email and incumbent construction management solutions, Klutch agents streamline everything from takeoffs and vendor selection to jobsite documentation and warranty management. Founded by industry veterans with deep roots in construction and AI, Klutch helps builders reclaim time, reduce errors and make smarter decisions using clean, actionable data. To learn more, visit
