Bob Geldof was frontman for the late '70s to mid '80s Irish punk rock band the Boomtown Rats. He also conceived and co-wrote Band Aid's tune "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with his friend, musician Midge Ure of Ultravox, which became the 1984 Christmas number one in the UK and the best-selling British pop single until that time. Band Aid later evolved into Live Aid (1985), the first international real-time concert, broadcast across the globe for two days. Band Aid and Live Aid (1985) were created to bring relief to the starving in Ethiopia. Geldof was knighted by the British Conservative government in 1986 for his achievement.
