Bob Geldof Is Still Coming To Grips With Daughter’s Overdose
In the awful aftermath of his daughter's death, Bob Geldof says that retaking the stage with the Boomtown Rats has been "cathartic," though some moments are more difficult than others.
“If I dwell on the words sometimes I find it hard to struggle through the song, because they take on whole meanings that I never meant when I wrote them," Geldof told ITV via the Telegraph, in his first interview since Peaches Geldof was found dead in April at the age of just 25.
For instance, he originally wrote 'Diamond Smiles' after reading a newspaper story about a socialite who hanged herself. Today, however, Geldof thinks of Peaches -- and her late mother, Paula Yates. Both of them died from drug overdoses. Peaches left behind two toddlers of her own, sons Phaedra and Astala.
For Geldof, also known to rock fans for his role in Pink Floyd's film version of 'The Wall' and as organizer of Live Aid, the weight of these tragedies sometimes arrives at odd times.
“I’m walking down the road and suddenly -- I buckle,” he says. “I go into organization mode and that distracts me. But, like anybody else, these things assault you without warning. You could be talking to someone, you could be walking down the road, and suddenly out of the blue there’s an awareness of her. And you know -- I buckle."
The Boomtown Rats' biggest hit remains 1979's U.K. No. 1 'I Don't Like Mondays.' They have British dates scheduled for tonight and Saturday, kicking off a series of festival appearances this summer.