Bob Geldof – Deep In The Heart Of  Nowhere (1986)

Oh No – do I hear you shout….because Bob, once almost a saint got quite a lot of abuse with this album’s release.   Having a handful of hits with The Boomtown Rats and the band basically being almost moribund, Bob and Mide Ure of Ultravox came up with the idea of first a single and then a concert in aid of the starving people of (mostly) Ethiopia.  Live Aid developed into something colossal, driven partly by the ruthlessness of Geldof.  Like millions of others I watched and taped the concert (onto cassettes – my favourite medium of the time).  And who can say he didn’t receive the plaudits and offers of recording contracts.  We will never know how much Bob’s actions were driven by true altruism, or a knowing nod to his own future.  The album was pretty big news when it was released, of course – partly out of admiration and partly curiosity and a few because they liked his earlier music.  I bought it because of quite good reviews and I liked the single ‘This Is The World Calling’.  And the album was pretty good.  Of course he had a host of superstars playing on it, and I think Dave Stewart producing.  Surprisingly it sold relatively poorly, but I liked it.  It sounded like grown-up power pop; strong melodies, lots of guitars and good lyrics.  Bob has only released a handful of albums since but continues his philanthropic interest in Africa, as well as pursuing business interests.  Best songs on this include ‘in The Pouring Rain’, ‘The Beat Of The Night’ and the title track.