BOB GELDOF - GELDOF: 'MUM'S DEATH GAVE ME COMPASSION'

GELDOF: 'MUM'S DEATH GAVE ME COMPASSION'

BOB GELDOF's childhood became "unbearable" when his mum died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage - but he credits his tough early life with shaping him as a compassionate adult.
The star's father left Geldof to cook, shop and look after himself from the age of seven following the death of his mother, Evelyn, and the star admits his early experiences made him rail against authority in his youth.
Geldof says, "If the people you trust bail out on you by dying, then why should you trust anything any other adults say? You end up kicking against this and that."
But the former Boomtown Rats singer, who famously campaigns to help starving children in Africa, admits that as he grew up, he became more sensitive to the needs of others because of the trauma he suffered as a child.
He says, "It was so out of the blue, you know - there was no warning or lingering illness. Just bang... It's unbearable to be that small and to have to take care of yourself. At the time, you just get on with it and it becomes routine to shop, to cook and to get the coal from the basement to light the fire. It was c**p coming home alone.
'When I think (about) TV reports of starving children, I realise I may have been more alert than another person simply because of my background."