Bob Geldof Mocks ’80s Fest Audience For Not Being Rock ‘N’ Roll Enough

Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images

Bob Geldof Mocks ’80s Fest Audience For Not Being Rock ‘N’ Roll Enough

Sebastian Reuter/Getty Images

Bob Geldof, the bazillionaire Irish activist, was last in the news for leading a floating anti-Brexit protest on the London’s Thames river, interrupting a speech from Nigel Farage and arguably inciting some sort of aquatic brawl between boats. Today, his name is out there for what might be an even goofier reason: He pissed off the audience at an ’80s-pop festival, cussing them out for not being as cool as him.

The Daily Mail reports that when the Boomtown Rats, Geldof’s old punk band, headlined a day of ’80s bands at the UK’s Brentwood Festival yesterday, Geldof sent hundreds storming for the exits by cussing up a storm and calling the show “boring and tame.”

Geldof, headlining a day that also included sets from Tony Hadley and ABC, reportedly told the crowd, “We are mega. And you are Brentwood. How do we know that you are Brentwood and we are mega? Because I am wearing a fuck-off pretend snakeskin suit and [they] are wearing fuck-off cowboy shirts even though they live in London.”

He also pointed out a member of the band and said, “This [guy] who you’ll remember as a slim handsome young lad is wearing a fuck-off purple suit with an elasticated waistband so that when he gets even fucking fatter you won’t notice… On the other hand, Brentwood, you are wearing wall to wall fucking Primark. This is a rock and roll festival. When you come to a rock and roll festival you dress for a rock and roll festival. You can never be too careful.”

The Daily Mail also has quotes from various pissed-off concertgoers and from festival organizer Laurie Edmonds, who apologized for Geldof’s language but also said, “They’re a punk band. You expect them to be a bit controversial and he got a reaction from the crowd. People know he speaks his mind. That’s just what they do but they were a fantastic punk band and we thought it would go down well with our crowds. We know he’s a bit of a lightning rod and people will have strong reactions to him.”

Primark, Google tells me, is an Irish clothing retailer that’s the same sort of thing as H&M or Zara. It doesn’t seem too bad.

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