The 66-year-old musician reveals his first impression of the band was bad, saying, 'They would pretend they were punk stars.'

• Jul 2, 2018

AceShowbiz - Live Aid hero Bob Geldof thought fellow Irish rockers U2 were a joke when he first heard them.

Geldof was already established as the lead singer of punk act the Boomtown Rats when Bono and his bandmates hit the scene in the late 1970s, and he admits he wasn't a fan.

"They were up for anything, they were kids, but I thought they were frankly dire," the I Don't Like Mondays singer said during an appearance on BBC documentary Smashing Hits! The 80s Pop Map of Britain & Ireland. "They would pretend they were punk stars. They absolutely were not".

But Bob started taking them seriously when he heard their 1983 anthem New Years Day: "All is quiet on New Year’s Day. What a great line that is because it is.

"They got there because they were seriously talented. They just needed time".

Geldof became such a fan he invited U2 to be part of his Band Aid song (Feed The World) Do They Know It's Christmas Time in 1984, and some more established acts were a little put out.

In the documentary, Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet explained, "I remember all of us thinking, 'Why is that Irish group here...? They weren't as big as anyone else in the room".

Geldof even gave Bono a key line to sing - "Tonight thank God it’s them instead of you" - and then had to convince the U2 star to belt it out.

"Bono said, 'Can I speak to you...? Are you sure this is what you mean...? 'What you are saying...?' I said, 'I know what I'm saying'. And he said, 'You want me to sing that?' I said, 'Yes, bo**ock (belt) it out'".

Bono did and the line helped define the charity anthem.

The U2 singer and Geldof have since become good friends, but the Boomtown Rats star admits his pal can be a little intense at times: "I think there is that soul in Bono, that giant soul. When you see him about to sing he does this... (takes a deep breath)... and out comes this huge voice. I went to karaoke with him one night in Tokyo. It's karaoke, get a grip.

"He picks Bread or some obscure band..., Love or something, and he stands in front of us and starts giving it the whole Bono thing. And you're like, 'What the f**k! Just sing normally'. But that is normal and he's singing better than the song and you're going, 'For f**k's sake, give it a break!'".