I returned to England, my mind reeling with visions of intolerable destruction, political ineptitude and mass death. As I landed I felt I understood the impulse which sometimes prompted people to kiss the ground. It was good to be home, but I now knew that we had not yet done enough. Bob Geldof
Band Aid was a huge success, £5 million were generated from sales just on Christmas Eve 1984. The money was turned over to representatives from several accounting firms for distribution. Little did Bob Geldof realize that trouble had just begun – the purchase of grain and food and its transportation was bogged down in a maze of red tape.
And so after the staggering success of Band Aid, Bob Geldof had to address the issue of distributing the funds. He was not keen to involve any charitable organizations as they would keep a portion of the money to cover their overheads. He had given his word that every penny donated would go to Africa for the famine victims. After some amount of hesitation – because he had no money of his own and he did not want the trip to be perceived as a self-promotion tour – he decided to go to sub-Saharan Africa to appraise the situation himself. His ticket was paid for by the Daily Star newspaper that wanted to get exclusive rights to his story but relented when he refused to give them exclusive rights.
He made trip after trip to Africa, never using any part of the funds for his expenses. The conditions in Africa were heart breaking. On one such trip he walked so much to reach the villages that his shoes fell apart and he completed the trip in carpet slippers. In Africa he met numerous heads of states and dignitaries, but to this day the highlight of his life was meeting Mother Teresa in Africa.
With his trips to Africa, Bob realized that the money generated by Band Aid would not be nearly enough, he knew he had to do so much more. The answer came to him in the spring of 1985.
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