31 MAY 2002
Musician and Live Aid organiser Sir Bob Geldof has taken on a new public role, joining a British government campaign to promote police recruitment. The former front man of Irish punk rock group Boomtown Rats, who will star in TV adverts set to debut Saturday, says he signed up for the cause after his own positive experiences with officers.

“There’s been a couple of times when I’ve needed help and they’ve helped,” he told UK newspaper The Independent. “I’ve found them hugely compassionate and understanding. A couple of them have just put their arm around me and said, ‘Are you all right? Take care of yourself’ or ‘If you need help give us a call’.

“So that’s largely why I’m doing this to be honest – because I remember those instances.”

The famed activist’s role in the commercials concerns police involvement in tackling child abuse cases. “Being a police officer and having to make a personal decision which may disrupt that family forever or certainly upset the child forever, is to take on board a huge responsibility,” he says.

Bob is a father of four: his three children with Paula Yates – Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches and Pixie – as well as the late TV presenter’s orphaned daughter with Michael Hutchence, Tiger Lily, whose upbringing he took over after Paula’s death in 2000.