Geldof's hatred for Hutchence
by ALISON BOSHOFF, Daily Mail
Bob Geldof has revealed his lingering bitterness towards Michael Hutchence in the songs on his latest album.
The singer's first album for a decade, Sex, Age & Death, will be released in September.
Several of the songs centre on his relationship with ex-wife Paula Yates, who left him for Hutchence, lead singer of INXS, in 1995.
Hutchence hanged himself in a Sydney hotel room two years later.
Miss Yates was found dead in September last year after taking a heroin overdose.
Geldof is now raising the four-year-old daughter she had with Hutchence along with their own three girls.
One song, Inside Your Head, written before Miss Yates's death and addressed to Hutchence, reflects Geldof's anger at their affair.
He even refers to the bizarre house swap which was agreed as part of the divorce settlement.
Under this, Miss Yates and Hutchence moved into Geldof's Chelsea house, while he and girl-friend Jeanne Marine were installed in Hutchence's smaller home nearby.
'You got the palace, I got the shed,' he laments.
The song is unsparing in its criticism of Hutchence, asking at one point: 'Why put a noose around your neck?'
Speaking about the album, Geldof said: 'Some things are unsayable, but maybe I can articulate them in music.'
Bitterness, however, is not the only theme on the album. One For Me is a love song for Miss Yates.
But Geldof was unrepentant about the song Inside Your Head, saying it was 'clearly about what it is'.
In an interview earlier this year, Geldof spoke of his anger at the manner in which his wife left him for Hutchence.
'Paula was a great mother... and then something happened,' he said.
'I'm angry that it should have happened at all. But I'm not left with anger. That would be futile anyway. For me what's happened is that the bad stuff fades, and you are left with the good memories. The rest is the sediment that sinks.
'The sum of a person in the end is their better qualities. Everything else is transitory.
'I was with her for 19 years. It's both our entire lives - practically - up to that point. We went off, this Irish geezer and cute blonde girl, on this wild ride.
'Without question, the children were the central fact of Paula's life and cliche though it is, will remain her great testament.'
He said their three daughters, Fifi, Peaches and Pixie, and Paula's daughter Tiger by Hutchence have joyous memories of their mother that they share openly.
He said at four Tiger's memory of both her parents was in danger of fading more easily.
'But I have records, photos, videos and all that stuff for her, and she has the girls and Paula's mum and auntie to tell her about Paula, and Michael's mum and dad and sister to tell stories about him.'
Most watched News videos
- Moment man jumps from a boat and 'body slams' a orca in New Zealand
- Diddy's former bodyguard makes bombshell new claim about rapper
- 'It was chaotic': Airport statement after Singapore Airlines horror
- Cabin in disarray as passengers disembark from turbulence-hit flight
- Passengers carried out of flight after emergency landing in Bangkok
- Neighbour of woman mauled by XL Bully says never saw the dog on estate
- Singapore Airlines passenger reveals terror when turbulence hit jet
- How music mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs made himself sound like a victim
- Moment Brit tourist is stabbed in front of his wife in Thailand
- Traveller pulls off the wheels of his case to avoid baggage charges
- Met Police on scene after woman mauled to death by XL Bully dogs
- Britain's sweetheart 'hot podium guy' returns in front of No 10