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‘You're the father and clearly failed’ Bob Geldof on why he blames himself for Peaches' death
By Stylist Team
Updated 8 years ago
Sir Bob Geldof has said he blames himself for the death of his daughter Peaches Geldof who died of a heroin overdose earlier this year.
Speaking to ITV News, the father began by saying newspaper attacks on his daughters Peaches, Pixie and Fifi Trixibelle following the death of their mother Paula Yates in 2000 had "damaged" them. "And I'm not just blaming the newspapers, of course not," he continued. "You blame yourself. You're the father who's responsible and clearly failed."
When presenter Mark Austin asked him if he really felt that way, he replied, "Yeah of course you do. Anybody watching, who has a dead kid and you’re a parent. You go back, you go back, you go back, you go back, you go back, you go over, you go over. What could you have done? You do as much as you can.”
Peaches was found dead by her husband Tom Cohen on 7 April at their home in Kent. The 25-year-old had started using heroin again in February, after taking the substitute drug methadone for two and a half years.
Geldof said he had been aware of his daughter’s use of heroin. "Course I knew about it and we did more than talk about it."
"What could you have done? You do as much as you can."
During a hearing Peaches' husband, musician Thomas Cohen said his wife had taken weekly drugs tests since seeking treatment for her addiction two years ago. Although she had informed him they were clear, Cohen said he now believed Geldof had been lying about the tests. The couple had two sons together.
Geldof also spoke about his daughter who was a journalist, model and television presenter. He described her as "super bright" and that she had a "very errant mind that could focus intensely on a book which she would consume and just absorb it".
"But the rest was a franticness – she knew what life was supposed to be and God bless her she tried very hard to get there. And she didn’t make it."
The musician and activist said performing with his band The Boomtown Rats is a way for him to escape the grief of losing his daughter. “I put on my snakeskin suit and I can be this other thing,” he said.
"It is utterly cathartic. Those two hours and I am drained. In every sense it empties, it drains my mind. On stage I’m lost in this thing and it’s a very brief respite."
Images: Rex Features, Getty
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