ROME – Bob Geldof canceled two concerts in Italy this weekend after too few people bought tickets, Italian news reports said. The 51-year-old Irish rocker, known for his anti-poverty efforts, had been set to perform in Milan on Friday night and in Rome on Saturday. Fewer than 50 people turned up in Milan and the show was canceled, La Stampa daily reported.
The Rome concert was subsequently canceled, said La Stampa and other reports. La Stampa said Geldof promised to give a free concert for Italian fans in September.
Geldof's Web site only said the Rome show was canceled and added: "Complimentary show to be announced later."
"I feel we have been boycotted," Francesco Iacovone, organizer of Geldof's Italian concerts, told the ANSA news agency. Iacovone added he couldn't understand how an artist such as Geldof failed to raise interest among Italian fans.
No one could be reached at the Milan offices of Iacovone's company Saturday. Geldof's management company also could not be contacted.
Geldof, former frontman of The Boomtown Rats, organized the Live Aid concert in 1985 and last year's Live 8 benefit concerts held in cities around the world, including Rome.
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