DAD ROCKER

Kevin Courtneyon rock royalty's partying progeny

Naughty Peaches Geldof, running off to Vegas and getting married without Daddy Bob's permission - and to a bloody drummer in a rock band, no less.

Kids, eh? You try to set a good example and steer them on the straight and narrow, but still they'll go and break your heart.

The 19-year-old wild child married her rock drummer honey after a whirlwind romance. Things happened so fast that Peaches's former boyfriend, a guy who sings in a rock band, apparently didn't even know he was dumped until after the hasty nuptials.

The tabloids made great sport of papa's anger at this frivolous fling. Though the official line is "Bob gives his blessing", Bob reportedly went ballistic when he heard about his wayward daughter's latest escapade.

When grizzled old punks start laying down the law to their offspring, it usually smacks of hypocrisy. Papa can't preach when his own past is littered with transgressions. Most pop star pops have done far worse things than their kids will ever dream of doing, but they'll still go crazy if their kid so much as looks at a coke spoon.

So, is it all pot, kettle, black down at Chez Geldof? Hardly. Just take a look at Bob's rap sheet: swearing on the Late Late Show; swearing on Live Aid; swearing at politicians while campaigning to Drop the Debt. And, er, that's it. No drugs. No underage girlfriends. Plenty of saving the world. Dammit, the man's a goody two-shoes. OK, he can't stop Peaches using the F-word, but he's got every right to be annoyed at her choice of husband. I mean, come on - the guy's band is only marginally less obscure than The Atrix.

We do our best to keep our kids on the straight and narrow, to keep them away from temptation and bad influences, to stop them from becoming like us when we were running wild. If my little Daniel ever found out what his dad got up to in his teens . . . (Come to think of it, if Daniel ever found out what his dad got up to in his 20s, 30s and 40s . . . )

Rock stars tend to be the most conservative when it comes to telling their kids how to live their lives. Years ago Mick Jagger went mental at the wild antics of his daughter Jade. These days, Jade has settled down into married life, while Mick is still running around like a teenager.

It must be tough for rock stars who want to keep their kids from making the same mistakes they did (even if those mistakes helped make them rich). I can simply pretend to Daniel that I was a paragon of virtue in the past, as long as nobody grasses me up to the kid. But when the likes of Pete and Amy finally settle down, they won't be able to hide their past - one click on Google and their kids will be able to get all the dirt on mum and dad.

But I suspect a more selfish motive for rock stars not wanting their children to follow in their staggering footsteps. After all, they've worked hard for years to become the baddest, most f***ed-up stars in the firmament. The last thing they want is their own kid coming along and stealing their party animal crown - even if it is looking a little rusty.