Historical Figure
Bono
b. 1960
Irish musician and activist (born 1960)
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"Address at The Sphere Concert" — February 17, 2024
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Biography
Paul David Hewson, known by the nickname Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned vocal style as well as his grandiose songwriting and performance style. His lyrics frequently include social and political themes, and religious imagery inspired by his Christian faith.
Timeline
The story of Bono, told in moments.
Born Paul David Hewson in Dublin. Catholic father, Protestant mother. When he's 14, his mother collapses at her own father's funeral and dies of a brain aneurysm days later. He'll call it the defining wound of his life.
Answers a note pinned to a school bulletin board at Mount Temple Comprehensive. Larry Mullen Jr., 14, is looking for musicians. The band that forms in Mullen's kitchen will become U2. Bono can barely play guitar. He becomes the singer.
The Joshua Tree. Produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. "With or Without You" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" open and close the album. It sells 25 million copies. U2 on the cover of Time: "Rock's Hottest Ticket." He's 26.
Meets with George W. Bush, Tony Blair, and the Pope in the same year, lobbying for African debt relief. He co-founds ONE, a global anti-poverty campaign. Jesse Helms, the most conservative senator in the US, cries in a meeting with Bono about AIDS in Africa and backs a $15 billion relief bill.
Named Time Person of the Year alongside Bill and Melinda Gates. U2's Vertigo Tour grosses $389 million. He's simultaneously a rock star and a de facto diplomat, pressing G8 leaders to cancel third-world debt.
Publishes Surrender, his memoir. 22 Grammys with U2. Knighted by Elizabeth II. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Still married to Ali Hewson, who he started dating at 16. The band has never changed its lineup.
In Their Own Words (20)
The thing about The Dubliners is — line'em up, the hardest rock'n'roll bands in the world, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Oasis, Nirvana, U2 — we're all a bunch of girls next to The Dubliners.
As quoted on Ronnie Drew (2008), talking about Irish folk band The Dubliners, 2008
All That You Can't Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb are both really mad long titles. As I've just said them, I've just realised how ridiculous the titles are.
CNN Interview, after the 2006 Grammys (9 February 2006), 2006
I will try to keep my homily brief. But be warned — I'm Irish.
2006
I'm the Imelda Marcos of sunglasses.... Very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up. I've a blockage there, so that my eyes go red a lot. So it's part vanity, it's part privacy and part sensitivity.
On his sunglasses; Imelda Marcos famously had a huge collection of shoes., 2005
What's interesting is, in the months leading up to this, I was probably at the lowest ebb in my life. I was feeling just teenage angst. I didn't know if I wanted to continue living — that kind of despair. I was praying to a God I didn't know was listening.
On the forming of the band U2, 2005
Artifacts (15)
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