Bono
Paul David Hewson (born
May 10,
1960), nicknamed
Bono Vox (
stage name) and
Bono (pronounced Bonn-oh), is the lead
singer and occasional rhythm guitarist of the
Irish rock band U2. Bono lives south of
Dublin with his family and shares a villa in
Èze in the
Alpes-Maritimes in the South of
France with
The Edge, as well as an apartment in
The Dakota, the same apartment building in which
John Lennon lived in
Manhattan.
Paul Hewson was brought up in
Ballymun, Dublin. His mother, Iris, was
Protestant, and his father, Bob Hewson, was a
Roman Catholic. When asked whether he would call himself a Catholic or Protestant, the singer is reported to have said, "I always felt like I was sitting on the fence." His mother died of a brain hemorrhage at her father's funeral, when Bono was fourteen years old. Many U2 songs, especially from the early albums ("
I Will Follow", "Out of Control", "
Tomorrow"), focus on this part of his life.
He attended
Mount Temple Comprehensive School, an
Ecumenical school, which was the first of its kind in Dublin. It was there that he acquired the nickname "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street".
In 1976, Bono responded to an advertisement by fellow student
Larry Mullen, Jr. to form a band, as did Dave Evans (also known as
The Edge), brother Dick Evans (who soon left the band), and
Adam Clayton. The remaining four formed a band named 'Feedback', before changing the name to 'The Hype' and then settling on
U2. Initially Bono sang, played guitar and wrote songs. As The Edge became a better guitarist, Bono was relegated to vocals, although he often plays acoustic
guitar and
harmonica.
Bono married his longtime girlfriend,
Alison "Ali" Stewart, on
21 August,
1982, in an
Anglican ceremony at a chapel on the
Guinness family estate. The singer has mentioned in several interviews that his stint in U2 and relationship with Ali began around the same time. The couple have four children: Jordan (b. 1989), Memphis Eve ('Eve' b. 1991), Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (b. 1999) and John Abraham (b. 2001).
In 1992, together with U2's guitarist The Edge, Bono bought and refurbished Dublin's two-star 70-bedroom
Clarence Hotel and converted it into a five-star 49-bedroom hotel, which quickly gained a reputation as one of the most stylish (and expensive) hotels in the city.
His nickname "Bono Vox", usually shortened to "Bono", is an alteration of
Bona Vox, a brand of
hearing aid for which the
Latin translates to "good voice". Bono was given the moniker by his mates because it was the name of a shop they regularly passed on North Earl Street, just off O'Connell Street, in Dublin. A different theory says he was nicknamed after a hearing aid shop by his friend
Gavin Friday because he sang so loudly he seemed to be singing for the deaf. Initially, Bono did not like his new nickname. However, when he learned it could be translated to "good voice", he accepted it. "Bono Vox" literally means "The voice to the good man". Vox is the subject and Bono is the indirect object. The word
bono is also
Italian slang for "sexy" and the dative form of the Latin word
bonus; see
List of Latin phrases.
In 1984, Bono appeared in
Band Aid and reprised his role in the 2004
Band Aid 20. He also performed at
Live Aid in 1985, and
Live 8 in 2005. Since 1999, he has become increasingly involved in campaigning for
third-world debt relief and the plight of
Africa.
In March 2002, Bono travelled to the
White House for a special private meeting with President
George W. Bush, who had just unveiled a $5 billion aid package for the world's poorest countries that respect human rights. He also accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn. He stated, "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis." [
1]
In May 2002, Bono took US Treasury Secretary
Paul O'Neill on a four-country tour of
Africa. Later in that year, Bono set up an organization called "DATA", which stands for
Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa. The focus of the organization is to raise awareness about what he claims are Africa's unpayable debts, uncontrolled spread of
AIDS, and unfair trade rules that hurt the continent's poor citizens.
Bono made a speech during the inauguration of
Paul Martin as
Canada's prime minister, who in turn pledged to help with the global crisis. In 2005, in a time that some claimed Martin was facing "political destruction", Bono spoke on
CBC Radio "bashing" Martin for being slow at increasing Canada's foreign aid. Following this a spokesperson for the Prime Minister pointed out that the budget has seen an 8% increase to aid and that "Rather than set an artificial deadline, the prime minister has focused on real increases measured in real dollars each and every year."
In the spring of 2005, Bono,
Ali Hewson and New York-based Irish fashion designer
Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line
EDUN. This has been an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade. By utilizing factories in Africa,
South America, and
India that provide fair wages to the workers and practice good business ethics EDUN will hopefully create a business model which will encourage others to invest in developing nations. [
2]
In July 2005, Bono played a fundamental role in the effort to organize and publicize
Live 8, a series of 10 concerts around the globe aimed at encouraging the representatives of the world's industrialized countries at the Group of Eight Summit to write off Africa's enormous debt, reform trade policy, and grant a great deal more aid for crises such as the AIDS epidemic.
Later in the year, before
Paul Wolfowitz was chosen to replace
James Wolfensohn as president of the
World Bank, Bono was spoken about as a serious candidate for the position.
United States Secretary of the Treasury John Snow said about Bono on the
ABC news talk program
This Week: "He's somebody I admire. He does a lot of good in this world of economic development." The selection process for the position is by member governments, however, and his selection was considered unlikely.
In December of 2005, Bono was named by
TIME as one of the
Persons of the Year, along with
Bill and Melinda Gates. An article by former senator Jesse Helms appears in a special issue of May's Time magazine, "Time's 100 Most Influential People".
On February 2, 2006, Bono spoke in advance of
United States President George W. Bush at the 54th Annual
National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel. In a speech peppered with biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially and economically depressed. His comments included a call for an extra 1% "
tithe" of the United States' national budget. His Christian views were brought into harmony with other faiths as he noted that Christian, Jewish and Muslim writings universally called for the care of the widow, orphan, and stranger. President Bush appeared uncomfortable receiving praise from the singer-activist for the United States' increase in aid for the African continent. Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes.
In February 2003, 2005 & 2006, Bono was among the 191 nominees for the
Nobel Peace Prize. [
3],[
4]
Along with
Bob Geldof, Bono has come under fire from radical journalist
George Monbiot for getting too close to those in power, and therefore running the risk of legitimising their actions. Monbiot dubbed the pair "Bards of the Powerful". [
5]. They have also drawn criticism from
Bianca Jagger for
"trying to patent the language of poverty reduction" and that his cozy relationship with the likes of George Bush and Tony Blair amounts to little more than a "mutual admiration club" [
6] .
Bono has also been criticized for his connection with the war game
Mercenaries 2: "many people around the world have been shocked to find out that you are a part owner, through
Elevation Partners, of
Pandemic/Bioware producers of "
Mercenaries 2" [...] a war game that simulates the invasion of
Venezuela in the year 2007.".[
7][
8]
Bono, along with the rest of the band U2, has also come under criticism for moving part of their multi-million pound business empire out of Ireland for tax reasons.Commenting on the decision to move his assets to a tax shelter,
Joan Burton, the finance spokesman of the Irish
Labour Party commented:
"Having listened to Bono on the necessity for the Irish Government to give more money to Ireland Aid, of which I approve, I am surprised that U2 are not prepared to contribute to the Exchequer on a fair basis along with the bulk of Irish taxpayers." [
9]
Oddly, despite his devotion to his homeland (he has always lived there, even when the lack of musical infrastructure would have suggested London or New York to be better launchpads for U2, he is less than loved in Ireland (see general Irish media). U2 were able to exploit a 1969 artists-tax exemption, intended to help struggling artists, until it was semi-repealed in 2005 and pay relatively little tax despite their great wealth (estimated at €690 million+ by the Sunday Times). This coupled with his charity campaigning has led to accusations that he is two-faced in the Irish Media. When he criticised the Irish government for not meeting the DATA target of 0.7% of GDP to be set-aside for the 3rd World - a government minister, Conor Lenihan, suggested that if he paid his taxes then the government would be half way to meeting the figure. The recent descision to move U2 companies out of Ireland to avoid tax has added to the heat.
*Following the
Enniskillen bombing (1987), several newspapers claimed
Provisional IRA paramilitaries had put Bono on a hit-list for his "fuck the revolution" speech following the bombing that left 11 dead and 63 injured on
8 November,
1987. The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage outburst from the
Rattle and Hum film but it stayed. Some papers suggested the film's charity London premiere on 31 October, would have to be cancelled. It wasn't, and U2 all turned up, although their attempts to
busk in Leicester Square were prevented by crowds and police.
*Bono is almost never seen in public without his
sunglasses on. He told Rolling Stone that the reason is he has "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." From his
Enough Rope interview::"There's many reasons for the glasses, posing I'm sure right up there, privacy, and other more medical. I do like having one step of a remove, actually. I don't think when I'm singing I hold anything back and I don't think when I'm writing I hold anything back. But I think I'm allowed to hold something back in this kind of a set-up. As honest a man as you are and as honest as I'm trying to be, there is a natural insincerity in the set-up and I'm trying to be much better at it. But just one step removed."
*Bono, along with
Island Records producer
Chris Blackwell, were flying in
Jimmy Buffett's plane when the "
Jamaica Mistaica" incident occurred. Jamaican authorities believed the
Grumman HU-16 "Albatross" was being used as a "ganja plane" to smuggle drugs and opened fire while all three were inside. No one was hurt.
*After forgetting it in his hotel in England, Bono paid £1,000 to have his favourite hat shipped in first-class to him in Italy. He was supposed be performing that night, but refused to go on stage until it arrived.
*Bono is listed as 5' 8" tall, but some say he is actually an inch or so shorter; he has also been listed as 5'6".
*Bono said the sentence "this is really, really, fucking brilliant" during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, which was originally ruled neither indecent nor obscene by the FCC (see [
10]), but that decision was later reversed (in response to the
Janet Jackson Superbowl incident) and the sentence was found to be both indecent and profane (see [
11]).
*Bono has also promoted a vehicle due to the mere fact he purchased it. The new
Maserati Quattroporte has become well known as 'Bono's Car'.
*In May 2006, in a list of personal
gifts from 2005,
US President George W. Bush declared that Bono had given him an
iPod and a book,
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language by
Eugene H. Peterson valued in total
US $440.
*Bono is on the board of the Elevation Partners private equity firm which attempted to purchase Eidos Interactive in 2005 and has since gone on to invest in other entertainment businesses.
*Bono appeared in the 1999 Mark Neale documentary No Maps for These Territories, along with The Edge, and gave a reading of the first chapter of William Gibson's Neuromancer.
*Bono is a football fan and appeared in commercials for the 2006 World Cup, along with the music of U2, including "City of Blinding Lights," "Beautiful Day," and "Where the Streets Have No Name."
*During his childhood and adolescence, Bono and his friends were part of a surrealist street gang called Lypton Village, where one of the rituals was nickname-giving. He had several names: first, he was "Steinvic von Huyseman", then just "Huyseman", then "Houseman", then "Bon Murray", "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street", and finally just "Bono". (From Bono on Bono, the autobiographical/biographical conversation book by Michka Assayas)
*In the 2006 film Grandma's Boy, the antagonist who dresses in long black leather jackets and wears sunglasses and has a hairstyle similar to Bono's, is mockingly compared to the singer with a quip from one of the protagonists: "Oh look, it's Bono's brother!"
*In the Rattle and Hum film, during the instrumental to All Along the Watchtower in an open air concert in San Francisco, Bono is seen spraypainting the words "Rock and Roll stops the traffic" on what is considered the ugliest sculpture in the city. The graffiti required a formal apology from the band and was soon removed.*Toronto Sun: Bono Bashes Martin
*Bono criticism by the Guardian's George Monbiot
*Bono's speech at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast.* U2
* BBC's 100 Greatest Britons
* The ONE Campaign
* List of people on stamps of Ireland
* Product Red
* Bono on Bono, a conversation book between him and Michka Assayas
*Bono's new business partner is damaging his image as the Mother Teresa of rock - The First Post
*U2.com - official U2 website
*@U2 - The most comprehensive unofficial U2 site.
*Debt, AIDS, trade, Africa - Bono's organization
*MAKE POVERTY HISTORY - An anti-poverty campaign with which Bono is currently involved
*The ONE Campaign - Bono-supported campaign: 'a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty'.
*EDUN - ecofashion line started by Bono and his wife Ali
*The Sun Online - Bono flies hat first-class to gig
*Jubilee USA - A network dedicated to the 100% cancellation of debt in Africa, Asia and Latin America, an important issue to Bono
