Bono (U2)

Paul David Hewson (born May 10, 1960), nicknamed Bono Vox - stage name Bono (pronounced Bonn-oh) - is the lead singer, and sometimes rhythm guitarist of the Irish rock band U2. Bono lives south of Dublin with his family and shares a villa in Eze, France with The Edge, as well as an apartment in The Dakota, the same apartment building in which John Lennon lived in Manhattan.

Biography

Paul Hewson was brought up in Glasnevin, Dublin. His father, Bob Hewson, belonged to the Church of Ireland and his mother, Iris, was Roman Catholic. He was brought up with a strong religious faith as a member of the Church of Ireland. But 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 when he 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 St."

In 1976 he responded to an advertisement by fellow student Larry Mullen, Jr. to form a band, as did Dave Evans (aka The Edge), brother Dick Evans (who soon left the band), and Adam Clayton. The remaining four formed a band named 'Feedback', before changing names 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 long time 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, the subject and Bono, 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.

Humanitarian work

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. "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment... This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis." ^*

In May 2002, he took US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on a four-country tour of Africa. Also 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.

He 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 which 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.

In July, 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, he 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,"Times 100 most influential people".

On Feb 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' increases 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. ^*.

Criticism

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". ^*

He 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.".^*^*

Bono, along with Bob Geldof, has drawn criticism from Bianca Jagger for "trying to patent the language of poverty reduction" and that his cosy relationship with the likes of George Bush and Tony Blair amounts to little more than a "mutual admiration club" ^* .

Trivia

Following the Enniskillen bombing (1987), several newspapers claimed Provisional IRA paramilitaries had put Bono on a hit-list for his "
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.

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 is reportedly fluent in three languages - English, Italian and Spanish. He also knows some Irish and French.

Bono said the sentence "this is really, really,
--- brilliant" during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, which was ruled neither indecent nor obscene by the FCC (see ^*).

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.

In May 2006, Bono became Editor of The Independent newspaper - albeit for one day in aid of the (RED) charity

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)

References

External links

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

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