Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson, known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, venture capitalist, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, frequently using religious, social, and political themes. During U2's early years, his lyrics contributed to...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth10 May 1960
CityGlasnevin, Ireland
CountryIreland
U2 is sort of song writing by accident really. We don't really know what we're doing and when we do, it doesn't seem to help.
What really turns me on about technology is not just the ability to get more songs on MP3 players. The revolution - this revolution - is much bigger than that. I hope, I believe. What turns me on about the digital age, what excites me personally, is that you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing.
There was a moment when Prince did rock & roll with a sponge-y seductive sound. I think that's what was in our head for 'Get On Your Boots.' But actually, the song is much more punk rock.
I'm a musician. I write songs. I just hope when the day is done I've been able to tear a little corner off of the darkness.
Ethiopia didn't just blow my mind; it opened my mind. Anyway, on our last day at this orphanage a man handed me his baby and said, 'Would you take my son with you?' He knew, in Ireland, that his son would live, and that in Ethiopia, his son would die.
If you pour your life into songs, you want them to be heard. It's a desire to communicate. A deep desire to communicate inspires songwriting.
What turns me on about the digital age, what excited me personally, is that you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing. You see, it used to be that if you wanted to make a record of a song, you needed a studio and a producer. Now, you need a laptop.
Music fills in for words a lot of the time when people don't know what to say, and I think music can be more eloquent than words.
You don't become an 'artist' unless you've got something missing somewhere. Blaise Pascal called it a God-shaped hole. Everyone's got one but some are blacker and wider than others. It's a feeling of being abandoned,cut adrift in space and time-sometimes following the loss of a loved one. You can never completely fill that hole-you can try with songs,family,faith and by living a full life...but when things are silent, you can still hear the hissing of what's missing.
What's so powerful about the Psalms are, as well as they're being gospel and songs of praise, they are also the blues.
So many people got us through the loss. Certainly beginning with family on all sides, tremendous friends, Sonny's congressional friends -- they really held me up in a huge way. I had a handful of members of Congress at my house everyday after Sonny died for about a week. They were there with me. But mostly, I think my children ... the big thing that my kids needed ... to know was that they lost their dad and they needed (to know) mom was strong and mom would go on.
So many people got us through the loss, ... Certainly beginning with family on all sides, tremendous friends, Sonny's congressional friends -- they really held me up in a huge way. I had a handful of members of Congress at my house everyday after Sonny died for about a week. They were there with me. But mostly, I think my children ... the big thing that my kids needed ... to know was that they lost their dad and they needed (to know) mom was strong and mom would go on.
People have said to me, You can't write songs. You can't play an instrument. But I've got 10 gold records.
I used to think that one day I'd be able to resolve the different drives I have in different directions, the tensions between the different people I am. Now I realize that is who I am. I do feel I'm getting closer to the song in my head. I wasn't looking for grace. But luckily grace was looking for me.