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Paul David Hewson, (born 10 May 1960), known as Bono is the Academy Award
nominated and Grammy winning lead singer and principal lyricist of the Irish rock
band U2. Bono is also widely known for his work as an activist concerning
Africa.
Bono is married to Alison Stewart. Their relationship began in 1975 and the couple
were married on 21 August 1982 in an Anglican ceremony at a chapel on the Guinness
family estate with Adam Clayton acting as Bono's best man. The couple have four
children, Jordan, Memphis Eve, Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q & John Abraham.
Bono lives in Killiney in south County Dublin, Ireland, with his family and shares
a villa in Èze in the Alpes-Maritimes in the south of France with U2 bandmate The
Edge, as well as an apartment at The San Remo in Manhattan.
Bono is almost never seen in public without wearing sunglasses. During a Rolling
Stone interview he stated:
[I have] 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."
Hewson attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School, a multi denominational school in
Clontarf. During his childhood and adolescence, Hewson and his friends were part of
a surrealist street gang called "Lypton Village," which had a ritual of
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".
"Bono Vox" is an alteration of Bonavox, a brand of hearing aid. The phrase in Latin
translates to "good voice". "Bona Vox" was the name of a hearing aid shop they
regularly passed in Dublin. It is said he was nicknamed "Bono Vox" after the shop
by his friend Gavin Friday, of later Virgin Prunes fame, because he sang so loudly
he seemed to be singing for the deaf. Initially, Bono did not like his name.
However, when he learned it loosely translated to "good voice", he accepted it.
Hewson has been known as "Bono" since the late seventies, even prior to formation
of U2. Although he uses Bono as his stage name, close family and friends also refer
to him as Bono, including his wife and fellow band members.
"The Fly" and "Mr. MacPhisto".In 1976, Bono responded to an advertisement by fellow
student Larry Mullen, Jr. to form a rock band, as did The Edge (David Howell
Evans), Dick Evans, and Adam Clayton. After Dick (nicknamed 'Dik') Evans left the
group, the remaining four officially changed the name from "The Hype" to "U2".
Initially Bono sang, played guitar, and wrote the band's songs. When The Edge's
guitar playing improved, Bono was relegated mostly to the microphone, although he
occasionally still plays rhythm guitar and harmonica.
Bono writes the lyrics for almost all U2 songs, often rich in social and political
themes. Frequently his lyrics allude to a religious connection or meaning, evident
in songs such as "Gloria" from the band's album October and "I Still Haven't Found
What I'm Looking For", from the The Joshua Tree album. During the band's early
years, Bono was known for his rebellious tone which turned to political anger and
rage during the band's War, The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum eras. Following the
Enniskillen bombing that left 11 dead and 63 injured on 8 November 1987, the
Provisional IRA paramilitaries threatened to kidnap Bono. IRA supporters also
attacked a vehicle carrying the band members. These acts were in response to his
"fuck the revolution" speech. The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage
outburst from the Rattle and Hum film, but it was left in.
U2's sound and focus dramatically changed with their next album, Achtung Baby.
Bono's lyrics became more personalized, inspired by experiences related to the
personal lives of the members of the band. During the band's Zoo TV Tour several of
his stage personas were showcased; these included "The Fly", a stereotypical rock
star, the "Mirror Ball Man", a parody of American televangelists, and "Mr.
MacPhisto", a combination of a corrupted rock star and the Devil. The name is also
said to be a combination of the fast-food chain McDonalds (representing
consumerism) and Mephistopheles (the devil who tempts Faust).[Quotation from source
requested on talk page to verify interpretation of source]
During performances he attempts to interact with the crowd as often as possible and
is known for pulling audience members onto the stage or moving himself down to the
physical level of the audience. This has happened on several occasions including at
the Live Aid concert in 1985 where he leapt off the stage, over a security
barricade to the floor of the arena, and pulled a woman from the crowd to dance
with her as the band played "Bad", and in 2005 during U2's Vertigo Tour stop in
Chicago, where he pulled a boy onto the stage during the song "An Cat Dubh / Into
the Heart".
Bono has won numerous awards with U2, including 22 Grammy awards and a Golden Globe
award for best original song, "The Hands That Built America" for the film Gangs of
New York. In 2005, the U2 band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, in their first year of eligibility.
Source : Some of the information on this page came
from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU Documentation
License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
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