Bono was born Paul David Hewson on May 10, 1960,
in Dublin, Ireland.
Before Bono was born, a fortuneteller told Bono's mother, as if by premonition,
that she would have a son that would be famous. Famous might have been an understatement.
Facts about Bono:
Early in 1992, U2 launched an elaborate tour
called "Zoo TV." During the tour, Bono adopted an alter-ego image,
which he dubbed "the Fly," a signal of his disillusionment with his
mega-pop stardom.
The international PopMart tour featured the world's
largest video screen (150 feet x 50 feet), a 35-foot Mirrorball Lemon, a 12-foot
wide Stuffed Olive (on a 100-foot toothpick) and a single 100-foot high Golden
Arch.
At one point in in their career,
less than ten paying customers were on hand for a U2 show. In the early nineties,
U2 was the biggest export in all of Ireland.
Luciano Pavarotti called Bono's
father relentlessly, so that he would try and convince his son to write a song
for him.
Bono has written songs either
for, or with, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Keith Richards, Luciano Pavarotti,
Sinead O'Connor, and Howie B, Roy Orbison among several others.
Wrote the song "The Sweetest
Thing" after missing his wife's birthday. When the song was rerecorded,
his wife, Ali Hewson received all the proceeds of its sale. She gave them, in
turn to a charity for victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Children: Jordan (b. 1989), Eve
(b. 1991), Elijah (b. August 1999), John (b. May 2001)
(21 August 2001) His father, Robert
Hewson, died of cancer in Dublin.
His stage name comes from Bono
Vox, a hearing aid retailer. Bono Vox is Latin for "good voice".
Personal quotes:
"It's so sweet, I feel like my teeth are
rotting when I listen to the radio." [on the state of pop music]
- Bono - US Magazine. Issue 301/302.
"It costs a fortune to look
this trashy."
- Bono
"Never trust a man who tells
you it's from the heart, never trust a man smoking a cigar, never trust a cowboy
or a man who wears shades..."
- Bono
"Everyone argues, then we
do what I say."
- Bono - 1987
"I could go onstage, unzip
my pants, and hang my dick out, and people would think it was a statement about
something."
- Bono
