Paul Hewson

Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.

Born and raised in Dublin, he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where in 1976 he began dating his future wife, Alison Stewart, as well as forming, with schoolmates, the band that became U2. Bono soon established himself as a passionate frontman for the band through his expressive vocal style and grandiose gestures and songwriting. His lyrics frequently include social and political themes, and religious imagery inspired by his Christian beliefs. During U2's early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to the group's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with the other members. As a member of U2, Bono has received 22 Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Aside from his music, Bono is an activist for social justice causes, both through U2 and as an individual. He is particularly active in campaigning for Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign, and Product Red. In pursuit of these causes, he has participated in benefit concerts and lobbied politicians and heads of state for relief. Bono has been honoured for his philanthropic efforts.Mellgren, D. (24 February 2006). Bono Among Nobel Peace Prize Nominees. ''Associated Press''. Retrieved 14 January 2007, fro
Bono Among Nobel Peace Prize Nominees
In 2005, Bono was named one of the ''Time'' Persons of the Year. He was granted an honorary knighthood by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 2007 for "his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work", and was made a Commandeur of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) in 2013. Bono has also attracted criticism for bypassing African businesses in his activist efforts and for tax avoidance in his personal finances.

Outside the band, he has recorded with numerous artists. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate the Edge on several projects, including: songs for Roy Orbison, Tina Turner, and Martin Garrix; and the soundtracks to the musical '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' and a London stage adaptation of '' A Clockwork Orange''. In business, he invested in the refurbishment of the Clarence Hotel in Dublin, and was managing director and a managing partner of the private equity firm Elevation Partners, which invested in several companies.

Early life

Bono was born Paul David Hewson in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin on 10 May 1960, the second child of Iris (née Rankin) and Brendan Robert "Bob" Hewson. Bono's brother, Norman, is eight years his senior. Bono was raised in the Northside suburb of Finglas. The Hewson household was an interdenominational Christian one; Bono's mother was a member of the Church of Ireland, and his father was a Roman Catholic. His parents initially agreed that the first child would be raised Anglican and the second Catholic. Although Bono was the second child, he also attended Church of Ireland services with his mother and brother, while his father also brought him to Mass at the nearby Catholic church, St Canice's. In 2000, Bono learned that Scott Rankin, a relative he thought to be his cousin, was actually his half-brother; Rankin was the offspring of an affair that Bob Hewson had with his wife's sister Barbara.

Bono attended the local primary school, Glasnevin National School. His teenage musical idols were Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and Marc Bolan of T. Rex.

Bono's mother died on 10 September 1974, after developing a cerebral aneurysm at her father's funeral. Many U2 songs, including "I Will Follow", " Mofo", " Out of Control", "Lemon" and " Tomorrow", focus on the loss of his mother. He said "because of the way I grew up in Finglas -- sleeping on a couch, or because my mother died when I was a kid, I was in the house on my own a lot of the time, so I'd knock on the door of the Hanveys at teatime, or the Rowens at lunchtime."

After attending St. Patrick's Cathedral Grammar School for a year, Bono moved to Mount Temple Comprehensive School, a multi-denominational school in Clontarf. During his childhood and adolescence, Bono and his friends were part of a surrealist street gang called "Lypton Village". Two of his closest childhood friends, the artist Guggi and the musician Gavin Friday, lived on the same street; Guggi was also in Lypton Village. The gang had a ritual of giving nicknames. Bono had several names: first, he was known as "Steinhegvanhuysenolegbangbangbang", then just "Huyseman", followed by "Houseman", "Bon Murray", "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street", and finally just "Bono". "Bono Vox" is an alteration of ''Bonavox'', which was the name of a hearing aid shop in Dublin. The name derives from the Latin phrase for "good voice". The nickname was given by Guggi; Bono initially disliked it but after learning of its translation, he accepted it. Hewson has been known as "Bono" since the age of 14 or 15. In addition to it being his stage name, close family, friends and fellow band members also refer to him as Bono.

After Bono left school, his father told him he could live at home for one year, but if he was not able to pay his own way, he would have to leave the house.

Musical career

U2

On 25 September 1976, Bono, David Evans ("The Edge"), his brother Dik Evans, and Adam Clayton responded to an advertisement on a bulletin board at Mount Temple posted by fellow student Larry Mullen Jr. seeking people interested in forming a rock band. The band had occasional jam sessions in which they did covers of other bands. Tired of long guitar solos and hard rock, Bono wanted to play The Rolling Stones and Beach Boys songs. The band could not play covers very well, so they started writing their own songs.The band went by the name "Feedback" for a few months, before changing to "The Hype" later on. After Dik Evans left the group to join another local band, the Virgin Prunes, the remaining four officially changed the name from "The Hype" to "U2". Initially Bono sang, played guitar and wrote the band's songs. He said of his early guitar playing in a 1982 interview, "When we started out I was the guitar player, along with the Edge—except I couldn't play guitar. I still can't. I was such a lousy guitar player that one day they broke it to me that maybe I should sing instead. I had tried before, but I had no voice at all. I remember the day I found I could sing. I said, 'Oh, that's how you do it.'" When The Edge's guitar playing improved, Bono was relegated mostly to the microphone, although he occasionally still plays rhythm guitar and harmonica. As of 2006, Bono has taken piano lessons from his children's piano teacher as a means to improve his songwriting.

On 13 July 1985, U2 performed at the Live Aid benefit concert at Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 72,000 fans and a worldwide television audience of 1.5 billion people.McGee (2008), pp. 88–89 During a 12-minute performance of " Bad", Bono climbed down from the stage to embrace and dance with a female fan he had picked out of the crowd, showing television viewers the personal connection that he could make with audiences. Bono's impromptu departure from the stage extended the length of "Bad", cutting into their allotted time and forcing them to drop "Pride (In the Name of Love)", their biggest hit at the time, from their setlist. The group initially regarded the concert as a missed opportunity, but many journalists called their performance one of the show's highlights; ''The Guardian'' cited Live Aid as the event that made stars of U2 and their performance as one of 50 key events in rock history.

Bono writes the lyrics for almost all U2 songs, which often have social and political themes. His lyrics frequently 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 Joshua Tree''.Stockman (2005) 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 speech condemning the Enniskillen bombing during a live performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage outburst from the ''Rattle and Hum'' film, but it was left in.

The film also contains footage of the band's 11 November 1987 free "Save the Yuppies" concert at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, during which Bono spray-painted "Rock N Roll Stops the Traffic" on the Vaillancourt Fountain sculpture. Bono was criticised by Mayor Dianne Feinstein and faced a misdemeanor for defacing public property. He apologised in a written statement to local officials, and the band's promoter Bill Graham agreed to pay to clean up the graffiti. With the band feeling a sense of musical stagnation towards the end of the Lovetown Tour, Bono hinted at changes to come during a 30 December 1989 concert; before a hometown crowd in Dublin, he said on stage that it was "the end of something for U2", and that "we have to go away and ... dream it all up again".

U2's sound and focus dramatically changed with their 1991 album, ''Achtung Baby''. Bono's lyrics became more personal, inspired by experiences related to the private lives of the members of the band. During the band's 1992–1993 Zoo TV Tour, Bono assumed a number of costumed stage personae in an attempt to be more lighthearted and escape the group's reputation of being overly serious and self-righteous. Bono said: "All through the Eighties we tried to be ourselves and failed when the lights were on. Which is what set us up for Zoo TV. We decided to have some fun being other people, or at least other versions of ourselves." Bono's primary persona during the tour was "the Fly", which originated from him wearing an oversized pair of blaxploitation sunglasses, given to him by wardrobe manager Fintan Fitzgerald, to lighten the mood in the studio.McGee (2008), pp. 134–135McCormick (2006), pp. 224–225, 227, 232 He developed the persona into a leather-clad egomaniac, and described his outfit as having Lou Reed's glasses, Elvis Presley's jacket, and Jim Morrison's leather trousers. To match the character's dark fashion, Bono dyed his naturally-brown hair black. In contrast to his earnest stage demeanour of the 1980s, as the Fly, Bono strutted around the stage with "swagger and style", exhibiting mannerisms of an egotistical rock star. He often stayed in character as the Fly away from the stage, including for public appearances and when staying in hotels.

For his "Mirror Ball Man" stage character, Bono dressed in a shining silver lamé suit with matching shoes and cowboy hat.Flanagan (1996), p. 62 The character was meant to parody greedy American televangelists, showmen, and car salesman, and was inspired by Phil Ochs' Elvis persona from his 1970 tour. Bono said that the character represented "a kind of showman America. He had the confidence and charm to pick up a mirror and look at himself and give the glass a big kiss. He loved cash and in his mind success was God's blessing." Mirror Ball Man appeared during encores of concerts in 1992 and made prank calls from the stage, often to the White House in an attempt to reach U.S. President George H. W. Bush. Bono portrayed this alter ego on the first three legs of the tour, but replaced him with "MacPhisto" in 1993. MacPhisto was created to parody the devil and was named after Mephistopheles of the Faust legend.Flanagan (1996), pp. 228–231 As MacPhisto, Bono wore a gold lamé suit with gold platform shoes, pale makeup, lipstick, and devil's horns on his head.McGee (2008), pp. 160–161 As the character, Bono spoke with an exaggerated upper-class English accent, similar to that of a down-on-his-luck character actor. According to him, "We came up with a sort of old English Devil, a pop star long past his prime returning regularly from sessions on The Strip in Vegas and regaling anyone who would listen to him at cocktail hour with stories from the good old, bad old days."McCormick (2006), p. 248 As MacPhisto, Bono continued his routine of making in-concert prank calls, targeting local politicians and mocking them by engaging them in character as the devil;Flanagan (1996), p. 245 he said, "When you're dressed as the Devil, your conversation is immediately loaded, so if you tell somebody you really like what they're doing, you know it's not a compliment."

During performances, Bono attempts to interact with the crowd as often as possible. He is known for pulling audience members onto the stage or moving himself down to the physical level of the audience. In 2005, during U2's Vertigo Tour stop in Chicago, he pulled a boy onto the stage during the song " An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart". Bono has often allowed fans to come on stage and perform songs with the band.

While accepting the 2003 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "The Hands That Built America", Bono called the award "really, really fucking brilliant!" during the live television broadcast. In response, the Parents Television Council condemned Bono for his profanity and started a campaign for its members to file complaints with the FCC. Although Bono's use of "fuck" violated FCC indecency standards, the FCC refused to fine NBC because the network did not receive advance notice of the consequences of broadcasting such profanity and the profanity in question was not used in its literal sexual meaning.
In apparent reaction to the refusal, a group of congressmen introduced House Resolution 3687, the "Clean Airwaves Act", on 8 December 2003,H.R. 3687 (108th)
– GovTrack aiming to amend section 1464 of title 18 of the United States Code to provide an explicit list of profane words and phrases and remove ambiguity that could enable certain uses of the phrases to be allowed. The bill was not enacted. The incident has had a long-term impact in the handling of profanity on live broadcasts.

U2 were criticised in 2007 for moving part of their multimillion-euro song catalogue from Ireland to Amsterdam six months before Ireland ended a tax exemption on musicians' royalties. Under Dutch tax law, bands are subject to low to non-existent tax rates. U2 manager Paul McGuinness stated that the arrangement was legal and customary and businesses often sought to minimise their tax burdens. The move prompted criticisms in the Irish parliament. The band later responded by stating that approximately 95% of their business took place outside Ireland, and that they were taxed globally because of this. Bono was one of several wealthy figures whose tax arrangements were singled out for criticism in a report by the charity Christian Aid in 2008.

Collaborations

In addition to his work with U2, Bono has collaborated with Frank Sinatra,Simon, S. (Host). (13 November 1993). ''Weekend Edition Saturday''. Washington, DC: National Public Radio. Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson,U2. (1998). Slow Dancing. On ''If God Will Send His Angels'' D-Single New York: Island Records. Luciano Pavarotti,Louie, R. (6 February 1996). Short Takes. ''Buffalo News''. Retrieved 3 May 2007, fro
Opera man Luciano Pavarotti wants to be hip
. Sinéad O'Connor, Green Day, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison,Orbison, R. (1989). " She's a Mystery to Me". On ''Mystery Girl'' D London: Virgin Records. Bob Dylan,Bono (10 August 1984). BONO, BOB AND VAN. ''Hot Press''. Patti Smith, Tina Turner,Various Artists. (1995). Goldeneye. On ''Goldeneye: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' D New York: Virgin Records. B.B. King and Zucchero.U2. (1988). When Love Comes to Town. On ''Rattle and Hum'' D New York: Island Records. He has recorded with Ray Charles,U2 Wanderer. (Unknown last update)
''U2 Discography—Q's Jook Joint''
Retrieved 4 July 2007. Quincy Jones, Kirk Franklin,Kirk Franklin. (1998). Lean on me. On ''The Nu Nation Project'' D-Album Inglewood: GospoCentric Records. Bruce Springsteen,Stanley, A. (19 May 2007)
"Bruce Springsteen: The Rising Tour 2003-2003 Final Tour Statistics"
. Retrieved 4 July 2007. Tony Bennett,TonyBennett.net. (Unknown last update)
''Tony Bennett, Columbia Records''
Retrieved 4 July 2007. Clannad,U2tour.de. (Unknown last update)
''In A Lifetime (Clannad & Bono)''
. Retrieved 4 July 2007. The Corrs,Cashmere, P. (14 April 2004). The Corrs Record Another Bono Song. ''Undercover Media''. Retrieved 4 July 2007, fro
undercover.com.au
. Wyclef Jean,U2Wanderer.org. (Unknown last update)
''U2 Discography—New Day Single''
Retrieved 4 July 2007. Kylie Minogue, Carl Perkins, and Herbert Grönemeyer. On Robbie Robertson's 1987 eponymous album, he played bass guitar and sang.Robbie Robertson. (1987). Sweet Fire of Love. On ''Robbie Robertson'' D-Album Santa Monica: Geffen Records. For Michael Hutchence's 1999 posthumous eponymous album, Bono and producer Andy Gill completed the unfinished song "Slide Away" by writing an additional verse and recording vocals by Bono. In 2015, he collaborated with African stars D'banj, Waje and Omotola Jalade Ekeinde for a women's empowerment song entitled "Strong Girl".

Bono and the Edge have written and recorded several songs together outside of U2. They wrote the musical score for the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of ''A Clockwork Orange'', which opened in 1990. The duo also wrote the eponymous theme song of the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', which was performed by Tina Turner. Bono and the Edge ventured into theatre again when they composed the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark''; they were featured on the soundtrack's single " Rise Above 1" with Reeve Carney in 2011. The duo collaborated with Jay-Z and Rihanna for the 2010 song " Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)", which benefitted the ''Hope for Haiti Now'' relief telethon for the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Bono and the Edge were featured on the song " We Are the People" by Dutch DJ Martin Garrix, which served as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament and was released on 14 May 2021.

On 17 March 2020, Bono performed a new song, "Let Your Love Be Known", via livestream to fans during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 24 March, the song was released on YouTube, retitled "#SING4LIFE", as a collaboration with will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson, and Yoshiki.

Musical style

Vocals

Bono is known for his impassioned vocal style, often delivered in a high register through open-throated belting. Bono has been classified as a tenor, and according to him has a three- octave vocal range; one analysis found it to span from C to G on studio recordings over the course of his career. He frequently employs " whoa-oh-oh" vocalisations in his singing. Rock musician Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day said: "He's a physical singer, like the leader of a gospel choir, and he gets lost in the melodic moment. He goes to a place outside himself, especially in front of an audience, when he hits those high notes." He added that Bono is "not afraid to go beyond what he's capable of".

In the early days of U2, Bono unintentionally developed an English vocal accent as a result of him mimicking his musical influences such as Siouxsie and the Banshees. His vocal style evolved during the band's exploration of roots music for ''The Joshua Tree''; '' Spin'' said that he learned to command "the full whisper-to-shout range of blues mannerisms". Bono attributed this maturation to "loosening up", "discover ngother voices", and employing more restraint in his singing. For "Where the Streets Have No Name", Bono varied the timbre of his voice extensively and used rubato to vary its timing, while author Susan Fast found "With or Without You" to be the first track on which he "extended his vocal range downward in an appreciable way".

Bono continued to explore a lower range in the 1990s, using what Fast described as "breathy and subdued colors" for ''Achtung Baby''.Fast (2000), pp. 45–48 One technique used on the album is octave doubling, in which his vocals are sung in two different octaves, either simultaneously or alternating between verses and choruses. According to Fast, this technique introduces "a contrasting lyrical idea and vocal character to deliver it", leading to both literal and ironic interpretations of Bono's vocals. On tracks such as " Zoo Station" and " The Fly", his vocals were highly processed, giving them a different emotional feel from his previous work.Stokes (2005), p. 96 Bono said that lowering his voice helped him find a new vocal vocabulary, which he felt was limited to "certain words and tones" by his tenor voice. His singing on ''Zooropa'' was an ever further departure from U2's previous style; throughout the record, Bono "underplay dhis lung power", according to Jon Pareles

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