U2: Biography of Bono

From LoveToKnow Music

U2: biography of Bono is a story of music, of course, but it is also the story of one man’s ability to stay connected to his roots while using his power and fortune to turn a spotlight on troubled areas of the world and human suffering.

U2 Biography of Bono – The Early Years

Bono was born Paul David Hewson on March 10, 1960, in Dublin, Ireland. One of two children, Bono was the son of a Roman Catholic father and Irish Anglican mother. Although the Irish Troubles surged in earnest during his early years, religion was not so much of an issue in the Hewson household (although it would feature prominently in his music later on). His parents had agreed that their first born child, Bono’s older brother, would be raised in the Irish Anglican church and that their second child would be raised a Catholic. In the end, however, Bono drifted towards attending church with his mother and brother.

One of the defining moments of Bono’s life that would go on to inspire him later musically was the death of his mother when Bono was 14. She died suddenly of a brain aneurysm, ironically while attending her own father’s funeral. Many of U2’s songs address the effect losing his mother at a young age had on Bono.

Perhaps one of the most striking things about the life of Bono is that many of the friends he made in childhood remain integral parts of life now. He met his wife, Allison Hewson, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School as a child. It also at that school that he met his U2 band mates, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullens, Jr. This loyalty reflects elsewhere in Bono’s life with U2’s long term manager, Paul McGuiness. McGuiness came on board as U2’s manager at the very beginning of their career, and he remains in that position today – an almost unheard of circumstance in music.

U2 Takes Off

U2 and the biography of Bono cannot be separated. The band, which has been releasing music for close to 30 years now, has remained one of the most enduringly popular acts in music. They have won a whopping 22 Grammy Awards at the time of writing, an Academy Award for Best Original Song (for their contribution to the Gangs of New York Soundtrack) and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. U2 consistently plays to sellout crowds and their albums also chart highly around the globe. All four members of the band are committed to continuing with U2 for the foreseeable future.

U2: Biography of Bono – Political Activism

U2 has always used their music to explore political issues, from the Bloody Sunday massacre in Ireland to sectarianism in their country, racism in America and a host of other issues. Later in his career, however, Bono moved on from simply singing about the issues to actively becoming involved in them. He is a passionate proponent of developing economies, especially Africa, and works with several different organizations dedicated to anti-poverty initiatives and HIV/AIDS treatment and education in Africa. He runs the EDUN clothing line with his wife, which employs workers in Africa to make the clothing in hopes of developing a thriving textile sector within various Africa nations so that they might improve their trading position. He also founded Project:Red which works with various multi-national corporations on developing products with Red logo – a percentage of proceeds from the sale of these items is donated to the Global Fund. He is also involved in the Drop the Debt initiative that urges developed countries and international loan organizations like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to forgive developing country loan obligations.

Controversy and Bono

Bono has come under fire on more than one occasion in his career, including when he used profanity on a live feed of the Grammy Awards show. Two main charges, however, dog him consistently:

U2 moved the bulk of their money out of Ireland and into bank accounts in The Netherlands right before Ireland increased taxation of musicians’ royalties. In The Netherlands, these taxes are extremely low.