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Quick Facts
Best Known For
Bono is the frontman of the Irish rock band U2. He's also known for participating in global charity efforts.
Videos see all videos
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Bono - Full Episode (45:19)
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Bono - Mini Biography (2:18)
Bono - Full Episode
In 1976, Bono answered an ad asking for someone interested in forming a band. U2 was the result. While fronting one of the most successful bands in recent times, Bono is equally renowned for fighting third world poverty and AIDS.
Bono - Mini Biography
A short biography of Bono, lead singer of U2 and a dedicated social activist.
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Play NowBono. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:25, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407.
Bono. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Bono." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 05:25 http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407.
"Bono," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Bono," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Bono [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407.
Bono, http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Bono. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/bono-16257407. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Bono was born Paul David Hewson on May 10, 1960, in Dublin, Ireland. He joined U2 while still in high school. Their sixth album The Joshua Tree, made them international stars. Bono has used his celebrity to call attention to global problems, including world poverty, and AIDS. Bono was named a "Person of the Year" by TIME magazine in 2005, and Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary knight in 2007.
Contents
Quotes
"Books! I dunno if I ever told you this, but books are the greatest gift one person can give another."
"Fighting corruption is easier by means of transparency and openness, and it's critical we all play our part."
Early Life
Born Paul David Hewson on May 10, 1960, in Dublin, Ireland, Bono is the son of a Roman Catholic postal worker and a Protestant mother—who died when the boy was just 14. He joined the band U2 in October 1976, when he was in high school, and was dubbed "Bono Vox" (good voice). He was made frontman for the Irish rock band though his singing at the time was less compelling than his stage presence.
Success With U2
U2 began touring almost immediately and released its first album, Boy, in 1980. In 1987, they released the Grammy-winning The Joshua Tree, their sixth album and the one that catapulted the band—and its outspoken frontman—to stardom. Subsequent albums secured U2's reputation for range and innovation, including 1991's industrial-sounding Achtung Baby, 1993's funkier-edged Zooropa and the techno-influenced Pop (1997).
U2 has returned to its modern rock roots with 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. Creating simple but powerful music, the group scored with such tracks as the soaring "Beautiful Day," which won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of Year. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) also fared well, both commercially and critically. Its two leading singles, "Vertigo" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," made strong showings on the charts and won several Grammys.
In March 2009, the band released No Line on the Horizon, which reached the top of the American pop charts. It featured such popular songs as "Get On Your Boots" and "Magnificent." To support the album, Bono and the rest of the group toured extensively.
Music for Activism
Throughout U2's career, Bono has written most of the band's lyrics, often focusing on untraditional themes like politics and religion. In fact, social activism has always been close to the singer's heart, and he has used his music to raise consciousness with performances at Band Aid, Live 8 and Net Aid, among others.
In 2006, U2 joined forces with the punk-influenced band Green Day to record a cover of the Skids' "The Saints Are Coming" to benefit the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The next year, Bono and the rest of U2 contributed the title track to Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.
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