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Party Boy

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I was Bono's Doppelganger

For those in the UK, there is a great article by Neil NcCormick, about Bono in "The Daily Telegraph". Neil McCormick is Rock Critic for this Newspaper (popular broadsheet in UK) who went to school with Bono. The article is more about Bono's rise to fame from school days through to 80's icon. Good read.

Have tried to find link - newspapers web address is www.telegraph.co.uk, however as its in todays newspaper, its not up yet. Not going to type it out -- too long, but suggest checking out the telegraph website either later today or in next few days when I am sure the article will be up!

Party Boy
 
Party Boy, many thanks for this GREAT link!:yes:

I already have my copy of Neil McCormick's book on order from Amazon - I can't wait to read it. :wink:

I KNOW it's going to be full of GREAT BONO/U2 stories as could only be told by someone who knows them well.

Thanks for sharings this wonderful info....it's DEFINITELY appreciated. :hug:
 
"Killing Bono"

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item....talog=Books&N=35&Lang=en&Section=books&zxac=1

Has anyone else heard of this book? It's released in September and available for pre-order now. The description reads: "Blending a tale of obsession with a uniquely intimate portrait of rock band U2 and its charismatic frontman, this lyrical book takes a new and darkly humorous riff on the rock memoir."

I thought this might be the same book as "I Was Bono's Doppelganger" as it is authored by Neil McCormick, but the site lists that book seperately.

:hmm:

EDIT: I thought it interesting that McCormick didn't mention this in his interview with Interference.
 
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Ah so! That would explain it! Whew! I thought McCormick was holding back with us! I'll find out for ya anyway :)
 
Apparently there are more pictures in the US book than the English book.

Why the USA book has less pages I dont know.

Unless the pages in the USA book are bigger

or the font is smaller :hmm:
 
Good guesses. I would think it would be font size or page size. Anyway, I'll probably end up getting both.
 
Has anyone else read this book yet? I have just finished it, and I really loved it. It was more than I thought it would be, even though I have for a long time respected McCormick's writing. (He would find that deeply ironic.) It's really moving: sad and funny at the same time.
For Bono fans, there are many (at least to me) unknown events and quotations, including this from Ali:
"I'm so glad I was able to give Bono sons. He's great with the girls but the relationship between father and son is very special and I don't think he really had that in his life."
 
I just started it yesterday. I meant to just read through the prologue, but I was immediatly hooked. I read four chapters, and then I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Even though I'm not finished, I agree that is is sad and funny at the same time. McCormick is a very talented writer. I can't wait to finish, and I'll let you know more when I'm done.
 
biff said:
Has anyone else read this book yet? I have just finished it, and I really loved it. It was more than I thought it would be, even though I have for a long time respected McCormick's writing. (He would find that deeply ironic.) It's really moving: sad and funny at the same time.
For Bono fans, there are many (at least to me) unknown events and quotations, including this from Ali:
"I'm so glad I was able to give Bono sons. He's great with the girls but the relationship between father and son is very special and I don't think he really had that in his life."

wow biff, that's cool!
If you don't have anything better to do, don't hesitate to quote some more :D
 
Here's some more: (The "he" in the first sentence is Bono, referred to in the early chapters as Paul.)

He could often be found hanging out in our common room because Paul was engaged in a vigorous, amorous pursuit of Alison Stewart, one of the most beautiful and universally admired girls in our year. Alison had thick, black hair, smooth, olive skin, dark, warm eyes and deliciously curled lips. Being a hormonally charged fifteen-year-old boy, I could not help but notice these things. She was also smart, kind, good-humoured, strong-willed and, frankly, way out of my league. Actually, at that stage in my adolescent development, pretty much any member of the opposite sex seemed out of my league. But with some, at least, you felt you might have half a chance. Alison had a sort of aura of impermiability about her. I never really felt she belonged in the same world as an ungainly youth like me. On principle, I was against older boys going out with girls in our class, since their seniority and bullish air of experience seemed to grant them unfair advantage, but Alison and Paul seemed to fit. He wooed her over the course of a long year, until, when you saw them nestle intimately among the stark arrangement of chairs and lockers in the common room, it bacame apparent that they were an item.
 
biff
i just finished reading the book as well and i think the passages you quoted were among the ones that struck me the most too, particularly the ali quote about his sons.
this book is so heartfelt and really for a respected journalist, it is amazing how unabashed and open neil is in his admiration for bono.
as i was reading it i was struck by how he framed bono's story and stressed qualities in him that i think most fans will relate to so well. he loves the same things about bono that we love. he respects the same things. he is continually amazed by the same things.
the difference is that he is actually friends with the man.
the details he shares from his front row seat to bono's life story are priceless.
 
Caragriff, I agree. It is also very telling that, despite his obvious admiration for Bono, McCormick displays no envy. He writes that he has no desire to be Bono, as he can see how very difficult that actually is. As McCormick said in a recent interview, Bono is the most driven person he has ever met, driven to excel by a "black hole" of emotional insecurity. This is a great portrait of a compelling personality. It's also a fun read.
 
Can't wait to see that book, but for some reason it hasn't reached Italy yet -- or so I think!
 
we don't have it here in the u.s. yet either. i imported it through amazon uk, though, because i really just couldn't wait to read it. plus, i am not thrilled with the knowledge that the u.s. title will be "killing bono."
i know it is a joke and was even bono's idea, but that title really bothers me.
anyway, you guys will be psyched when you do get the book to read.
neil's own story is way more interesting than i expected. i really just bought it for the bono details, and they are beyond my expectations, too, by the way. but neil has quite an interesting story of his own to tell:)
 
Looks like I'll have both the US and UK versions. I pre-ordered from Amazon - US months ago and they said I'd have it mid-September. It never arrived, so I asked them about it and they said all they knew was it was delayed - no date available. So, in the meantime, I went and ordered from UK and figured I cancel US when the UK book arrived. Well - while UK was in the mail, US suddenly sent that copy! So, I got the UK the other day, and US will likely come tomorrow! I guess if I want and I can do a page-by-page comparison..:ohmy:
 
caragriff said:
we don't have it here in the u.s. yet either. i imported it through amazon uk, though, because i really just couldn't wait to read it. plus, i am not thrilled with the knowledge that the u.s. title will be "killing bono."
i know it is a joke and was even bono's idea, but that title really bothers me.
anyway, you guys will be psyched when you do get the book to read.
neil's own story is way more interesting than i expected. i really just bought it for the bono details, and they are beyond my expectations, too, by the way. but neil has quite an interesting story of his own to tell:)

I agree with you about the title "Killing Bono". That has really bothered me, and I wondered why they would give it such a title! I wouldn't want the one with that title, either, I don't care if it's a joke, I don't think it's funny. So, that's a good idea. I'll probably order one from the UK and read it quicker than I would've otherwise.
 
Actually, I understand it was Bono himself who came up with that title.

And I can now answer my own question: Yes, the US version has a lot more pictures. So you can either put up with the title and get more pictures, or avoid it and get very few.:wink:
 
biff said:
Actually, I understand it was Bono himself who came up with that title.

And I can now answer my own question: Yes, the US version has a lot more pictures. So you can either put up with the title and get more pictures, or avoid it and get very few.:wink:

I just don't understand the title. But, it's all right. I'll probably buy the US version with more pictures for us illiterate folk:lol:
 
The title comes from a conversation Bono had with McCormick, in which he said, "I'm your doppelganger. You'll have to kill me if you want your life back." Or words to that effect; the book is upstairs and I'm being lazy.:D (I can check for the exact wording later and get back to you if it's significantly different.)
 
Yes, parts of it are laugh-out-loud funny, but it's much more than that. It's really a very touching book. (Well, you can read my comments above; I don't need to repeat myself.)
 
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