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ONE love, blood, life
Inside Bono's dressing room
With Irish supergroup U2 about to begin their long-awaited Australian tour, Christine Sams meets their charismatic frontman.
Stretched horizontal across a couch inside his dressing room, Bono paused for a moment to take off his sunglasses.
"I've never thought of myself as cool," he said, with a low, throaty chuckle. "Irish people are not cool - they're hot."
The man who is the world's biggest rock star - U2 frontman, global political activist and proud Irishman - took time out of rehearsals in Brisbane last week to chat to S. Bono was so naturally talkative, so warm and effusive, he chatted for nearly 40 minutes. The singer even waved away his PR at one point, saying: "I'm enjoying myself."
So what's Bono like up close? A little more freckly than you might expect, his hair cropped close, his wrists wrapped in motivational wristbands (the familiar yellow logo of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong, plus the white wristband for Make Poverty History), not to mention his toes sticking out of a pair of thongs.
If truth be known, Bono didn't even make it to rehearsals with his U2 bandmates The Edge, Larry Mullen jnr and Adam Clayton - he seemed happier staying inside his dressing room talking.
"The band are rehearsing now, I'm getting out of it by talking to you, which is great because I really can't stand rehearsal," he said, laughing. "I really do find it very hard to sing those songs unless there's people [the stadium audience] there."
To see Bono so relaxed bodes well for U2 fans. It means the band is fresh and ready for some of the biggest concerts of the year, including the Sydney shows, which begin on Friday.
"This is going to be something unique unto itself," said Bono, of the impending concerts. "I think everybody's just excited about it for that reason. I mean, it couldn't be better."
The U2 Vertigo tour had originally been scheduled for March, before it was postponed because of personal reasons - believed to be an illness affecting a member of The Edge's family.
"I'm sure the shows would have been memorable had we gotten here last time [in March] but there's a very different mood in this camp," Bono said. "We've got a guitar player who is just on fire. I will be discovering the songs in a different way."
He candidly opened up about topics close to his heart as a musician - including the band he has worked with since his working-class youth in Dublin, through to the fans who love and respect U2's music.
To read the entire article, please go here.
Thanks to Silvrlvr!
With Irish supergroup U2 about to begin their long-awaited Australian tour, Christine Sams meets their charismatic frontman.
Stretched horizontal across a couch inside his dressing room, Bono paused for a moment to take off his sunglasses.
"I've never thought of myself as cool," he said, with a low, throaty chuckle. "Irish people are not cool - they're hot."
The man who is the world's biggest rock star - U2 frontman, global political activist and proud Irishman - took time out of rehearsals in Brisbane last week to chat to S. Bono was so naturally talkative, so warm and effusive, he chatted for nearly 40 minutes. The singer even waved away his PR at one point, saying: "I'm enjoying myself."
So what's Bono like up close? A little more freckly than you might expect, his hair cropped close, his wrists wrapped in motivational wristbands (the familiar yellow logo of Lance Armstrong's Livestrong, plus the white wristband for Make Poverty History), not to mention his toes sticking out of a pair of thongs.
If truth be known, Bono didn't even make it to rehearsals with his U2 bandmates The Edge, Larry Mullen jnr and Adam Clayton - he seemed happier staying inside his dressing room talking.
"The band are rehearsing now, I'm getting out of it by talking to you, which is great because I really can't stand rehearsal," he said, laughing. "I really do find it very hard to sing those songs unless there's people [the stadium audience] there."
To see Bono so relaxed bodes well for U2 fans. It means the band is fresh and ready for some of the biggest concerts of the year, including the Sydney shows, which begin on Friday.
"This is going to be something unique unto itself," said Bono, of the impending concerts. "I think everybody's just excited about it for that reason. I mean, it couldn't be better."
The U2 Vertigo tour had originally been scheduled for March, before it was postponed because of personal reasons - believed to be an illness affecting a member of The Edge's family.
"I'm sure the shows would have been memorable had we gotten here last time [in March] but there's a very different mood in this camp," Bono said. "We've got a guitar player who is just on fire. I will be discovering the songs in a different way."
He candidly opened up about topics close to his heart as a musician - including the band he has worked with since his working-class youth in Dublin, through to the fans who love and respect U2's music.
To read the entire article, please go here.
Thanks to Silvrlvr!
We've got a guitar player who is just on fire. I will be discovering the songs in a different way." 
