last unicorn
Blue Crack Addict
www.philly.com
A great article:
From 'good voice' to 'great voice'
Bono rose from humble roots to rock icon to king of celebrity activists
Philladelphia Inquirer, September 30, 2007
By JONATHAN TAKIFF
ONCE UPON a time, way back in the idealistic 1960s and '70s, almost all rock 'n' roll musicians thought they could change the world with a song.
Since then, sadly, rampant cynicism and fatigue and age have robbed most of that lot of their passion and commitment. But one guy, Paul David Hewson, better known to the world as Bono, still believes in the power of song to shake and remake the world.
"All you need is three chords and the truth," he famously said. And the funny thing is, after almost 30 years of listening and watching him work, it's hard not tobelieve in him, too, because he has been so effective.
Tomorrow, Bono is being honored here for his good work as a musician-statesman and reformer with the prestigious 2007 Liberty Medal, to be bestowed on the artist at the National Constitution Center.
Born May 10, 1960, and raised in a middle-class suburb of Dublin, Ireland, Hewson was the son of a Protestant mother and a Roman Catholic father. While he didn't align with either religion, he grew up with a strong sense of spirituality and respect for all people, running counter to the oft-warring nature of Irish religious/political sects which split north versus south in his childhood and early adult years.
An early tragedy reinforced his sense of life's frailty when, at age 14, Paul saw his mother, Iris, die of a brain hemorrhage during her own father's funeral. Several songs from U2 albums, including "I Will Follow," "Out of Control" and "Tomorrow" focus on this loss.
The kid found emotional, intellectual and creative support at Mount Temple Comprehensive, a multidenominational secondary (junior-high and high-school equivalent) academy. There, free expression of ideas and individuality were encouraged. And did Paul ever speak and sing out — with such brio and sheer volume that one of his mates gave him the nickname "Bonovox." It was the brand name of a hearing aid, suggesting both (a) he deafened people by his rants; and (b) was in need of a hearing aid himself. The tag grew on the guy, though, when he learned it loosely translated from Latin was "good voice." Eventually it was shortened to Bono, even before he had a band, and he's answered to it — even among his family and friends — ever since.
U2 was spawned at Mount Temple. Fledgling drummer Larry Mullen Jr. instigated the project, asking the school's principal if a rehearsal space could be found for him and some classmates. Bono was initially enlisted as guitarist and singer, although as another bandmate (David Howell Evans — nicknamed "The Edge") — got more proficient, Bono would pass off those strumming duties. In the video documentary "God's Favourite Son," the guys' history teacher, Donald Moxham, recalls that he was asked by the principal to be the band's unofficial supervisor.
Moxham had already seen a performance spark in Bono, he says, from his demeanor in the classroom. "He was an extremely dynamic, interested student, challenging in a very positive way."
U2 developed in the late 1970s, a time when hippie bands like the Electric Tea Pot were still brewing in Ireland, while punk was taking over in London. The group kind of broached the two worlds. "We never sat down and thought, 'Wow, this would be a great sound,'" Mullen would recall. "We were basically influenced by things like seeing the [Sex] Pistols or the Clash or the Jam on 'Top of the Pops' [a London-based TV show.] We came out of the hippie-dippy thing into the new wave, as such, so we were fairly directionless."
Chris De Whalley, the CBS A&R man who produced the first U2 recordings in 1979, says the group's appropriation and polishing up of punk was similar to The Boomtown Rats, their Dublin big brothers whose leader, Bob Geldof, would inspire not only the showmanship and business strategies of Bono and mates, but also, eventually, his political/social activist mindset.
At the start, Whalley recalls: "They weren't brilliant. They were loud and fast and clattering along. They were sort of a division two new-wave band. Bono was particularly outstanding. I guess he was mesmerizing. The attention was entirely about him and him only. He had this whole vocabulary of dramatic gestures on top of the standard shakes that you expect from a lead singer."
This writer felt the same way, watching the group's Philadelphia debut performance at the Bijou Café in December 1980, to mark the release of their "Boy" album.
The rhythm section was sloppy as hell, The Edge's guitar work intermittently interesting, and the patchwork quality of the lyrics (themed on youth and adolescence) reflected how U2's early work had been largely improvised in the studio.
But some tunes, like the standout "I Will Follow," had an arresting, ring-them-bells spirituality that was breathtaking, that literally shook the house. And Bono had such personal charisma, such passion, such a swaggering air of the poet, that he could have kept our attention reciting listings from the phone book.
With their second album, 1981's "October," U2 delved more deeply into religion with songs like "Gloria" and "Rejoice." While not a huge hit, it arguably jump-started the contemporary Christian-rock movement and solidified a fan base for the band among true believers — although then and since, Bono has refused to characterize U2 as part of any particular music scene.
Then came "War" in '83 — the first U2 album that actively reflected a political/social reformist agenda and trumpeted their Irishness to the world, as Bono and his mates raged against homeland violence in classics like "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day." America started to believe in and embrace the group in a big way — with triumphant shows here at the Tower Theater.
"The [American] audiences are wide open, quite naive and up for you," Bono said at the time. "They're not cynical the way a London audience can be cynical."
All heaven and hell broke loose with "The Unforgettable Fire" in 1984, from whence came their hugely popular "Pride (In the Name of Love)," a ragged but much appreciated homage to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the nonviolent civil-rights movement.
By this point they'd been elevated to arena headliners, and then, the following July, stole the show at "Live Aid," the Bob Geldof-sparked, two-continent concert for African famine relief and Bono's coming-out party as a champion for the world's oppressed.
That appearance changed the band's perception of their place in the big picture, noted Gerry Ryan, Ireland's top DJ on RTE radio and longtime friend of the group, speaking in a "God's Favourite Son" interview.
"They understood if you're gonna have 80,000 people standing and cheering and singing along with your songs, they've got to be big. That was their trip. Whatever skills they had, whatever they were going to sing about, whatever passion they had, it was important. And what was really important — that it was big. The sound was huge. At the heart you had soul, but also had soul on a gigantic level."
Following Live Aid, Bono and wife, Ali, spent a month working in war and drought devastated Ethiopia — doing literally everything from "shoveling s---," he'd recall, to writing uplifting songs for the children to sing as they did their chores. From this experience, the die was cast for Bono to embrace his calling as an "aggressive passivist" in song, word and deed. He'd also study up on and trumpet the causes of Third World debt relief, war's youngest refugees, and environmental threats. The pressure to create another album or tour could never stop him.
Nor, even, could the threat of bodily harm. In 1987, Provisional IRA paramilitaries threatened to kidnap the little (5 feet, 7 inches) big man for his onstage condemnations of their violence in his homeland.
Bono had to live up to his name. He'd use his music and appearances as a bully pulpit, to remind the world of corruption and injustices, and shame politicians to respond with real action, rather than hollow rhetoric. The life and work of reggae legend Bob Marley would also offer a template for Bono, he suggested. "Bob Marley is one of the great, great heroes of mine. He did whatever he wanted with his music. He had his faith, his belief in God, or Jah as he called it. He had no problem combining that with his sexuality and the sensuality of some of his love songs.
He was tender and open and politically a hard-ass. He had those three dimensions and it's everything I want from U2."
Clearly, many artists — from John Lennon to the Dixie Chicks — have worn out their welcome, shrunk their fan base for pushing personal causes too hard. But Bono's skill and passion, combined with that quintessentially anthemic, verging on metaphysical music of his colleagues have only solidified U2's bond with listeners.
As the band closes in on three decades, they remain one of most successful and important musical phenomena of modern times.
(c) The Philladelphia Inquirer, 2007
A great article:
From 'good voice' to 'great voice'
Bono rose from humble roots to rock icon to king of celebrity activists
Philladelphia Inquirer, September 30, 2007
By JONATHAN TAKIFF
ONCE UPON a time, way back in the idealistic 1960s and '70s, almost all rock 'n' roll musicians thought they could change the world with a song.
Since then, sadly, rampant cynicism and fatigue and age have robbed most of that lot of their passion and commitment. But one guy, Paul David Hewson, better known to the world as Bono, still believes in the power of song to shake and remake the world.
"All you need is three chords and the truth," he famously said. And the funny thing is, after almost 30 years of listening and watching him work, it's hard not tobelieve in him, too, because he has been so effective.
Tomorrow, Bono is being honored here for his good work as a musician-statesman and reformer with the prestigious 2007 Liberty Medal, to be bestowed on the artist at the National Constitution Center.
Born May 10, 1960, and raised in a middle-class suburb of Dublin, Ireland, Hewson was the son of a Protestant mother and a Roman Catholic father. While he didn't align with either religion, he grew up with a strong sense of spirituality and respect for all people, running counter to the oft-warring nature of Irish religious/political sects which split north versus south in his childhood and early adult years.
An early tragedy reinforced his sense of life's frailty when, at age 14, Paul saw his mother, Iris, die of a brain hemorrhage during her own father's funeral. Several songs from U2 albums, including "I Will Follow," "Out of Control" and "Tomorrow" focus on this loss.
The kid found emotional, intellectual and creative support at Mount Temple Comprehensive, a multidenominational secondary (junior-high and high-school equivalent) academy. There, free expression of ideas and individuality were encouraged. And did Paul ever speak and sing out — with such brio and sheer volume that one of his mates gave him the nickname "Bonovox." It was the brand name of a hearing aid, suggesting both (a) he deafened people by his rants; and (b) was in need of a hearing aid himself. The tag grew on the guy, though, when he learned it loosely translated from Latin was "good voice." Eventually it was shortened to Bono, even before he had a band, and he's answered to it — even among his family and friends — ever since.
U2 was spawned at Mount Temple. Fledgling drummer Larry Mullen Jr. instigated the project, asking the school's principal if a rehearsal space could be found for him and some classmates. Bono was initially enlisted as guitarist and singer, although as another bandmate (David Howell Evans — nicknamed "The Edge") — got more proficient, Bono would pass off those strumming duties. In the video documentary "God's Favourite Son," the guys' history teacher, Donald Moxham, recalls that he was asked by the principal to be the band's unofficial supervisor.
Moxham had already seen a performance spark in Bono, he says, from his demeanor in the classroom. "He was an extremely dynamic, interested student, challenging in a very positive way."
U2 developed in the late 1970s, a time when hippie bands like the Electric Tea Pot were still brewing in Ireland, while punk was taking over in London. The group kind of broached the two worlds. "We never sat down and thought, 'Wow, this would be a great sound,'" Mullen would recall. "We were basically influenced by things like seeing the [Sex] Pistols or the Clash or the Jam on 'Top of the Pops' [a London-based TV show.] We came out of the hippie-dippy thing into the new wave, as such, so we were fairly directionless."
Chris De Whalley, the CBS A&R man who produced the first U2 recordings in 1979, says the group's appropriation and polishing up of punk was similar to The Boomtown Rats, their Dublin big brothers whose leader, Bob Geldof, would inspire not only the showmanship and business strategies of Bono and mates, but also, eventually, his political/social activist mindset.
At the start, Whalley recalls: "They weren't brilliant. They were loud and fast and clattering along. They were sort of a division two new-wave band. Bono was particularly outstanding. I guess he was mesmerizing. The attention was entirely about him and him only. He had this whole vocabulary of dramatic gestures on top of the standard shakes that you expect from a lead singer."
This writer felt the same way, watching the group's Philadelphia debut performance at the Bijou Café in December 1980, to mark the release of their "Boy" album.
The rhythm section was sloppy as hell, The Edge's guitar work intermittently interesting, and the patchwork quality of the lyrics (themed on youth and adolescence) reflected how U2's early work had been largely improvised in the studio.
But some tunes, like the standout "I Will Follow," had an arresting, ring-them-bells spirituality that was breathtaking, that literally shook the house. And Bono had such personal charisma, such passion, such a swaggering air of the poet, that he could have kept our attention reciting listings from the phone book.
With their second album, 1981's "October," U2 delved more deeply into religion with songs like "Gloria" and "Rejoice." While not a huge hit, it arguably jump-started the contemporary Christian-rock movement and solidified a fan base for the band among true believers — although then and since, Bono has refused to characterize U2 as part of any particular music scene.
Then came "War" in '83 — the first U2 album that actively reflected a political/social reformist agenda and trumpeted their Irishness to the world, as Bono and his mates raged against homeland violence in classics like "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day." America started to believe in and embrace the group in a big way — with triumphant shows here at the Tower Theater.
"The [American] audiences are wide open, quite naive and up for you," Bono said at the time. "They're not cynical the way a London audience can be cynical."
All heaven and hell broke loose with "The Unforgettable Fire" in 1984, from whence came their hugely popular "Pride (In the Name of Love)," a ragged but much appreciated homage to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the nonviolent civil-rights movement.
By this point they'd been elevated to arena headliners, and then, the following July, stole the show at "Live Aid," the Bob Geldof-sparked, two-continent concert for African famine relief and Bono's coming-out party as a champion for the world's oppressed.
That appearance changed the band's perception of their place in the big picture, noted Gerry Ryan, Ireland's top DJ on RTE radio and longtime friend of the group, speaking in a "God's Favourite Son" interview.
"They understood if you're gonna have 80,000 people standing and cheering and singing along with your songs, they've got to be big. That was their trip. Whatever skills they had, whatever they were going to sing about, whatever passion they had, it was important. And what was really important — that it was big. The sound was huge. At the heart you had soul, but also had soul on a gigantic level."
Following Live Aid, Bono and wife, Ali, spent a month working in war and drought devastated Ethiopia — doing literally everything from "shoveling s---," he'd recall, to writing uplifting songs for the children to sing as they did their chores. From this experience, the die was cast for Bono to embrace his calling as an "aggressive passivist" in song, word and deed. He'd also study up on and trumpet the causes of Third World debt relief, war's youngest refugees, and environmental threats. The pressure to create another album or tour could never stop him.
Nor, even, could the threat of bodily harm. In 1987, Provisional IRA paramilitaries threatened to kidnap the little (5 feet, 7 inches) big man for his onstage condemnations of their violence in his homeland.
Bono had to live up to his name. He'd use his music and appearances as a bully pulpit, to remind the world of corruption and injustices, and shame politicians to respond with real action, rather than hollow rhetoric. The life and work of reggae legend Bob Marley would also offer a template for Bono, he suggested. "Bob Marley is one of the great, great heroes of mine. He did whatever he wanted with his music. He had his faith, his belief in God, or Jah as he called it. He had no problem combining that with his sexuality and the sensuality of some of his love songs.
He was tender and open and politically a hard-ass. He had those three dimensions and it's everything I want from U2."
Clearly, many artists — from John Lennon to the Dixie Chicks — have worn out their welcome, shrunk their fan base for pushing personal causes too hard. But Bono's skill and passion, combined with that quintessentially anthemic, verging on metaphysical music of his colleagues have only solidified U2's bond with listeners.
As the band closes in on three decades, they remain one of most successful and important musical phenomena of modern times.
(c) The Philladelphia Inquirer, 2007
