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(06-09-2004) The day Bono 'interfaced' with Trimble and Hume - Belfast Telegraph*
The day Bono 'interfaced' with Trimble and Hume
Himself Alone: David Trimble
TIM Attwood, brother of the west Belfast SDLP politician Alex Attwood, knew Bono of U2 and suggested that he appear alongside Hume to drum up support for the deal.
But Bono - whose father was an Irish Labour-supporting Catholic trade unionist from Dublin's north side and whose mother was Church of Ireland - had an instinctive feeling for how difficult the political situation was. He believed that the Unionists were feeling estranged from the fanfare of the peace process and that people in the south had more sympathy for them than they realised - and he wanted them to know it.
"John, I don't feel that our value here is to reinforce you with the nationalist community," Bono recalls telling Hume. "It's to reinforce Trimble with the Unionist community. If you can put something together, we'll be happy to interface."
After much to-ing and fro-ing, Attwood came back with the news that the Trimble camp would participate in some such event. Bono asked to see both men in Belfast's Waterfront Hall beforehand.
"You've got to listen to me now," Bono told the leaders of constitutional unionism and nationalism.
"You're going on stage at a rock and roll concert and neither of you have ever done anything like this before."
Trimble, says Bono, looked as though he was about to say: "What on earth is he about to ask us to do?"
"You're not going to have to say one word," Bono told them. The two politicians looked at each other.
"Look, this is a picture," said the singer. "People don't trust your words . . . This is a rock and roll audience and I'm going to do something never done before at a rock and roll concert - I'm going to ask for a minute's silence. I don't know if we're going to get anywhere with this."
Bono cannot remember who it was who suggested that Trimble and Hume take off their jackets, but he does recall choreographing the entry of the two, one from the left, the other from the right. By the end of this discussion on stage management, neither of the leaders had said a word, nor looked at each other.
"I've got to go and tune a few guitars and you two have a lot to talk about," said the founder of U2. In fact, he did not have to do anything of the kind, but had been struck by the lack of communication between them.
Kate Hoey, who had accompanied Trimble from Coleraine, noted in her diary for that day: "We waited at the side of the stage for David to walk on with John Hume. DT was looking ill at ease and quite nervous as we listened to the screams of the hundreds of teenagers and the ear-piercing music. This was more nerve-wracking for him than anything else he had done so far on the campaign. The handshake was very stage-managed, but at the same time quite moving as the two stood on either side of Bono."
In fact, once it became clear that nobody would have to say anything - especially Hume, Trimble recalls, teasingly - he relaxed.
Above all, he knew that because "a picture says a thousand words", the 'nos' would be kept off the front pages for several days, and so it proved.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=529831
? 2004 Independent News and Media (NI)
a division of Independent News & media (UK) Ltd
The day Bono 'interfaced' with Trimble and Hume
Himself Alone: David Trimble
TIM Attwood, brother of the west Belfast SDLP politician Alex Attwood, knew Bono of U2 and suggested that he appear alongside Hume to drum up support for the deal.
But Bono - whose father was an Irish Labour-supporting Catholic trade unionist from Dublin's north side and whose mother was Church of Ireland - had an instinctive feeling for how difficult the political situation was. He believed that the Unionists were feeling estranged from the fanfare of the peace process and that people in the south had more sympathy for them than they realised - and he wanted them to know it.
"John, I don't feel that our value here is to reinforce you with the nationalist community," Bono recalls telling Hume. "It's to reinforce Trimble with the Unionist community. If you can put something together, we'll be happy to interface."
After much to-ing and fro-ing, Attwood came back with the news that the Trimble camp would participate in some such event. Bono asked to see both men in Belfast's Waterfront Hall beforehand.
"You've got to listen to me now," Bono told the leaders of constitutional unionism and nationalism.
"You're going on stage at a rock and roll concert and neither of you have ever done anything like this before."
Trimble, says Bono, looked as though he was about to say: "What on earth is he about to ask us to do?"
"You're not going to have to say one word," Bono told them. The two politicians looked at each other.
"Look, this is a picture," said the singer. "People don't trust your words . . . This is a rock and roll audience and I'm going to do something never done before at a rock and roll concert - I'm going to ask for a minute's silence. I don't know if we're going to get anywhere with this."
Bono cannot remember who it was who suggested that Trimble and Hume take off their jackets, but he does recall choreographing the entry of the two, one from the left, the other from the right. By the end of this discussion on stage management, neither of the leaders had said a word, nor looked at each other.
"I've got to go and tune a few guitars and you two have a lot to talk about," said the founder of U2. In fact, he did not have to do anything of the kind, but had been struck by the lack of communication between them.
Kate Hoey, who had accompanied Trimble from Coleraine, noted in her diary for that day: "We waited at the side of the stage for David to walk on with John Hume. DT was looking ill at ease and quite nervous as we listened to the screams of the hundreds of teenagers and the ear-piercing music. This was more nerve-wracking for him than anything else he had done so far on the campaign. The handshake was very stage-managed, but at the same time quite moving as the two stood on either side of Bono."
In fact, once it became clear that nobody would have to say anything - especially Hume, Trimble recalls, teasingly - he relaxed.
Above all, he knew that because "a picture says a thousand words", the 'nos' would be kept off the front pages for several days, and so it proved.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=529831
? 2004 Independent News and Media (NI)
a division of Independent News & media (UK) Ltd
