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In the Name of Love... U2 Bono in Fight for Nirvana
Star witness in court wrangle
The People, July 08, 2002
Eamonn O'Hanlon
U2 frontman Bono has been named as a witness in one of the most poisonous legal disputes in showbiz history.
The Irish superstar has been called to testify for controversial singer Courtney Love in the long-running lawsuit sparked by the death of her husband Kurt Cobain.
Ex-junkie Courtney is suing the remaining members of Cobain's grunge band Nirvana over ownership of the group's recordings and songs.
The case -- worth millions of dollars in royalties -- is not due to receive a full hearing until later this year, but has already triggered a string of bitter attacks.
Band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic questioned Courtney's mental stability in court papers filed earlier this year and demanded she be seen by a psychiatrist.
They also claimed Hole singer Courtney, a self-professed former prostitute, was using the case to bolster her own flagging career, rather than protecting Cobain's legacy as she claimed.Courtney hit back by blaming her husband's suicide -- he shot himself through the head in April 1994 -- on an industry that treated him "like he was a subhuman piece of dog****."
Bono, famed for his peacemaking skills and campaigns of behalf of the world's poor, is expected to testify on Courtney's behalf at the U.S. Superior Court in Seattle in September.
He is among a number of high-profile celebrities called by 37-year-old Courtney, including R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe and former wild child actress Drew Barrymore.
Courtney, mother of Cobain's daughter Frances Bean, who was just two when he blasted himself to death at his lakeside home in Seattle, is close to Bono.
She recently revealed that the Dubliner had been one of the few people who had sought to help Cobain during the final tortured months of his life.
In his suicide note, Cobain said he had lost his sense of passion and believed Frances Bean would be better off without him.
Courtney said Bono had previously offered to advise Cobain -- who was heavily addicted to heroin and racked by depression at the time of his death -- but had been spurned.
"We were idiots and turned him away and were too embarrassed," she said.
"I sort of begged Kurt to take the 'Bono Talk' because, f*** it, if I had listened to it I'd have avoided a buttload of trouble for myself."
She also claimed Cobain might still be alive had he listened to Bono and learned to enjoy his star status.
"I have a feeling Bono would have said, 'Uh, no dude...You're supposed, you're allowed to have a blast doing this...buy an Eames chair, be roommates with Keith Richard, and calm down.
"I think a few spins in a Rolls or something, like any other normal male rock star, would have been a tonic for him.
"Kurt wanted to have fun but was never allowed to."
The hearing promises to be the second legal drama for Bono in the past six months.
In April, he appeared as a character witness for R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, when he appeared in court in London accused of going on a drunken rampage aboard a British Airways plane.
Bono, who took the oath as Paul David Hewson, told the court he volunteered to give evidence on his friend's behalf after reading about the case and feeling the urge to stand up and be counted.
Buck, 45, was eventually cleared of all charges.
A U2 insider said Bono would be considered a valuable ally in any legal showdown.
"He not only has vast experience of the music industry, but also knows the art of peacemaking and diplomacy," the source said.
"Courtney's case is very different from the Peter Buck one, but Bono will bring the same sense of honesty and fair play to both."
The Seattle case will hinge on whether 37-year-old Courtney has the right to break up a business partnership formed with Grohl and Novoselic in 1997 when they agreed to split the Nirvana royalties equally.
She claims she was "stoned" when she signed the deal and was not responsible for her actions.
? The People, 2002.
In the Name of Love... U2 Bono in Fight for Nirvana
Star witness in court wrangle
The People, July 08, 2002
Eamonn O'Hanlon
U2 frontman Bono has been named as a witness in one of the most poisonous legal disputes in showbiz history.
The Irish superstar has been called to testify for controversial singer Courtney Love in the long-running lawsuit sparked by the death of her husband Kurt Cobain.
Ex-junkie Courtney is suing the remaining members of Cobain's grunge band Nirvana over ownership of the group's recordings and songs.
The case -- worth millions of dollars in royalties -- is not due to receive a full hearing until later this year, but has already triggered a string of bitter attacks.
Band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic questioned Courtney's mental stability in court papers filed earlier this year and demanded she be seen by a psychiatrist.
They also claimed Hole singer Courtney, a self-professed former prostitute, was using the case to bolster her own flagging career, rather than protecting Cobain's legacy as she claimed.Courtney hit back by blaming her husband's suicide -- he shot himself through the head in April 1994 -- on an industry that treated him "like he was a subhuman piece of dog****."
Bono, famed for his peacemaking skills and campaigns of behalf of the world's poor, is expected to testify on Courtney's behalf at the U.S. Superior Court in Seattle in September.
He is among a number of high-profile celebrities called by 37-year-old Courtney, including R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe and former wild child actress Drew Barrymore.
Courtney, mother of Cobain's daughter Frances Bean, who was just two when he blasted himself to death at his lakeside home in Seattle, is close to Bono.
She recently revealed that the Dubliner had been one of the few people who had sought to help Cobain during the final tortured months of his life.
In his suicide note, Cobain said he had lost his sense of passion and believed Frances Bean would be better off without him.
Courtney said Bono had previously offered to advise Cobain -- who was heavily addicted to heroin and racked by depression at the time of his death -- but had been spurned.
"We were idiots and turned him away and were too embarrassed," she said.
"I sort of begged Kurt to take the 'Bono Talk' because, f*** it, if I had listened to it I'd have avoided a buttload of trouble for myself."
She also claimed Cobain might still be alive had he listened to Bono and learned to enjoy his star status.
"I have a feeling Bono would have said, 'Uh, no dude...You're supposed, you're allowed to have a blast doing this...buy an Eames chair, be roommates with Keith Richard, and calm down.
"I think a few spins in a Rolls or something, like any other normal male rock star, would have been a tonic for him.
"Kurt wanted to have fun but was never allowed to."
The hearing promises to be the second legal drama for Bono in the past six months.
In April, he appeared as a character witness for R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, when he appeared in court in London accused of going on a drunken rampage aboard a British Airways plane.
Bono, who took the oath as Paul David Hewson, told the court he volunteered to give evidence on his friend's behalf after reading about the case and feeling the urge to stand up and be counted.
Buck, 45, was eventually cleared of all charges.
A U2 insider said Bono would be considered a valuable ally in any legal showdown.
"He not only has vast experience of the music industry, but also knows the art of peacemaking and diplomacy," the source said.
"Courtney's case is very different from the Peter Buck one, but Bono will bring the same sense of honesty and fair play to both."
The Seattle case will hinge on whether 37-year-old Courtney has the right to break up a business partnership formed with Grohl and Novoselic in 1997 when they agreed to split the Nirvana royalties equally.
She claims she was "stoned" when she signed the deal and was not responsible for her actions.
? The People, 2002.
