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ViaMichelin Magazine
April 1, 2002
Desperately Seeking Bono
It isn't every 40-something rock star who manages to transcend the
genre's limitations, and, indeed, people's prejudices, by standing on
the podium at the annual World Economic Forum. Yet Bono, the
Dublin-born, 41-year-old singer of U2, has stood in the same spot as
Bill Gates and Bill Clinton. That's not bad for a kid from Dublin's
Northside. For fans of Bono, Dublin journalist Tony Clayton-Lea reveals
where you can walk in the footsteps of Paul Hewson, as his family know
him.
If you're planning to visit Dublin and various Bono/U2-related areas,
the first thing you'll have to realise is that U2 maintain a
deliberately subtle presence. There are no grandiose gestures to mark
the band out as coming from Dublin, despite the bestowing of the
Freedom of the City of Dublin to them in March 2000. Believe me -- I've
tried to get people excited about them, but over here U2 are looked
upon with acceptance rather than awe.
It was at 10 Cedarwood Road, in the suburb of Ballymun, that Bono was
raised. In the 1960s, it was an area that virtually bordered the
countryside, but it's clear the region has stayed with the singer, as
he has mentioned aspects of it in his lyrics throughout U2's recording
career. A few miles east from Ballymun is Mount Temple School, Dublin's
first comprehensive, multi-denominational and co-educational school. It
was here, perhaps, that the most important part of U2's history was
initiated in 1977, when drummer Larry Mullen Jr placed an ad on the
school notice board looking for like-minded people to join a rock band,
then called the Hype. Sadly, venues where U2 first made an impact, such
as the Dandelion Market and McGonagles, are long gone, though you'll
still meet folk who insist they were regulars in those early days.
However, on North Earl Street, just off the main thoroughfare of
O'Connell Street, in the centre of Dublin, you can still see Bonavox,
the hearing aid shop whose name gave the U2 singer his moniker. It
means 'good voice' in Latin, and if you speak to the lady nicely, she
may give you a Bonavox pen as a souvenir. South from O'Connell Street,
on Wellington Quay, is the Clarence Hotel, which borders the edge of
the city's tourist hot-spot, Temple Bar. Bought by U2 in 1992, the
hotel is one of Dublin's finest, with its Octagon Bar easily one of the
most stylish in the city, plus the cutting edge dance nightclub, the
Kitchen.
A short distance east along the quays, still on the south side of the
River Liffey, is Windmill Lane, the original home of the studios where
U2 recorded many of their albums. Here the U2 wall of graffiti has
become famous through the years, as fans worldwide have travelled to
scrawl their often indecipherable messages on it. Nearby are the
Hanover Quay Studios, where the band recorded "All That You Can't Leave
Behind," the Rock Album of the Year-winner at the recent Grammy Awards.
These are one of the main Dublin-based recording studios that U2 use,
along with Westland Studios and Totally Wired.
What else to see and do if you are desperately seeking Bono? Well, if
you're thirsty, there's always the Dockers Pub, on Sir John Rogerson's
Quay, close to Windmill Lane and just down the road from U2's Principle
Management offices. This pub has been known to serve the occasional
member of the band and their crew whenever they're in Dublin. It is the
ideal spot to say "Cheers Bono!"
? 2001-2002 Michelin - All rights reserved.
I love reading articles like this, because it reminds me of how inconspicious a place U2 has really come from. How they even managed in the first place to rise from a place of obscurity to the highest place in rock and roll as one of the greatest band ever to grace the minds and hearts of critics and fans alike. It gives me even a greater appreciation for Adam, Bono, the Edge, and Larry, and how they have managed to keep their roots about them by returning again and again to the place of their youth, and now their adulthood, a place where they can put their feet back on solid ground from the heights of all the accolades that rest on them from being rock and roll's very best...in some strange and mysterious way, thank you Dublin for giving us U2.
Chris
April 1, 2002
Desperately Seeking Bono
It isn't every 40-something rock star who manages to transcend the
genre's limitations, and, indeed, people's prejudices, by standing on
the podium at the annual World Economic Forum. Yet Bono, the
Dublin-born, 41-year-old singer of U2, has stood in the same spot as
Bill Gates and Bill Clinton. That's not bad for a kid from Dublin's
Northside. For fans of Bono, Dublin journalist Tony Clayton-Lea reveals
where you can walk in the footsteps of Paul Hewson, as his family know
him.
If you're planning to visit Dublin and various Bono/U2-related areas,
the first thing you'll have to realise is that U2 maintain a
deliberately subtle presence. There are no grandiose gestures to mark
the band out as coming from Dublin, despite the bestowing of the
Freedom of the City of Dublin to them in March 2000. Believe me -- I've
tried to get people excited about them, but over here U2 are looked
upon with acceptance rather than awe.
It was at 10 Cedarwood Road, in the suburb of Ballymun, that Bono was
raised. In the 1960s, it was an area that virtually bordered the
countryside, but it's clear the region has stayed with the singer, as
he has mentioned aspects of it in his lyrics throughout U2's recording
career. A few miles east from Ballymun is Mount Temple School, Dublin's
first comprehensive, multi-denominational and co-educational school. It
was here, perhaps, that the most important part of U2's history was
initiated in 1977, when drummer Larry Mullen Jr placed an ad on the
school notice board looking for like-minded people to join a rock band,
then called the Hype. Sadly, venues where U2 first made an impact, such
as the Dandelion Market and McGonagles, are long gone, though you'll
still meet folk who insist they were regulars in those early days.
However, on North Earl Street, just off the main thoroughfare of
O'Connell Street, in the centre of Dublin, you can still see Bonavox,
the hearing aid shop whose name gave the U2 singer his moniker. It
means 'good voice' in Latin, and if you speak to the lady nicely, she
may give you a Bonavox pen as a souvenir. South from O'Connell Street,
on Wellington Quay, is the Clarence Hotel, which borders the edge of
the city's tourist hot-spot, Temple Bar. Bought by U2 in 1992, the
hotel is one of Dublin's finest, with its Octagon Bar easily one of the
most stylish in the city, plus the cutting edge dance nightclub, the
Kitchen.
A short distance east along the quays, still on the south side of the
River Liffey, is Windmill Lane, the original home of the studios where
U2 recorded many of their albums. Here the U2 wall of graffiti has
become famous through the years, as fans worldwide have travelled to
scrawl their often indecipherable messages on it. Nearby are the
Hanover Quay Studios, where the band recorded "All That You Can't Leave
Behind," the Rock Album of the Year-winner at the recent Grammy Awards.
These are one of the main Dublin-based recording studios that U2 use,
along with Westland Studios and Totally Wired.
What else to see and do if you are desperately seeking Bono? Well, if
you're thirsty, there's always the Dockers Pub, on Sir John Rogerson's
Quay, close to Windmill Lane and just down the road from U2's Principle
Management offices. This pub has been known to serve the occasional
member of the band and their crew whenever they're in Dublin. It is the
ideal spot to say "Cheers Bono!"
? 2001-2002 Michelin - All rights reserved.
I love reading articles like this, because it reminds me of how inconspicious a place U2 has really come from. How they even managed in the first place to rise from a place of obscurity to the highest place in rock and roll as one of the greatest band ever to grace the minds and hearts of critics and fans alike. It gives me even a greater appreciation for Adam, Bono, the Edge, and Larry, and how they have managed to keep their roots about them by returning again and again to the place of their youth, and now their adulthood, a place where they can put their feet back on solid ground from the heights of all the accolades that rest on them from being rock and roll's very best...in some strange and mysterious way, thank you Dublin for giving us U2.
Chris
