MERGED->Does Bono get most of his ideas from Gavin Friday?+bono copying off of gavin?

[MattFromNYC]

Does Bono get most of his ideas from Gavin Friday?

I've been thinking...

He's the main consultant for U2... and Bono's even admitted that he gets a lot of his ideas from Gavin.. like.. MacPhisto, and moves, etc.

But exactly how much does he take from Gavin?

Some people claim that after seeing Gavin perform live that it seems like almost 90% of it is just like Bono's... and Bono uses Gavin's styles, etc.
Off-stage and onstage.... little tactics, jokes, and other actions.

What exactly about the live performance and off-stage stuff does Bono use Gavin-isms? and other things?

I have never seen Gavin perform live, or hardly ever heard anything from Gavin...

 

[MattFromNYC]

bono copying off of gavin friday?

I've been thinking...

He's the main consultant for U2... and Bono's even admitted that he gets a lot of his ideas from Gavin.. like.. MacPhisto, and moves, etc.

But exactly how much does he take from Gavin?

Some people claim that after seeing Gavin perform live that it seems like almost 90% of it is just like Bono's... and Bono uses Gavin's styles, etc.
Off-stage and onstage.... little tactics, jokes, and other actions.

What exactly about the live performance and off-stage stuff does Bono use Gavin-isms? and other things?

I have never seen Gavin perform live, or hardly ever heard anything from Gavin...

but ive seen bono doing almost identical stuff in pics and videos and stuff that gavin does.

 

[Y2K]

Gavin is one of the creepiest fuckers I've ever seen. I'm not sure how Bono takes him seriously.

 

[aislinn]

Gavin is one of the creepiest fuckers I've ever seen. I'm not sure how Bono takes him seriously.

Eh.

Well...he and Gavin have been friends for so long, I doubt Bono takes him all that seriously. And I'd imagine they both feed off each other somewhat anyway.

 

[MattFromNYC]

creepy??? how so??? the way he acts or looks??

 

[starsgoblue]

Isn't this also posted in EYKIW?

 

[MattFromNYC]

do you think macphisto is largely based on gavin? or a gavin stage character or something? i know nothing about gavin really.

 

[MattFromNYC]

sorry

sorry

 

[starsgoblue]

Violators will be shot.

 

[MattFromNYC]

someone already shot me in my butt... out of nowhere. so THAT's what that was... lol.

 

[Fille Friday]

I've seen Gavin live, and Bono live, and I got to say I'd rather see Gavin any day of the week compared.

There's such a raw, unrestrained emotion when Gavin performs, it's breathtaking one can let go and let the music change everything about oneself. I get completely lost in this world he creates with the songs and sounds and performance, the theatrics, and it's just absolutely beautiful.

Perhaps with Bono I didn't get that intimacy because I was in quite a large crowd, and the flashing lights and the rest of the band.

I don't want to say one is quite mainstream and the other isn't, but they are both influenced by the same people, but both take a different path with their influences.

MacPhisto was as close to Gav as I think he ever got-- the witty lines, the banter, etc. It was kind of cabaret-- which influences Gavin's music.

I see Bono trying to be like Gavin (once I think Bono sang Ne Me Quitte Pas) and trying to be very theatrical, but not entirely succeeding.

In physical likeness and mannerisms they are quite alike-- the shoes (my god those shoes), the sunglasses, facial physical likenesses, and when you see them together talking, and hanging around each other they are alike.

I'm so horrible at explaining it.

 

[U2dork]

I agree with Fille Friday. I'm a fan of Gavin's music but I am by no means a Gavin expert, as I've only seen a few video taped performances. However, from those performances, I've come to the conclusion that Bono is totally ripping off Gavin's act.

I would describe it something like: Gavin does it first and then maybe 5 years later Bono follows.

 

[MattFromNYC]

i have even seen them wearing the same kinda clothes or identical jackets or something else before in pics. was kinda weird.

 

[Axver]

MacPhisto's origins stretch back to Bono reading C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters.

 

[Fille Friday]

I think it shows how close they are, they've been friends for 30 years. People start to look like each other after hanging out for awhile, it's normal.

It's also kind of funny, in a cute way. Even Bono and Gav, two of the most individualistic people I can think of, want to be like someone else, want to fit in somewhere.

 

[ultravioletluvv]

Gavin is one of the creepiest fuckers I've ever seen.

could he be any creepier on the Chicago DVD? although i did find his interview from the men's room quite funny...

 

[salim117]

Gavin is one of the creepiest fuckers I've ever seen. I'm not sure how Bono takes him seriously.

Really. I saw the documentary from the new dvd and he looks and speaks like a unintelligent greaseball. Can't believe bono "consults" him!
Bono must own him.
Then again, what do I know...really can't judge someone off of a hand full of of 10 sec clips...but I can try

 

[ZeroDude]

Gavin has a great mind; he's amazingly adept in all aspects of what we perceive as "art".

Believe me he knows Bono's mind as well.

 

[Fille Friday]

I truly hope this isn't going to turn into a bashing Gavin Friday thread like the other one this past week.

Why don't you try and listen to his music and make an informed opinion instead of brushing him away by what he looks like?

One shouldn't judge by appearances.

He's an extremely intelligent, funny, and very creative man. And you would know that if you took time to find out.

 

[MattFromNYC]

can someone post the gavin clips from the dvd? i dont have that version.

 

[MattFromNYC]

I agree with Fille Friday. I'm a fan of Gavin's music but I am by no means a Gavin expert, as I've only seen a few video taped performances. However, from those performances, I've come to the conclusion that Bono is totally ripping off Gavin's act.

I would describe it something like: Gavin does it first and then maybe 5 years later Bono follows.

ripping off his act? example?

 

[U2Kitten]

Gavin is his lifelong buddy, he helps him with ideas. Don't feel sorry for Gavin, I'm sure Bono makes it worth his while. He'd likely be rotting away in his 25th year at the Dublin battery factory if Bono hadn't hit the big time and let him ride in on his coattails.

BTW I love Gavin and Guggi, don't mean to knock them, but honestly, I don't think they'd be doing so well if it weren't for their association with Bono.

 

[Canadiens1131]

Gavin's not weird, he just transcends cool to a level we just can't comprehend yet.

 

[Fille Friday]

Don't feel sorry for Gavin, I'm sure Bono makes it worth his while. He'd likely be rotting away in his 25th year at the Dublin battery factory if Bono hadn't hit the big time and let him ride in on his coattails.

If I remember correctly, it was Gavin's band Virgin Prunes who got a record deal before Bono's band did. Virgin Prunes were an opening act for The Clash in 1978, and U2 didn't get a record deal until 1979.

And as for Guggi, he was poor for a long time before he ever hit it big with his art. I don't recall Guggi ever revealing that Bono stood next to him in the art gallery when he sold four of his paintings in the early 1990s to one person. You can only ride for so long, you have to have substance to last as long as he has in the art world.

 

[MattFromNYC]

how about their lyrics and vocals? are they similar too?

 

[Fille Friday]

They don't exactly sound the same, although many of my friends think they do. Like Gavin's song Angel sounds an awful lot like Miami or Lemon.

Gavin's song lyrics I think are much more blatant and not as deeply encoded as U2's lyrics. It's more about the theatrics and the way the story is told than the story itself. The love songs are also different. Gavin's are usually sad or melancholy and not all of U2's are, I think. That's all I can think of right now.

 

[U2Kitten]

If I remember correctly, it was Gavin's band Virgin Prunes who got a record deal before Bono's band did. Virgin Prunes were an opening act for The Clash in 1978, and U2 didn't get a record deal until 1979.

But the Prunes did not get the success of U2. I do think Gavin was a big help to Bono with his ideas and I bet Bono doesn't 'steal' anything from him, they share and I bet he pays him.

And as for Guggi, he was poor for a long time before he ever hit it big with his art. I don't recall Guggi ever revealing that Bono stood next to him in the art gallery when he sold four of his paintings in the early 1990s to one person.

Bono may have pulled some strings to get him connections, I don't know. I don't think Bono ever let Guggi starve in the times he was 'poor.' I think this is a great testament to their special, lasting friendship.

Mind you, I am NOT knocking ANY of them, I love them all, and am very happy for them. Every time I see a pic of Bono with Guggi and Gavin partying in Dublin, I laugh, saying there are 3 guys who beat the system, who never had to grow up and have a 'real' life, who got to live their fantasies, and dress any damn way they please. They are my heroes.

 

[BVS]

Artists feed off each other. Bono takes from Gavin, Gavin takes from him...this is what artists do.

Elvis wouldn't have been Elvis without Cash.

Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson fed off each other.

Beatles fed off Rolling Stones and vice versa.

 

[ahmad]

In fact, Elvis would've been a sissy without Johnny Cash.

 

[U2dork]

ripping off his act? example?

Ok, "ripping off" might be a bit harsh, but by that I mean mannerisms, motions and comments during a performance.

I think one example could be "the King of Trash". I'm sure someone else could describe this much better than me, but this "character" created by Gavin was kind of like Macphisto without horns: vain, shallow, cocky and reveling in material excess. The King of Trash was c. 1992 while, according to atu2.com, Macphisto wasn't born until May 7, 1993 in Rotterdam.