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

[caragriff]

in my opinion, gavin, the artist, is a tad too extreme for most of bono's mainstream fans to handle. gavin says things other people only think. he can say overtly sexual and/or provocative things and as an artist he generally tends to go over the top. bono does this on occasion, but often reins himself in. when he does go over the top, yes, he often does so with the same type of stage histrionics that gavin uses - strutting, cocky, etc.

i remember a quote from gavin where he once said that he (gavin) had to be over-the-top in order to grab people's attention, but bono was blessed as a performer and didn't have to really be too theatrical - bono from day one could just captivate an audience with his presence alone. as a result, bono can go and be straightforward, while gavin tends to screw with people's heads to get his point across.

 

[Fille Friday]

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.

That's quite true-- the King of Trash was about 'fallen rock heroes' like T Rex, Roxie Music etc and people we look up to when we're young, or people Gavin looked up to when he was young-- how the music industry is becoming bubble gum pop and it's all marketed and for main stream tastes only. I think it would fit in better with what U2 did with themselves in the Pop era.

 

[MattFromNYC]

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.

as i have never seen gavin in action.... could someone gimme an example of a bono mannerism/motion/etc that is a Gavin one?
cite a video, concert, whatever.

and no, im not worried in thinking that they steal off eachother and not give the other credit or permission. im just curious.

 

[imogen]

Sorry... but this is crying out for someone to say...!!

Every artist is a cannibal
Every poet is a thief.....

I have a graphic designer friend who often talks about being "a tasteful thief". Once it is out there, it's open for others to reinterpret and reinvent.

As someone said before, I am sure they feed off each other.

 

[VintagePunk]

Unless you were there with their crowd during the Lypton Village days, how can anyone say one "stole" from the other?? It's like a "chicken and egg" argument.

They're childhood friends who grew up in the same area at the same time, were exposed to the same politics, popular culture, had the same group of friends, etc. It makes sense that they would have similar artistic and performance sensibilities.

And as far as Gavin being a "hanger-on?" I think it speaks volumes that Bono chooses to surround himself with people he's known since he was a kid. How many people around Bono's age still maintain close relationships with people who were their adolescent best friends? It seems he doesn't want to be surrounded by yes-men. From what I've read, Gavin isn't afraid to call bullshit when he sees it, and I'm sure that's appreciated by Bono and the band.

 

[Russty Cat]

Unless you were there with their crowd during the Lypton Village days, how can anyone say one "stole" from the other?? It's like a "chicken and egg" argument.

They're childhood friends who grew up in the same area at the same time, were exposed to the same politics, popular culture, had the same group of friends, etc. It makes sense that they would have similar artistic and performance sensibilities.

And as far as Gavin being a "hanger-on?" I think it speaks volumes that Bono chooses to surround himself with people he's known since he was a kid. How many people around Bono's age still maintain close relationships with people who were their adolescent best friends? It seems he doesn't want to be surrounded by yes-men. From what I've read, Gavin isn't afraid to call bullshit when he sees it, and I'm sure that's appreciated by Bono and the band.

I think VP is right that when your in a business like Bono is its nice to have people around you that knew you when you were just Paul Hewson a goofy kid. Someone willing to tell ya your full of crap when you are.

I think they feed off each other and there is nothing wrong with that. I don't think they are the same. They've both done some worthwhile things in their careers.

I don't find Gavin creepy. I think some of his comments on the dvd are very tongue in cheek not meant to be taken seriously. He seems to me like a guy who probably knows how to not take the little things to seriously.

 

[Adam'sbaby]

Just a question if I may:
I only have Shag Tobacco.
But I do love that album 'though.
I was thinking of getting another one of Gavin's albums.

Can someone give me advice here?

 

[Fille Friday]

Just a question if I may:
I only have Shag Tobacco.
But I do love that album 'though.
I was thinking of getting another one of Gavin's albums.

Can someone give me advice here?

He's only done two others in his solo-career. Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves is my favorite, but the music is a little serious. But in that seriousness comes a real deep, introspective view and wonderful songs. People say Adam 'N' Eve sounds more akin to popular music and accessible, and it has some great cabaret-influenced songs on it. Melancholy baby is a masterpiece. Depends on your taste.

 

[MattFromNYC]

when you say he takes his moves from gavin... what kinda stage moves are you referring to?

i assume this includes.. like macphisto movements and such.. but do you also mean like... just crazy bono stage jumping and crowd dives and just the silly things bono does on stage, like nowadays? other than fly/mac stuff? im not sure whats meant by this....

 

[Fille Friday]

I personally don't think their stage personas are the same.

I think their ideas are, and what they want to portray to the audience. Like Vintage Punk said, this comes from their similar influences and environment when they were growing up.

Bono, like you said, jumps around and such. although I think many of Gavin's moves are spontaneous onstage, they look very sequenced and exact-- hence the cabaret/ stage performance you see in Gavin's shows.

 

[AtomicBono]

I don't think they copy off each other at all. I'm sure they give each other ideas and feed off each other, but there's no blatant copying. My best friend and I are the same way. We grew up together and act real similar and have a million inside jokes and all that. We're like-minded and having known each other for so long often think the same things.

 

[U2dork]

Hey Matt, if you want to check out some of Gavin's work, here's a link to the performance on RTE's Other Voices program, (which I really enjoyed)...
http://www.rte.ie/tv/othervoices/gavinfriday.html
scroll down and the link is at the bottom of the article. It's a long clip at 35 minutes.

And here's a link to the mulitmedia section on the Gavin Friday website for you if you want to see some more clips...
http://gavinfriday.com/archive/multimedia.html

Does anyone else knows of any other performance links?

 

[popacrobat]

bono is gavin

 

[Nube Gris]

Bonovox supastar and atomic bono
and a Gavin Friday fan would say he's copying Bono so

 

[Adam'sbaby]

He's only done two others in his solo-career. Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves is my favorite, but the music is a little serious. But in that seriousness comes a real deep, introspective view and wonderful songs. People say Adam 'N' Eve sounds more akin to popular music and accessible, and it has some great cabaret-influenced songs on it. Melancholy baby is a masterpiece. Depends on your taste.

Thanx Fille!

I think I'll try to get Adam 'N' Eve first and then Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves later.

I knew about these two albums but I wasn't sure what to expect apart from the cabaret influences. I had heard that Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves was serious and emotional. Not sure where I heard that 'though.