Biography
Irish singer with group U2 and social activist, raising millions of dollars as well
as awareness of the poverty, famine and need for medical care that exists in many
countries.
The Group U2 originally formed as the band "Feedback" in 1976. After winning a talent
contest in March 1978, the band attracted a major following by early 1980. Extensive tours
in the UK and US beginning in 1981 won acclaim and by early 1985, they were named the "Band
of the '80s" by Rolling Stone magazine. With the release of "The Joshua Tree" in 1987, they
achieved even greater commercial sensation. A passionate social activist, Bono prompted a
historic $5 billion package from the US government to help fight poverty and disease in the
world's poorest countries.
Seen in his trademark wrap-around blue shades, he is an incongruous figure alongside
such notables as Jesse Helms, Pope John Paul II, and world leaders George W. Bush, Tony
Blair and Vladimir Putin. With impressive communication skills, he made quite an impact on
audiences at the World Economic Summit in New York where he discussed the complexities of
the global economy with the likes of Bill Gates, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Queen
Noor of Jordan. A well-informed lobbyist, in June 2001 he went on a fact-finding trip to
Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Ethiopia with the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Paul O'Neill. In
October 2005 he secured an interview with President George W. Bush. Bono was at ease in the
interview as he always seems to be, reciting scripture, peeling off facts and figures, and
soliciting commitment and funds to provide debt- and famine-relief for the world's poorest
nations.
Named Paul David Hewson at birth, he is the second son of a Dublin mixed-religion
marriage. His Protestant mother died of a stroke in 1974 when the boy was just 14. He
remained close to his no-nonsense Roman Catholic dad, a civil servant, who died in August
2001 of cancer. In his father's memory, Bono illustrated and produced a children's book
based on Prokofiev's classic "Peter and the Wolf," released in the fall of 2003. Sales of
the book, packaged with a CD by his musician friend Gavin Friday, benefit the Irish Hospice
Foundation. The originals of the book's 16 illustrations by Bono were auctioned off by
Christie's in New York City on November 21, 2003.
As a child, he was a headstrong, energetic, wildly curious kid, popular with his
peers and also sensitive and smart. Nicknamed "Bono" by a pal after a Dublin hearing-aid
shop called Bonovox, his interests ranged from chess to painting to theater. In 1976, he
answered an ad at the High School to join a band along with Larry Mullen, guitarist Dave
Evans and bass player Adam Clayton. They chose their name after the famous spy plane U2. Off
to a slow start, it was not until 1980 that they had a break with a record deal. In 1987 U2
scored a first for the band when its CD skyrocketed to number 1 on the Billboard charts.
With strong Christian conviction nurtured by his mother's faith, Bono's interest in social
causes increased as he grew older. The result is a dual image; that of the party-hearty rock
star and the dedicated idealist. U2's 1983 album "War" included tracks with political themes.
In 1985, the band was a major attraction for the Live Aid Concert in London. In 2000 the
group participated in the Jubilee Concerts which raised millions for debt relief in Africa.
Two years later, he co-founded DATA (Debt, AIDs, Trade, Africa), an organization whose
mission is to "raise awareness about the crises swamping Africa: unpayable debts, uncontrolled
spread of AIDS, and unfair trade rules which keep Africans poor." His work earned him a nomination
for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003. And in 2005, the Live 8 Concerts showcased the band with
Bono being a major contributor to the success of the concerts in raising awareness in the
industrialized world of the problems facing many of the world's poor.
Bono's wife, Alison Stewart Hewson, whom he married in 1982, shares her husband's
concern for causes with her own special interest in ecology. The couple has four children
with whom they live in Ireland when he's not touring or urging heads of state to alleviate
the suffering of millions. Critics have occasionally lambasted Bono and his wife for mixing
fame and lobbying, pop music with politics. Despite a struggle balancing his commitments to
his band and his social causes, his belief in both his worlds continues to drive him.
The Irish singer and his group U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on
March 14, 2005. The ceremony was held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, NY. In
December 2005 he and Bill and Melinda Gates shared the "Persons of the Year" award from Time
magazine in recognition of the trio's humanitarian work individually and together.
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What Do You Think?
Let's look at the life and chart of the rock star who has contributed so much time,
energy and money to his quest to alleviate the problems facing the world's poor. Bono,
the man nicknamed for his "good voice," has so many gifts: musical talent, intelligence,
creativity, and great stage presence, yet rather than enjoy his fame, his millions and
some well-earned time off, he has never lost his connection to those less fortunate.
Let's study his chart to glean some clues about this entertainer/humanitarian.
- What in the chart describes his commitment to the underprivileged of the world
and his social activism?
- This is a man whose chart angles and planets are nearly all in feminine signs,
with many in mutable or fixed. He has no air and only Uranus in fire. What does this
combination add to his personality and achievements? Where might we see his drive to
succeed in so many different areas: music, writing, parenthood, social activism?
- What in the chart indicates that this is a person with fine intelligence and
impressive interpersonal and communication skills, a personable yet driven man who
is at home equally with a head of state and the homeless person on the street?
View Others' Answers
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