Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (/ˈbɒnoʊ/ BON-oh), is an Irish singer, musician, venture capitalist and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Alison Stewart, and the future members of U2. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, frequently using religious and social, and occasional political themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious and spiritual tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences shared with members of U2. Outside the band, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists,[7][8][9] is managing director and a managing partner of Elevation Partners,[10] and has refurbished and owns The Clarence Hotel in Dublin with The Edge.[11][12] Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA, EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red.[3][13] He has organised and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians.[13][14][15] Bono has been praised and criticised for his activism and involvement with U2.[16][17][18] He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time,[16][19][20] among other awards and nominations. Bono has become one of the world's best-known philanthropic performers and was named the most politically effective celebrity of all time by the National Journal.[73][74][75] He has been dubbed, "the face of fusion philanthropy",[76] both for his success enlisting powerful allies from a diverse spectrum of leaders in government, religious institutions, philanthropic organisations, popular media, and the business world, as well as for spearheading new organizational networks that bind global humanitarian relief with geopolitical activism and corporate commercial enterprise.[77] In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bono explained that he was motivated to become involved in social and political causes by seeing one of the Secret Policeman's Ball benefit shows, staged by John Cleese and producer Martin Lewis for the human-rights organisation Amnesty International in 1979.[78] "I saw 'The Secret Policeman's Ball' and it became a part of me. It sowed a seed..." In 2001, Bono arranged for U2 to videotape a special live performance for that year's Amnesty benefit show. Bono and U2 performed on Amnesty's Conspiracy Of Hope tour of the United States in 1986 alongside Sting.[14] U2 also performed in the Band Aid and Live Aid projects, organised by Bob Geldof.[79] In 1984, Bono sang on the Band Aid single "Do They Know it's Christmas?/Feed the World" (a role that was reprised on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single of the same name).[80] Geldof and Bono later collaborated to organise the 2005 Live 8 project, where U2 also performed.

• published: 04 May 2014
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