Bono, piss off and take you sunglasses with you

[baboon]

hes just so worthy and full of himself!

[zaffra]

He's an easy target really.

Annoying earnest at times but I see him as genuine, he wants people to help/get involved in things which isn't really a bad thing.

Being a 'rock star' does have some influence on some people, he might as well try and use that for some good.

In general it seems we don't like our 'mega stars' to have views but I can understand why they feel that they should air their views.

I think it's the fact that he's so rich that makes him seem patronising, It's a similar story with Sting.

[FGtoH]

Wouldn't it be nice if other people with so much money at their disposal decided to act in a similar way to Bono.

He knows that his voice can reach millions and that he can influence a lot of people simply because he is a pop star - he knows how fucked up that is.

Compare him to the likes of 50 cent and any of the rappers who wear 100s of 1000s of pounds worth of bling and gloat how much they have.

I watch those cunts on MTV Cribs showing off their 10 odd cars, or their gold plated bathrooms and wonder why they fell that their crassness would be of interest to me.

Bono is a campaigner and has dedicated a great deal of time to the cause of ending world poverty - I can't criticise him for that.

And he's a very down to earth guy. I've seen him out and about Dublin and Dalkey; I saw him recently buying some stuff in the local knick-knack shop.

[aneza]

Bono's alright.

[Chris]

FGtoH said:

Wouldn't it be nice if other people with so much money at their disposal decided to act in a similar way to Bono.

How do you know they don't? Plenty of people give to charity, they just aren't as sanctimonious about it as Bono 'the second coming' is.

[baboon]

sorry it took a while to get back to my own thread, work problems... yeah i dont really have a problem with bono's charity work, although hes not the only star in the world who knows what a charity is, contrary to his belief. i get more annoyed with his hood wearing antics in the new video with his annoying sunglasses and swept back hair. he just looks like an annoying fool to me, and its not raining or particularly sunny in the vid, so why the need for either accessory?! also u2's songs now all seem to be either bono being earnest to a slow guitar(eg the new one), or attempting to be cool with a fast guitar (vertigo, beautiful day, the tombraider theme etc). i just wish they had more variety. and they get proper bummed by the music press just cos they made the joshua tree years ago. its annoying and so is he. i dont mind the edge tho.

[timeforheroes]

He is quite irritating, you can't deny that, but the good he's done outweighs the bad. He could sit on his arse all day in his mansion and snort cocaine with hookers but he chooses to help people.

[nnnumb]

He was fairly high on my list of people I'd like to punch, until I read a recent interview with him where he came across as a fairly decent chap.

I still want to slap Liam Gallagher though, and no intrview will ever change that.

[Pierre]

nnnumb said:

He was fairly high on my list of people I'd like to punch, until I read a recent interview with him where he came across as a fairly decent chap.

I don't know if you mean the one in the Xmas issue of NME but it also made me see it in a nicer light. Besides, U2 has made in the early 90s some amazing albums (Zooropa being the best).

[Smudge]

I really like Bono. He's like the ultimate the rockstar- he has all the stage presence and everything yet he's still got a real human being's personality intact. Whether it's a personality that you like or not, he is still just like a regular bloke except really famous and megabucks rich. I honestly think that if U2 had never made it and Bono was sitting at home, unemployed and playing the tin whistle on the backstep of his little house then he wouldn't be much different.

As for Liam Gallagher, I love Oasis but I think he's genuine as well. I honestly think with no Oasis he'd be trawling round the streets of Manchester biting people's ears off and losing teeth left right and centre. Except he'd probably be in jail by now.

[blokesophie]

I think Bono's songwriting, charity-ing etc. are fine, but his voice...isn't actually that Bono. See what I did there? eh? eh?

[agnetha]

Bono may be a sanctamonious twat - and that's something he admits himself - but at least he seems informed on what he preaches and is honest in his concerns and beliefs. As someone else has already said, he knows his voice can reach millions and that he can influence a lot of people simply because he is who he is and what a ridiculous situation that is, but at least he's genuine. It's not just an ego-wank trip.

I'd rather Bono going on about saving the world than some daft cunt just shrugging and saying: "Yeah, err, feed the world cos it's, like, dead important isn't it. Yeah, we must, like, save the planet," before recording their three-second bit of some charity single for a cause they know bugger-all about.

Agreed about the recent U2 criticism - they've fallen into the same trap as REM. Every U2 album now has to have a One, in the same way every REM album has to have an Everybody Hurts.

[Steveweiser]

They just said on CD:UK that U2 are planning on redoing "Pop" because they thought they rushed it. I agree with Noel Gallagher for saying U2 are perfectionist twats.

[flufff]

christianbm said:

FGtoH said:

Wouldn't it be nice if other people with so much money at their disposal decided to act in a similar way to Bono.

How do you know they don't? Plenty of people give to charity, they just aren't as sanctimonious about it as Bono 'the second coming' is.

The thing is it's not just about the money. Bono isn't just about asking people to give money to charity, and I can't say I've noticed him doing much asking for donations.

What I have seen is a famous and influential person (not just rich) using that influence to try to change things for the better by using his position to speak with world leaders to change fundamentally unfair systems so that it is no longer about giving to charity.

It's not an easy job, and it's bloody hard not to come across as a bit sanctimonious, but he's doing a better job than almost all the other rich/influential popstars out there because he does have a good grasp of the issues and doesn't make a tit out of himself when he tries to talk 'politics' with world leaders and non-showbiz journalists, yet still has enough charisma to bridge the gap to those of us who find politics more pallatable when it comes from the mouth of a popstar, not a well informed, but anonymous campaigner who would never get a feature in heat magazine.

I'm not saying he's never annoying, and he can be something of a self-righteous arse, but I'm not going to hate him for using his fame as well as his money to help people.