Bono
Paul David Hewson, also known by his stage name Bono, is the main vocalist of the Irish rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2. Since that time he has been referred to as Bono, his stage and nickname, by his family and fellow band members. Bono writes almost all U2 lyrics, often using political, social and religious themes. During their early years, Bono's lyrics contributed to U2's rebellious tone. As the band matured, his lyrics became inspired more by personal experiences with members of U2.
Among his non-U2 endeavors, he has collaborated and recorded with numerous artists, sits on the board of Elevation Partners and has refurbished and now owns a hotel with fellow band member, The Edge. Bono is also widely known for his activism concerning Africa, for which he co-founded DATA. He has organized and played in several benefit concerts and has met with influential politicians. He is the co-founder of EDUN, the ONE Campaign and Product Red. Bono has been praised and criticized for his activism and involvement with U2. Bono has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was granted an honorary knighthood by the United Kingdom, and was named as a Person of the Year by Time, among many other awards and nominations.
“Smack in the centre of contradiction is the place to be.”
“People rid the room of argument until they have no one left — except people who agree with them. It is understandable. But I like a good argument.”
“I wish to begin again on a daily basis. To be born again every day is something that I try to do. And I'm deadly serious about that.”
“In my dream, I was drowning my sorrowsBut my sorrows they learned to swim”
“It is impossible to meet God without abandon, without exposing yourself, being raw.”
“I'm never nervous when I go to meet heads of state. I feel they should be nervous, because they are the ones who'll be held accountable for the lives their decisions will impact the most.”
“Every age has its massive moral blind spots. We might not see them, but our children will.”
“At a certain point, I just felt, you know, God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action.”
“To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.”
“Dream up the kind of world you want to live in. Dream out loud.”
“Christians are hard to tolerate; I don’t know how Jesus does it”
“Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Find out what God's doing. It's already blessed.”
“Pop music often tells you everything is OK, while rock music tells you that it's not OK, but you can change it.”
“Sometimes religion gets in the way of God.”