Bono and his eccentric heart | free press

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Bono, singer of the Irish rock band U2 and activist, publishes his autobiography Surrender – 40 songs, one story. It’s about music and people, poetry and politics: but above all it’s about love.

Dublin.

“I shouldn’t be here because I should be dead” – with these words Bono begins his autobiography “Surrender – 40 songs, one story”. The U2 singer and activist reveals that there could have been any number of causes of death for him: terrorist attacks in his immediate vicinity in Nice and Paris, train journeys through Ukraine for a subway gig in Kyiv, IRA death threats, accidents, emergency surgeries . He was born “with an eccentric heart,” and right off the bat that says a lot about the Irishman and his memoirs.

Each chapter begins with illustrations drawn by Bono, and each is captioned with a U2 song title. Lines of his own songs and those of other artists permeate his (life) story. He tells them mostly chronologically, linearly, but skilfully incorporates leaps in time and digressions.

He knows all the important people in this world

From the early death of his mother, the difficult relationship with his father and the musical beginnings, to U2’s success and dealing with it, to political issues such as the debt relief Jubilee 2000 and the founding of organizations such as (RED) and ONE, which oppose the Using the HIV epidemic and extreme poverty – Bono leaves nothing out. No family secrets either, no very private moments either.

He seems to know everyone: Bob Dylan, Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney, Angela Merkel, Sting, Barack Obama, Helena Christensen, and Warren Buffett. But nobody has an acquaintance or friendship with the 62-year-old Irishman without wanting to change the world with him. He tells about Luciano Pavarotti, Nelson Mandela, David Bowie, Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash, John Paul II, Frank Sinatra, BB King and Michael Hutchence from INXS.

When Jesus has left the party, Bono will come

He is aware that some of the personalities are not without controversy (but they are important contacts in development work, such as George W. Bush), as well as the decision, which has been criticized a lot – also by the bandmates – to release the “Songs of Innocence” Download the 2014 album to all Apple devices worldwide without being asked: “I take full responsibility. Mea culpa.”

His activism takes up a lot of space in “Surrender,” but that’s only logical – because it takes up a lot of space in Bono’s life. It’s similar with faith, although he believes religion is “what happens when Jesus – like Elvis – has left the party”.

After the autobiographies of Bruce Springsteen (“Born to Run”) and Dave Grohl (“The Storyteller”), Bono has also succeeded in writing a noticeably personal and, from the outside, ruthless book. If it’s sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll that belong in a rock star’s autobiography, yes, right, it all happens. Rock’n’Roll, because that’s in the nature of things – the author is the frontman of a band that has sold 175 million records worldwide.

Bono can’t be brief right now

There are also drugs in “Surrender”, but mainly because Bono writes about their consequences for people who are close to him. Just like U2 bassist Adam Clayton, who is open about his addiction and mental health today.

And there is also sex, but only marginally. Love is more important to Bono, not just romantic, but also friendly. The love for his wife Ali, to whom the book is dedicated, holds the singer, activist and author together. The love for his four children and for the bandmates of U2 (The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton) carry him – and they (he) carry him. The love of music is always there, speaking through each of the 696 pages (did anyone think Bono would be brief?). And the love for the world and the people in it.

Bono shows in “Surrender” how witty he can write. He also strikes a self-critical tone, for example when he writes: “I need other people more than they need me.” He is often harsh on himself, and he reveals that he can be stubborn, moody. Bono tells stories that are as poetic as they are funny, sometimes (self-)ironic. “I wouldn’t trust a man who doesn’t find you attractive,” he says at one point to his wife, who counters with amusement: “I wouldn’t trust a woman who finds you interesting.” And you can feel: even in moments like this, Bono practices surrendering.

Bono: Surrender – 40 songs, one story, Droemer HC, publication date November 1st, translated by: Charlotte Breuer, Norbert Möllemann, 696 pages, ISBN: 978-3-426-27805-5 (dpa)

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