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Dublin Live
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Dublin Live
Bono opens up on U2 member who has final say on band's music
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info U2 frontman Bono has described the band as a "democracy". The 65-year-old rocker explained how the iconic group – which also comprises The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr – all chip in with ideas for new music. However, the Beautiful Day singer added that it is usually the lead guitarist's suggestions that are given preference. Asked how U2 work after more than 40 years in the industry, Bono said: "Bloody democracy. Thom Yorke from Radiohead says, 'A band is like the United Nations, except I'm America'. But U2 is an actual democracy. We all listen to each other, and then do what Edge says." Bono takes centre stage in the new Apple TV+ documentary film Stories Of Surrender which documents a one-man performance he gave in New York in 2023 – although he doubts that his U2 bandmates are that interested in the project. He said: "I think Larry only likes Westerns, Adam said he liked the moonwalk, so I think perhaps he was looking at a different film. Edge is always there. He's so supportive, especially when he sees me be open or be vulnerable, which is our definition of art." The Dubliner describes the film as "very intimate" and revealed that he took inspiration from the late Beatles icon John Lennon for the project. Father-of-four Bono explained: "It was always, 'Break open the ribcage, show what's the heart, let it bleed'. That was the John Lennon way. So it starts with heart surgery." Meanwhile, the singer recently teased that he wants U2 to make "the sound of the future" on their next album. The With Or Without You artist said on Jimmy Kimmel! Live: "We've been in the studio and you've sometimes got to deal with the past to get to the present, in order to make the sound of the future. That's what we want to do." Bono also insisted that U2 continue to be very ambitious despite their long and successful career in music. He said: "It's the sound of four men, who feel like their lives depend on it. I remind them, they do. "Nobody needs a new U2 album unless it's an extraordinary one. I'm feeling very strong about it." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
U2 singer Bono lays his life bare in one-man stage show Stories of Surrender
"All this saving the world, is it really service, duty, righteous anger, or is it just a childlike desire to be at the centre of the action?" Bono wonders backstage at his sold-out, one-man show at New York's Beacon Theater in 2023. "Desire and virtue is a whole dance." What: U2 singer Bono lays bare his life and career in a one-man stage show, part spoken-word and part solo music performance. Starring: Bono Director: Andrew Dominik Where: Streaming now on Apple TV+ Likely to make you feel: Like falling in love with U2 again — if you're a fan Across a 45-year career as a globe-straddling superstar and activist, the U2 singer has danced the fine line between rock 'n' roll icon and enduring public nuisance. He's been both the voice of one of the biggest bands of the late 20th-century and — to some, at least — a blowhard palling around with celebrities and world leaders. But as the new movie Bono: Stories of Surrender shows, there's a complicated, endearingly contradictory man behind the often-outsized public profile; one whose idealism is frequently troubled by self-doubt, and whose pursuit of stardom stems from a past steeped in loss. Filmed over several nights of his New York residency, Stories of Surrender vividly captures Bono's one-man adaptation of his best-selling 2022 memoir, Surrender, translating the book's revealing candour to the stage with the singer's typically self-reflexive humour. As he quipped to Jimmy Kimmel recently: "I play an aging rock star on a massive ego trip." There are no mirror-balls or giant lemons or jumbotrons broadcasting prank calls to The White House, just a starkly lit stage and a few empty pieces of furniture to stand in for key figures in his life — including the rest of U2, who are nowhere to be found. It begins, as many such stories do, with a health scare that prompts a crisis of faith and life evaluation. "How did I get here?" Bono asks, echoing the words of his contemporary David Byrne, after an operation on his "eccentric" heart in 2016. Still, it's hardly a sombre opening: the star is in full-tilt carnival-barker mode, part preacher, part game-show host, a pair of wraparound shades short of his Zoo TV MacPhisto. Bono's brand of ironic bravado, in which every sincere moment is inevitably chased by a self-deprecating shot, will do little to convince detractors who regard him as the epitome of anti-cool. For U2 fans, however, it's a wonderful reminder of just how adept he is with a pithy turn of phrase or ready-made pop graffiti — he's perhaps the only songwriter to land the line "you're turning tricks with your crucifix" on a major motion picture soundtrack aimed at children. Much of Bono's humour appears to originate from his late father, Bob Hewson, a man who looms over the show despite appearing only as an empty chair and a glass of Black Bush whiskey. Playing both father and son, Bono recreates infrequent pub meetings with his Da, who remains hilariously unimpressed with his kid's success (labelling him "a baritone who thinks he's a tenor"), nor his phone calls from Pavarotti (Bono's impression of the Italian opera giant is among the film's funniest moments). Their relationship was complex. After a 14-year-old Bono lost his mother, who collapsed at his grandfather's funeral ("It sounds almost too Irish, I know," he jokes), his father never spoke of her again. Her death haunted almost every aspect of the rocker's life and career. At the very same time, he would meet his future wife, Ali, and the musicians — The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, and Adam Clayton — with whom he'd rocket to mulleted 80s stardom. The stories of U2's early adventures are invariably charming, as the teenage band fumbles about to land on their signature sound — at one point Bono urging The Edge to make his guitar "sound like an electric drill into the ear". It's Bono's reckoning with fame that proves to be the real revelation, however, as he and his band mates wrestle with their spiritual beliefs in the wake of new-found celebrity. "Fame is currency," Bono reasons. "You wouldn't need charity if the world was just, so — get the cheque." If the humanitarian act borders on Vegas schtick, Bono is the first to admit it. "I am an over-paid, over-regarded, over-rewarded, over-fed rock 'n' roll star," he says in voiceover, commenting on the action. And whenever the self-therapy pauses for a burst of music, it's hard to resist those soaring pipes, still stirring after all these years and audible wear and tear. 'With Or Without You', delivered here in thorny tribute to his wife, remains as sad and gorgeous as ever, while 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' takes on a new, ghostly power in a stripped back, slowed down performance. Meanwhile, U2's 1988 hit 'Desire' emerges as both a pivotal point in the band's career and a key text in Bono's life, tapping into the tension between the sacred and the profane that the band would toy with on 90s highlights Achtung Baby and Zooropa. "For love or money, money, money," Bono sings, throwing theatrical shapes and channelling late-period Elvis. Even 'Beautiful Day' — arguably the beginning of U2's long decline into musical irrelevance — becomes a moving elegy for the dead, as Bono teases out the melancholy beneath the song's radio-friendly chorus. It's a lovely moment, a tribute to those we've lost and to all the strange little things that somehow keep us going along the way. Haters will burn with renewed fire, but if you've ever had a soft spot for U2, Stories of Surrender may just make you fall in love with them all over again.
Irish Daily Mirror
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
U2 is true democracy, says Bono
U2 frontman Bono has described the band as a 'democracy'. The 65-year-old rocker explained how the iconic group – which also comprises The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr – all chip in with ideas for new music. However, the Beautiful Day singer added that it is usually the lead guitarist's suggestions that are given preference. Asked how U2 work after more than 40 years in the industry, Bono said: 'Bloody democracy. Thom Yorke from Radiohead says, 'A band is like the United Nations, except I'm America'. 'But U2 is an actual democracy. We all listen to each other, and then do what Edge says.' Bono takes centre stage in the new Apple TV+ documentary film Stories Of Surrender which documents a one-man performance he gave in New York in 2023 – although he doubts that his U2 bandmates are that interested in the project. He said: 'I think Larry only likes Westerns, Adam said he liked the moonwalk, so I think perhaps he was looking at a different film. Edge is always there. He's so supportive, especially when he sees me be open or be vulnerable, which is our definition of art.' The Dubliner describes the film as 'very intimate' and revealed that he took inspiration from the late Beatles icon John Lennon for the project. Father-of-four Bono explained: 'It was always, 'Break open the ribcage, show what's the heart, let it bleed'. 'That was the John Lennon way. So it starts with heart surgery.' Meanwhile, the singer recently teased that he wants U2 to make 'the sound of the future' on their next album. The With Or Without You artist said on Jimmy Kimmel! Live: 'We've been in the studio and you've sometimes got to deal with the past to get to the present, in order to make the sound of the future. That's what we want to do.' Bono also insisted that U2 continue to be very ambitious despite their long and successful career in music. He said: 'It's the sound of four men, who feel like their lives depend on it. I remind them, they do. 'Nobody needs a new U2 album unless it's an extraordinary one. I'm feeling very strong about it.'
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Bono: Stories Of Surrender' Is Now Streaming – How To Watch U2 Singer's Documentary
Bono in "Bono: Stories of Surrender." Apple TV+ Bono: Stories of Surrender — a documentary featuring U2 frontman Bono — is new on streaming. Directed by Andrew Dominik, Bono: Stories of Surrender held its world premiere on May 16 at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the South of France. The official summary for the documentary reads, 'Bono: Stories of Surrender is a vivid reimagining of Bono's critically acclaimed one-man stage show, Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief… As he pulls back the curtain on a remarkable life and the family, friends and faith that have challenged and sustained him, he also reveals personal stories about his journey as a son, father, husband, activist and rock star. 'Along with never-before-seen, exclusive footage from the tour, the film features Bono performing many of the iconic U2 songs that have shaped his life and legacy.' Bono: Stories of Surrender is now streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Viewers must subscribe to the streaming platform to watch the documentary. Apple TV+ offers ad-free programming, which costs $9.99 per month after a seven-day free trial. Bono: Stories of Surrender to date has received a 76% 'fresh' rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 29 reviews. The RT Critics Consensus and Popcornmeter score is still pending. Among the top critics on RT who give the documentary a 'fresh' rating is Owen Gleiberman of Variety, who writes,' Watching [Stories of Surrender], you come away knowing a great deal about Bono, feeling like you've touched his soul a bit, and that's mostly a captivating journey. But you're never convinced that he's on a mission larger than the song of himself.' Steve Pond of The Wrap also gives Bono: Stories of Surrender a 'fresh' rating on RT, writing, 'It's bombastic, extravagant and melodramatic at times – but I don't use those words as pejoratives, because in the hands of Bono and Dominik, it's also pretty glorious.' Bono: Stories of Surrender also earned a 'fresh' review from Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian, who writes on RT, 'It's a confident, often engaging mix of music and no-frills theatrical performance, with Bono often coming across like some forgotten character that Samuel Beckett created but then suppressed due to undue levels of rock'n'roll pizzazz.' Kyle Smith is one of the top critics on RT who gives Bono: Stories of Surrender a 'rotten' review, writing on RT, 'If Bono is melodramatic, Mr. Dominik is an enabler.' Tim Robey of the Daily Telegraph (UK) also gives the documentary a 'rotten' review, noting, 'Bono may be his own worst enemy in the one-man show Stories of Surrender, but only just. His second worst is Blonde director Andrew Dominik, who has turned it into a more excruciating film than you might even have surmised.' John Nugent of Empire Magazine also slammed Bono: Stories of Surrender, writing in his 'rotten' review on RT, 'Strictly-for-fans-only. Bono is a charismatic chronicler of his own life, but the self-conscious storytelling concept is a harder thing to stomach for non-enthusiasts.' Bono: Stories of Surrender, featuring U2 singer Bono — whose real name is Paul David Hewson — is streaming exclusively on Apple TV+.
Washington Post
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Bono's memoir gets a third iteration, this time on the small screen
'Writing a memoir is a whole other level of navel-gazing,' the eponymous navel gazer tells us at the top of the new Apple TV+ release 'Bono: Stories of Surrender.' What, then, is a concert film of a stage show adapted from a memoir?
