Interview With Bono

Aired December 1, 2002 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, U2's Bono. The rock star on a mission to save the planet, and he's gotten serious face time with the president and the pope along the way. To talk about all that and a lot about his love for Frank Sinatra too, an in-depth hour with an inspirational man, Bono, next on LARRY KING WEEKEND.
Good evening, and welcome to a very special edition of LARRY KING WEEKEND.


I get to, in this job, walk among giants, and that walk continues tonight with a visit with Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock group, U2. U2 has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, 14 Grammys. Beyond being internationally renowned, Bono is active in numerous humanitarian causes, including the Jubilee 2000 Drop the Debt campaign, been instrumental in setting up a nonprofit organization called DATA -- Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa.


And this is AIDS Day -- World AIDS Day, December 1, and in that connection, Bono is a perfect guest. He has been on cover of "Time" magazine. "Spin" calls the band "the band of the year," and the band has been around a long time. "George" had him on the cover, and the music awards issue of "Rolling Stone" made "U 2001," they called it.


How did you come up with the name, U2?


BONO, LEAD SINGER, U2: Oh, I don't like the name, U2, actually.

U2

Biography

U2 is an Irish rock band which formed in 1976 in Dublin, Ireland. Since the band’s formation, they have consisted of Bono (real name Paul Hewson) (vocals, guitar, harmonica), The Edge (real name David Evans) (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums, percussion). The band is the biggest selling alternative rock act of all time, having sold 140 million albums worldwide as of 2008. They have won 22 Grammys and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. As of 2009, they have released 12 albums and 58 singles.

Foundation: The band originally formed in 1976 when Larry Mullen posted a bulletin in his school asking for musicians to form a rock band. The band then consisted of the four current members plus three additional guitarists, including The Edge’s brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldn’t play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldn’t sing. He was, however, incredibly enthusiastic about the band, extremely charismatic, a great writer, and was strangely able to reach the audience when the band played, something he is known for still today. Bono will reach out into the crowd and dance or mess with someone in the crowd at every concert. He was kept as a member. The extra guitarists would soon leave the band and the group would go through the names “Feedback ” and “The Hype” before finally settling on U2.