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 INTERVIEW: GROUP THERAPY

Sunday Times magazine, November 07, 2004
By: Chrissy Iley

For 25 years, U2 have been through personal loss, drugs, alcohol, and rows on a titanic scale, even by the standards of the rock business. And yet they are still together. In a rare interview, Bono and the rest of Ireland's awesome foursome reveal how their closeness has enabled them to survive



We are on the C�te d'Azur, at one of those restaurants on the beach, on a balmy summer evening - in all senses of the word. Bono, 44, holds court with a man who would like to build a cathedral for all faiths. U2's drummer Larry Mullen, 43, is tucking into tempura and chips enthusiastically. He's stuck beside a woman who has close links to Tony Blair. Sometimes he despairs of Bono's appetite for the political arena; sometimes they argue about it. Mostly, Bono makes it work out.