Bono, singer and songwriter
Bono, singer, songwriter, activist and U2 frontman, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item he would take with him if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.
Bono is a singer, songwriter and the frontman of U2, one of the most recognisable and successful bands in music history. They have sold over 170 million albums, won 22 Grammys – more than any other band – and two Golden Globe Awards. Bono is also known for his work as an activist, especially in Africa where he has played a prominent role in campaigns which tackle poverty and HIV/AIDs.
Bono was born Paul Hewson in Dublin in 1960. A schoolfriend named him Bono after a hearing aid shop in Dublin called Bono Vox, and the name stuck. When he was 16, Bono saw a poster on his school noticeboard posted by Larry Mullen Jr asking for people to form a rock band. He responded with enthusiasm and before long was rehearsing with his future bandmates Larry, who played the drums, guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton.
The band’s debut album Boy came out in 1980 and five years later they made an impact at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium when Bono disappeared from the stage for two minutes to get up close to the audience. One newspaper later described this incident as one of the 50 key events in rock history. U2's subsequent albums, including the Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby, cemented their status as global superstars, filling arenas around the world.
In 2004 Bono co-founded One, an international campaigning organisation which was set up with the aim of ending extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.
Bono met his future wife, Ali, at school when they were both teenagers. They married in 1982 and have four children.
DISC ONE: Show Me The Way by Peter Frampton
DISC TWO: Every Grain Of Sand by Bob Dylan
DISC THREE: Abide With Me by Emeli Sande and The Fron Choir
DISC FOUR: Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin) by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
DISC FIVE: Ice Cream Sundae by Inhaler
DISC SIX: Agolo by Angelique Kidjo
DISC SEVEN: Verdi: La traviata Prelude to Act 1, composed by Giuseppe Verdi and performed by Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conducted by James Levine
DISC EIGHT: Someone Somewhere in Summertime by Simple Minds
BOOK CHOICE: Ulysses by James Joyce
LUXURY ITEM: A Spanish guitar
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Every Grain Of Sand by Bob Dylan
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley
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Eight things we learned from Bono's Desert Island Discs
Bono, one of the few global stars known by a single name, shares his stories.
Music Played
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Peter Frampton
Show Me The Way
- Campfire Hits.
- UMG Recordings, Inc..
- 26.
-
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Bob Dylan
Every Grain of Sand
- Biograph.
- Columbia.
- 2.
-
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Emeli Sande and The Fron Choir
Abide with Me
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Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin)
- Who Built The Moon?.
- Universal Music Operations Ltd..
- 12.
-
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Inhaler
Ice Cream Sundae
- Café Caliente.
- UMG Recordings, Inc..
- 2.
-
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Angélique Kidjo
Agolo
- Aye.
- Universal-Island Records Ltd.
- 1.
-
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National Philharmonic Orchestra; conducted by Richard Bonynge
Verdi: La traviata Prelude to Act 1
- Verdi: La Traviata.
- Decca Music Group Ltd.
- 1.
-
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Simple Minds
Someone Somewhere In Summertime
- Forty: The Best Of Simple Minds 1979-2019.
- UMC (Universal Music Catalogue).
- 27.
Broadcasts
- Sun 26 Jun 2022 11:15BBC Radio 4 FM
- Fri 1 Jul 2022 09:00BBC Radio 4
The Desert Island Discs podcast
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Desert Island Discs
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