Born in Dublin, Ireland, as Paul Hewson, Bono grew up in a Christian and Catholic household. He lost his mother when he was 14. Tragically, she died four days after suffering an aneurysm and collapsing at her own father’s funeral. He acquired his nickname while in a surrealist street gang called Lipton Village.
“We were fans of ‘Monty Python.’ We’d put on performances in the city center of Dublin. I’d get on the bus with a stepladder and an electric drill. Mad s–t. Humor became our weapon. Just stand there, quiet — with the drill in my hand. Stupid teenage s–t,” Bono told Rolling Stone.
Bono met his future bandmates at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, after Larry Mullen Jr., U2’s drummer, posted a note about forming a new band on a notice board.
Bono’s father accidentally steered him into a music career.
“By not encouraging me to be a musician, even though that’s all he ever wanted to be, he’s made me one. By telling me never to have big dreams or else, that to dream is to be disappointed, he made me have big dreams. By telling me that the band would only last five minutes or ten minutes — we’re still here,” he said.
Bono has made hundreds of millions of dollars with U2 and is famous for his philanthropic efforts.
