What other rock star has the numbers for both Nelson Mandela and George W Bush on his speed-dial? Who else could have convinced the US to return $435 million in cancelled Third World debt last year? One of the most unique and inspiring figures in popular music today, not only is Bono the singer of the internationally successful U2, he is also the most overtly politicised rock superstar since John Lennon and a far more effective lobbyist, fundraiser and political buccaneer than even Bob Geldof. Bono is one of the very few major rock artists to open up about his deepest spiritual beliefs and not be despised for it.
With a long history of campaigning behind him - from the movingly rousing 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' to the moment he phoned then-US President Bill Clinton live on stage as images of war-ravaged Sarajevo flashed across giant screens behind him - politics and rock 'n' roll have always been inextricably linked in Bono's mind. Yet the question remains: Why? Why does he do all these things when he could be lying by a pool enjoying the sun?
This definitive, in-depth biography of Bono explores this and countless other questions. From his boyhood in Dublin raised by a Protestant mother and Catholic father, to his mother's sudden death whilst he was still a teenager, through to the formation of U2, Bono's is one of the great rock stories.
