Bono

Bono Singing (www.123people.net)

My hero is Bono, the vocalist of U2. Bono was born Paul Hewson on May 10, 1960 in Dublin, Ireland. He is my hero for a few reasons. Firstly, he is a great songwriter and vocalist. Secondly, he is a man who believes in the causes of his heroes. And finally, he is a drug and alcohol free man.

Bono is a great songwriter. This is evident in many of his deep, powerful, and politically charged songs. For example, the song "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" from the "War" album, is a powerful poetic track of holding to your faith no matter how hard it gets in the world. He is only one man who believes this, being one of the three admitted Christians in U2 (Adam Clayton, bass, is unreligious). He also has evolved in his vocals as well. On the U2 debut "Boy", his voice was but a boyish one, yet you could still feel his power. And now, on the "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" album, he has a more powerful, meaningful voice than in all of U2's 29 years.

Bono is a hero, because he knows his heroes. He is always aiding the battles for the beliefs of his heroes. For example, in 1987, despite all the controversy, he and U2 helped a fight for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In one concert, someone backstage told him that he should not go out onstage, someone may try to kill him. But he led U2 out onto the stage and began to sing "Pride(in the name of love)." He has just as heroic bandmates, as we will see. He knew he may have to take a bullet that night for his beliefs. But as he sang, he closed his eyes, halfway through that track, which is a tribute to the hero he was fighting for. When he opened his eyes, his friend and bassist of U2, Adam Clayton stood in front of him. Many friends would say they will take a bullet for their friends, but Adam would have that night. The campaign was a success in the end, and that is why we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. day. He believes in his heroes, and fought and fights for them. That is a heroic thing.

Bono is my hero also because he is a sober man. He has never done drugs. Every night on stage, you see a well oriented, sober man. Not a drunk, barely awake, can't play his guitar (though he rarely has a guitar on hand) kind of man, like James Hetfield of Metallica (who is thankfully now sober, since the 90s). But a powerful, strong singer who knows "they are paying, let's give them their money's worth." There was a rough bout on a 90s tour, when Bono, then a character "The Fly", took up smoking. It wore him out, and almost permanently damaged his respiratory system, so he quit so he could continue to give us in the world the wonderful, powerful U2 vocals we have come to love.

Bono is my hero. He is a wonderful singer and songwriter. He is a man who believes in the causes of his heroes. And he is and always was a sober man, which is hard to find in rock music.