Bono writes about the faith and ecstasy of U2's music in 'Surrender'

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4.2 • 672 Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

Bono probably needs no introduction at this point. In this episode, the U2 frontman, philanthropist and now author sits down with NPR's Rachel Martin to talk about his new memoir, Surrender. He explains how his connection to a higher spiritual power works with rock-and-roll across U2's discography, and why he's reached a point in his life where he just wants to "shut up and listen."

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. There's a certain type of worship band at a church where if you see that the guitarist has a pretty sizable pedalboard, you know you're going to be hearing something that sounds a lot like you too.
0:16.1	Praise bands love you too, and it turns out that's not an accident. Bano is out with his new memoir called
0:22.5	Surrender, and he talked to NPR's Rachel Martin about the connection between U2's music and
0:27.4	Christian hymns, as well as his faith. And faith here is an interesting word. I'm not sure he'd
0:33.6	call himself religious. He says in the interview that religion is something people used
0:38.1	to beat people over the head with. Instead, the discussion suggests faith for Bono is a little more
0:44.3	mysterious, a little more ineffable. This message comes from heavyweight. Maybe you've laid
0:49.8	awake and imagined how it could have been, how it might be, but the moment to act was never
0:55.0	right. Well, the moment is here, and the podcast making it happen is heavyweight with
0:59.8	Jonathan Goldstein, available wherever you get podcasts. Support for NPR and the following message
1:07.1	come from the Kreske Foundation with Pathbreakers, a podcast about transforming communities
1:12.3	through innovation, from revolutionizing higher education to supporting artists who are driving
1:17.4	change. Pathbreakers is available on podcast platforms.
1:22.4	It was 1976. An Irish kid named Paul Hewson was trying to figure a lot of things out.
1:28.8	His mom had died a couple years earlier when he was just 14.
1:32.3	Bono, as he was known, spent a lot of time at home in Dublin arguing with his dad and his older brother.
1:37.8	But two goals kept him focused.
1:39.6	To win over the heart of a girl named Allison Stewart and to become a rock star.
1:54.1	And get this, in the same week, Bono asked Allison out, she said yes, by the way,
1:59.3	and he ended up in Larry Mullen Jr.'s kitchen for an audition.
2:02.6	Two other guys were there, Adam Clayton and David Evans, also known as The Edge.
2:07.6	The four of them would go on to become one of the biggest bands of their time. You too.
	...

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