A leading man of the Irish rock group U2, Bono packaged decades of musical development into an extremely commercial product. The singer of the same name drew inspiration from the angst-filled punk era. Their sound was a fusion of The Beatles’ progressive rock and Bob Dylan’s protest folk, creating a blend that was both radio-conscious and sophisticated punk.
In terms of the protest aspect of his artistic vision, Bono’s repertoire boasts socially conscious classics. Some of the most influential songs include “Mothers of the Disappeared” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” But his contributions to this field don’t end here. In addition, Bono is well-known for his global political activism and humanitarian efforts.
Bob Dylan was one of Bono’s first musical idols and the subject of one of his early obsessions. The American troubadour not only tackled timeless themes of inequality and injustice but also developed a poetic style. Millions of artists still aspire to use his approach today. Even though Dylan is hard to match and impossible to top, Bono has put in a lot of productive work over the years.
During his 2022 appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, Bono waxed poetic about his love for Dylan. He cited his all-time favorite song from 1981, “Every Grain of Sand.” Recalling what had happened earlier in the morning, Bono reflected on the Bob Dylan classic. He likened it to a profoundly spiritual and poetic encounter. He started, “I went for a walk to Picadilly this very morning. A Christopher Wren is building there, a little church, and you can just sit there.”
As soon as Bono stepped inside, he saw that William Blake’s baptism had taken place there years before. “To see a world in a grain of sand / And a heaven in a wild flower / Hold Infinity in the Palm of your hand / And Eternity in an hour,” Bono remarked, pointing to the plaque on the door. “This had to have been in the back of Bob Dyan’s mind—’ Every Grain of Sand.'” Dylan is a huge reader and admirer of Blake’s writing, even though he has never acknowledged the source of the song’s lyrics.
Much of Bono’s work incorporates religious and sociopolitical themes, as Dylan did. The U2 singer was raised in a mixed Catholic and Anglican household as a boy. His future and spirituality were always clouded by uncertainty.
Before Dylan gave Bono essential songwriting lessons, Peter Frampton “showed him the way” to success in the future. “I didn’t start as a singer, for sure,” Bono remarked, playing “Show Me the Way,” a 1975 Frampton song, as another one of his Desert Island Discs. Bono recalled that he “didn’t have a great rock and roll voice” when he attempted to sing in a punk fashion.
Nevertheless, Bono discovered his hymnal vocal territory when he attempted to sing Frampton’s hit song of the same name. “We were singing and acting ridiculously, and the band was playing in the high school gym. It was a terrible mess, he remembered. However, something blew up when I sang that song and… A teenage boy and I transformed the song into a prayer. To be honest, I didn’t tell the band at the time, but I was genuinely curious about what I should do with my life.
