There Is Absolutely Nothing Fake About This Man
In a special interview to coincide with the first visit of President Barack Obama to Ireland, Bono talks about the man who is currently occupying the White House
Olaf Tyaransen, 02 Jun 2011
“Hey man, it’s me again. Sorry, but there’s someone I forgot to mention.”
Five minutes after I’ve bid adieu to Bono and hung up the phone, the U2 singer calls me back from the study of his Dublin home (he’s on a brief hiatus from the ongoing 360° tour). No great surprises there. Bono’s the kind of guy who always pays attention to the little details. Just about every single time I’ve interviewed him, he’s called or texted later to clarify some point or other.
This time it’s about the actor injured in the rehearsals for the Spider-Man musical last December. “I was talking about the accident and I realised I hadn’t actually named him,” Bono explains. “His name is Chris Tierney. Even though he really had a bad accident, he was doing interviews saying that he was so proud to be part of the show and that people were deadly serious about this stuff. I just don’t want to not give him a name, because he really is an astonishing dude. So I’d really appreciate if you mention him when you write your piece.”
And then he’s gone.
As it happens, the Spider-Man musical wasn’t even supposed to have been on the conversational agenda. In advance of Barack Obama’s impending visit to Ireland, Bono had agreed to talk to Hot Press about the 44th US president for a cover story on Obama. Before we got into that, though, there was the small matter of his close friend Gavin Friday’s superb new album, catholic.
“What an amazing album,” Bono enthused. “I mean, it’s a black beauty – an astonishing piece of work. I know he’s getting amazing reviews everywhere, all over Europe. It’s really good for him. He deserves it. I think it’s a very brave and bold thing to hold one mood for so long, and just kind of explore that mood. And then finally you get to ‘Lord I’m Coming’.”
Up there with Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ in terms of its emotional impact, ‘Lord I’m Coming’ is catholic’s masterful closing prayer. I told Bono that the song had reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. He’d had exactly the same experience: “It’s truly a work of art. It takes you to a place that you cannot explain, even to your friends and family. You cannot explain that song. I don’t know what it’s about. It feels like some sort of requiem. There’s all kinds of suggestions. It leaves me in a puddle, too.
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