Bono on why Prince was “the most cinematic of musical geniuses”
Throughout his impressive career, U2 frontman Bono has been fortunate enough to rub shoulders with almost every great of the last 40 years. As a result, some figures have had an incredibly long-lasting impact on the Irish musician, and few more so than Prince, who, thanks to his unique creations, proved to be a one-of-a-kind artist.
Although Bono and Prince were never close friends, they did cross paths in 1995, a time when Prince was in the Irish capital for a series of performances at The Point Theatre. Following one of the concerts, the ‘Purple One’ welcomed the U2 singer to the stage at an after-show at the POD Nightclub in Dublin, which was a moment to remember for Bono, even though it only took place in front of an intimate audience.
Prince never spoke publicly about U2, but the invitation to perform together suggests he respected their output. Despite the collaboration, photographer Steve Parke claimed in his book Picturing Prince: An Intimate Portrait that Prince said upon hearing their album Pop: “Do you know what I’d do if I had a voice like that? Become a janitor.”
Bono would also likely admit that his ability as a vocalist doesn’t compare with Prince, who had more star power in one of his fingers than most artists have in their whole body. For the U2 frontman, there are only a few musicians who deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Prince, who was a true original.
To mark his 60th birthday in 2020, Bono listed 60 of his favourite songs alongside open letters to the artists behind each selection. After naming Prince’s iconic track ‘When Doves Cry’, he wrote: “Dear Prince, You are the most cinematic of musical geniuses. Little Richard, Miles Davis and Marc Bolan all had it… and boy did they know it… but you had it the most of all the movie stars, rock stars, instinct avatars, and improviser auteurs. You were writing, producing, directing and starring as all the characters busting out from your magical, vivid soul. All you. All the time.”
Later in the letter, he said: “Was there ever a songwriter who understood the relationship between voice and drums more? James Brown is your only peer. Having been blessed enough to spend my musical life with the great drummer Larry Mullen Jr, I find it even more incredible what you were able to do on your own… though you were, of course, always surrounded by the cream of the crop… CREAM.”
Bono also recalled when he performed ‘The Cross’ alongside Prince in Dublin and thanked the late musician for making it happen. Poignantly, he then concluded the letter by saying: “I don’t believe anybody’s a genius… I think people just access it for a moment or a while…. but you came close.”
While the term genius is wildly overused in a musical context, if anybody deserves to be described with that tag, Prince is a sensible suggestion. Although he departed the world far too prematurely, his body of work will never stop inspiring artists.
Listen to the audio below of Prince and Bono performing ‘The Cross’.
