The legendary musician Bono hailed the “Picasso of pop”
Throughout his career, Bono has been fortunate to collaborate or share a stage alongside a selection of the world’s most cherished artists. However, nobody has touched him as powerfully as Bob Dylan, whom the U2 frontman holds in the highest regard imaginable.
Dylan has been a hero to Bono ever since the renegade singer-songwriter appeared on the Irishman’s radar as a youngster. In his mind, Dylan transcends the music industry; he’s an artist who single-handedly changed popular culture and art in a way comparable to a few iconic figures in human history. Without him, he believes the world would be a significantly worse place.
The first time Bono had the honour of sharing a room with his hero came in 1984, a time when Dylan was in Ireland to perform a huge show at Slane Castle. At this stage, U2 had yet to become the stadium-dwelling behemoths they became following The Joshua Tree, but they were firmly on the rise, and their future looked bright.
Not only was Bono given the honour of interviewing Dylan before the show, but he was also invited to appear during the performance to sing ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’. However, despite Bono’s mind going blank and forgetting the words, it didn’t mark the end of their friendship, with the two musicians later collaborating on a project.
While U2 were touring the United States in 1987, Bono met up with Dylan in Los Angeles, and the duo wrote ‘Love Rescue Me’, which appeared on Rattle & Hum. Seeing how Dylan worked from an up-close and personal perspective only further reaffirmed his love for the legendary musician, whom he views as the greatest living artist.
To mark Dylan’s 80th birthday in 2021, The Telegraph quoted Bono as saying of Dylan: “He means more to me than anybody living in music or art. He was the lightning rod in my spiritual quest as a musician. He’s the Picasso of pop music to me. He’s Dickens, he’s Shakespeare, he’s Thackery … with a little bit of Charlie Chaplin thrown in.”
Furthermore, Bono also explained how their collaboration on Rattle & Hum was born, recalling: “I wrote a couple of verses, but I didn’t know what to do with it. Then I thought, ‘I’ve got Bob’s number, why don’t I give him a call?'” Following his initial contact, Bono went to Dylan’s Malibu residence, where they finished the slice of pop history.
Previously, Bono has highlighted ‘Every Grain of Sand’ as a personal favourite and once said of the song to Rolling Stone: “It’s like one of the great Psalms of David. Dylan stops wailing against the world, turns on himself and is brought to his knees.”
As Bono rightly thinks, it would be majorly downplaying the sheer strength of Dylan’s artistry to merely describe him as a counter-culture icon. His music had a revolutionary impact on civilisation, and like Pablo Picasso, his art will stay relevant forever.
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