U2 frontman Bono praises R.E.M. and Michael Stipe in his new memoir
Bono has released a new memoir entitled Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. Within the book, the U2 singer takes us on a journey of discovery through his life, this battle with his faith in God, his relationship with his wife Ali Hewson, and U2’s global dominance and subsequent charitable offerings to the world.
But the book primarily comprises his relationship with his bandmates, who Bono is likely to have spent more time with than any other person in the world. He clearly cherishes The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. U2 have been around for 40 years now, have never changed their lineup and are one of the longest-lasting bands in the industry.
Another band that Bono is in evident admiration of is R.E.M., who came up around the same time as U2, though on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The two bands had first met on a 1985 tour of Europe. Bono pays great reverence to R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe in chapter nine of the book, as reported by GPB. He writes: “R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe’s lyrics changed the way we see America. He also has one of the great voices of any geography.”
Bono added that R.E.M., comprised of Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry, were the band that “made the whole world want to visit Athens, Georgia.” In the Rattle and Hum documentary, Bono has a particular fascination with the American South, so it’s unsurprising to find that he also loves their most significant export.
In chapter twenty-one of the memoir, Bono also relates a time that Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton formed a hybrid band with Stipe and Mike Mills to play the U2 classic ‘One’ at the 1993 MTV Rock the Vote inauguration for Bill Clinton. The band played under the name Automatic Baby.
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