U2 guitarist The Edge discusses Bono’s political “superpower”
U2 guitarist The Edge has commented on Bono‘s political capabilities, which he labelled a “superpower”.
The Irish musician said Bono’s politics have become “so intermingled” with the band over time that it would now be “very hard to imagine one without the other”. The Edge explained: “There’s obviously been challenging moments, particularly when Bono was making great strides in America and realised his superpower was being able to work both sides of the aisle and persuade politicians from different parts of the spectrum to work together”.
“But that meant he was having meetings with people like [right-wing US Senator] Jesse Helms, who famously dismantled the National Endowment for the Arts… and made some terrible early comments about the AIDS pandemic. So, that was hard. But we understood the logic. And if you judge activism based on results, rather than it being some kind of attempted virtue signalling, then Bono was absolutely right.”
He added: “If you can persuade a politician that they’re not going to sacrifice their existing support but they will potentially add, that’s hard to turn down. And Bono became very good, I think, at advocating on that basis. ‘Look, this will mean political brownie points for you.’ But often that meant him being in the photograph!”
On Bono’s critics, The Edge commented: “[T]hey just think he compromised his principles. He didn’t at all. What he did compromise was his PR profile and his standing with the sort of fundamentalists who would never be open to receiving help from people they didn’t agree with. In the end, I think facts bear out his approach.”
Meanwhile, during a recent interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Bono claimed: “Edge is the most influential guitar player in 35 years, the only person who won’t say that is him.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.