Bono "Meaning of Life" RTE Interview with Gay Byrne, 25th June

Bono was interviewed by Gay Byrne for his Meaning of Life series of interviews which was shown on RTE One tonight.  It covered his childhood, his parents' inter-religious marriage, Lipton village, how he met Ali, his relationship with his father, tax affairs, his faith and activism. Nothing really new in the interview to the U2 fan. 

Photo: Irish Independent

When asked about some of the people he has had to talk with as part of the activism, Gay asked if it was sometimes like talking to the devil. Bono relied that he didn't want his activism seen just as the creation of the left and leave the right - and a lot of people - out, he wanted to have,

"A radical centre." 

He obviously still has the passion and drive for that work and said that 7256 less children die everyday because of changes over the last few years. At present he said they are working on transparency to defeat corruption.  You can't help but admire him for the time and dedication he puts into his activism.

He seemed a bit rattled when asked about the taxation issue, which Gay said he felt he had to ask about. Bono came across very much as the businessman and said that he was tough on that front, and that U2 were, 

"Tax sensible as every business is."  

Gay also asked if Bono thought he was now removed from ordinary people. Bono replied that he probably was,

 "I don't think myself removed, but I must be." 

Which really is inevitable for people in his position, fame does isolate "celebrities", though we fans know that Bono makes himself as accessible as is possible.

Nothing was mentioned at all about a new album, but the Irish Independent had an interesting snippet today from Gay Byrne that kind of confirms it's going to happen this autumn woo hoo!

Broadcaster Gay Byrne said that Bono was "very fussy" about when his episode of 'The Meaning Of Life' would be shown on RTE television. The U2 frontman was "adamant" that his recorded interview go out months ahead of when the full series broadcasts in the autumn, as it would overlap with publicity for his band's new album......"He's very fussy," Byrne said. "U2 have a lot going on later this year with musical activities, so he was adamant that this should not be part of that.