|
 |
|
|
|
|
"We grow up with this rather juvenile idea that people who are not like us don't get it -- the suits don't get it -- but it doesn't make sense anymore. Sometimes the enemy is your own indifference." -- Bono |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"We grow up with this rather juvenile idea that people who are not like us don't get it -- the suits don't get it -- but it doesn't make sense anymore. Sometimes the enemy is your own indifference." -- Bono |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
Transcript: Bono on The Oprah Winfrey Show (Part 1)Rock star Bono talks about his efforts to help the people of Africa; Chris Tucker and Secretary Paul O'Neill discuss their trip with Bono
Oprah Winfrey Show,
September 20, 2002
Rock star Bono's mission to save the world
SHOW: The Oprah Winfrey Show (4:00 P.M. ET) - BNO September 20, 2002 Friday HOST: Oprah Winfrey EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Dianne Atkinson Hudson ROCK STAR BONO'S MISSION TO SAVE THE WORLD WINFREY: I am blown away by this man. Oh, how'd you get so lucky? Have a seat. He is a one-name rock legend known to millions of adoring fans, Bono. The lead singer of the rock 'n' roll band U2 is here for the first time -- I've never met him -- and he may surprise you with what he has to say. He's a rocker with a conscience. (Excerpt from U2 music video) WINFREY: He's known around the world as the charismatic singer of the band U2. Time magazine called him the world's biggest rock star. And last year, Spin magazine named U2 band of the year. Out of a handful of elite, one-name superstars, there's only one Bono. (Excerpt from videotape) (Footage of U2 performing) WINFREY: As a teen-ager, Bono auditioned for a high school band in Dublin and he's been rocking non-stop ever since. (Excerpt from Live Aid concert) WINFREY: His electrifying performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert propelled the band into the international spotlight. Two years later, U2 released the amazingly successful album The Joshua Tree. It went platinum in just two days, catapulting Bono to stratospheric stardom. (Excerpt from U2 video) WINFREY: Not only has U2's album sales continued to surpass the $100 million mark, but over two million people attended their Elevation Tour last year, selling out more than 100 arenas worldwide. (Footage of U2 performing) WINFREY: Spin magazine raves U2 had one of the most successful tours in history. Through the years, the band has taken home 14 Grammys, including record of the year for "Beautiful Day." (Excerpt from U2 music video) WINFREY: And this year, they won a Grammy for best rock album for their latest CD, All That You Can't Leave Behind. And music critics agree, Bono's passion is as strong as his voice. For more than two decades, U2's lyrics have inspired spiritual growth and social change. In honor of his hero Martin Luther King Jr., Bono wrote their huge hit "Pride (In the Name of Love)." (Footage of U2 performing) WINFREY: And after September 11th, U2's music became a healing presence in the world. At this year's Super Bowl, Bono captivated millions with his moving halftime performance saluting the thousands who were lost in the attacks. (Footage of U2's Super Bowl performance) WINFREY: Today, this international rock star-turned-rock 'n' roll activist mixes entertainment with politics and is on a mission to help save millions. (Footage of Bono in Africa) (End of excerpt) WINFREY: Please welcome Bono! Ho! BONO: ...(Unintelligible). WINFREY: Wow. BONO: ...(Unintelligible). WINFREY: Yes, yes, yes! It's an honor. Thank you. BONO: Thank you. Thanks a lot. Wow! WINFREY: It is really good to see you, finally-- finally. You know, I heard-- so we're in Chicago taping this, obviously, and I heard that you went to the Rolling Stones concert last night and got up on stage and rocked the house? BONO: Yeah. Well, you know, their singer obviously lacks a little self-confidence, but I think-- I think they could go very far, actually. WINFREY: But what I've read and what I've heard is that you are unlike any other celebrity in that you don't try to promote your celebridom. BONO: Well, I'm at the capital of, you know, doing-- this is not the right show to keep a secret, is it? I mean... WINFREY: It is not. BONO: But I thought if I-- you know, if there's a reason for-- if you want to speak to America, speak to Oprah. WINFREY: I appreciate that. I think that we are now moving into an area in our own lives where we know that taking care of other people is how we can best take care of ourselves. BONO: Yeah. It's probably post-9/11. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: It's just-- there's a new mood in the world, I think. You know, people accused America of being a continent behaving like an island. And I don't think that's fair. I think Americans really, really care about what's going on in the rest of the world. WINFREY: How did you-- you know, we've done on this show over the years something called Use Your Life, and I talk about using your life and we give out awards to people who use their lives. What happened that you decided that being a rock star -- because I'm telling you, being up on the stage and performing at the Super Bowl for 130 million people, that's gotta be its own little high. BONO: It's pretty... WINFREY: I mean-- and also in describing you-- and I-- in that tape, I was, like, listening to myself, like he's reached stratospheric proportions. That's gotta be-- What does that feel like? BONO: Well, you know, I think-- you-- you know this more than anyone, but that, you know, celebrity is a bit silly... WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: ...but it is currency. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: And you just want to-- you want to spend it well, you know? And... WINFREY: Yeah. My favorite quote on celebrity comes from John Updike, who says "Celebrity is a mask that eats up the face"... BONO: Oh, I like that quote. WINFREY: ...which, if you're not-- if you're not aware of it and conscious of it, it will eat up your face and your life. BONO: That's it. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: I just want to just do-- I've got-- you know, we've got a spotlight on us. You're doing incredible things in Africa, and I have to talk to you about that. But, you know, I'm doing and I've-- I-- I'm just doing what everyone else would do if they had the time and the money. You know, because people-- U2 fans have given me a great life. I'm a spoiled rotten rock star. My kids, they don't have to worry about where they're going to school or paying their medical bills. In return-- there's kind of deal, I think. One, don't bend over, and two, you know, use this spotlight to shine on-- on-- on bigger problems that we-- that they can... WINFREY: Yeah. Use your life. BONO: Yeah. WINFREY: Well, Bono says that the true spirit behind his music and his mission in Africa was really greatly influenced by his young days as a lad growing up in southern Ireland-- as a lad. Take a look. BONO: Oh, dear. (Excerpt from videotape) WINFREY: Before there was Bono, there was Paul David Hewson. He was the youngest of two boys raised by a Protestant mother and Catholic father in Dublin, Ireland, a place where religion divided a country. Early on, Bono's inspiration for dealing with Ireland's political problems came from his idol, Martin Luther King Jr., and other cultural icons like Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan. Tragedy struck when Bono was just 14 years old. He suffered the devastating loss of his mother when she died suddenly from an aneurysm at the funeral of her own father, and last year, Bono lost his father to cancer. BONO: He had a good life, and I still think about him every day. (Excerpt from U2 song) WINFREY: A fortune teller once reportedly told his mother that she would have a famous son. That prediction came true shortly after Bono joined a punk band in high school. They called themselves Feedback, but they would eventually become the world-famous U2. (Excerpt from U2 video) BONO: We were just a bunch of kids really. We formed a band before we could play our instruments. WINFREY: Bono also formed a lifelong relationship with his high school sweetheart, Allison Stewart. They married in 1982. BONO: I'm lucky. I have an extraordinary friend that I've been married to for a long time, it seems like since we were kids. WINFREY: Bono first got involved in Africa in 1985 when he and his wife worked for a month in the mountains of Ethiopia. They took these dramatic pictures in the camp where he says every day they would wake up and count bodies of dead and orphaned children. As the father of four, Bono says looking at his own children makes his mission to help those suffering around the world the most important thing he can do. (End of excerpt) WINFREY: You say that having a Protestant mother and a Catholic father in Ireland taught you many lessons? BONO: Well, a few probably, but maybe, one, to be suspicious sometimes of religion, you know. I'm-- I'm a believer, but sometimes I think religion is the thing, you know, when-- when God, like Elvis, has left the building, you get religion. But when God is in the house, you get something else. And I'm happy in a Catholic cathedral or a tent show, you know, down-- in-- in the South, you know, and gospel music. I'm just-- I'm as comfortable or uncomfortable in either of those locations. WINFREY: Really? And what makes you the most comfortable? BONO: Well, I'm feeling pretty good right now. WINFREY: That's good. That's good. That's good. When you're up on the stage, are you the most-- does it feel like home to you or is it another dimension? BONO: Look, it's a strange thing to need 20,000 people screaming your name to-- to feel normal, but that's probably the truth. In an odd way, you know, I do feel completely myself when I'm in those-- when-- when I'm in the songs. I just-- I feel-- it's like-- it-- it feels-- it feels very easy for me to be in songs. A lot more difficult-- other aspects of being a-- a rock 'n' roll star are a lot more difficult for me. WINFREY: Like what? BONO: Once-- well, like-- before, if-- you'd see me throwing up in the dressing room before I came out here-- I-- I'm not comfortable with a lot of the stuff, but-- but... WINFREY: Even after all this time? BONO: Oh, yeah. WINFREY: Really? BONO: Oh, yeah. I-- I-- see, I'm kind of really part time on this, you know. I go home and live in Ireland. I live a kind of fairly under-the-radar life in-- in-- in Ireland. WINFREY: Because you can just pop into a pub and nobody-- it's no big deal. BONO: Well, yeah, depending on the pub. It's a-- you know, in Ireland-- in Ireland, people are a little-- they have an interesting attitude to success. They-- they look down on it. WINFREY: Really? BONO: No, ho-- honestly, I-- I've-- I've often told this, but it's like, you know, in America, you look up at the house on the hill, the mansion on the hill and say, "One day I'm-- that-- that could be me." In Ireland, they look up at the mansion hill and go, "One day I'm gonna get that bastard.' You know? WINFREY: OK. So when you go home, you're just dad-- you're just dad and husband? You're just doing normal stuff like regular people? BONO: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, I'm a little eccentric in-- in-- in that department. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: I've got four kids, and they're pretty... WINFREY: You just had a baby again. BONO: Yeah. Yeah, I've got a baby, John. But, you know, people think having children makes you, you know, kind of a-- well, they thought that would chill me out. Made me more angry, more pissed off. WINFREY: It did? BONO: Yes. Because you think about the world that they're inheriting and you think about the way things are, and it makes me-- makes me-- it made me angry. I-- I mean, I started to understand all kinds of things, why people fight wars. WINFREY: Really? BONO: I understood when a-- when I saw my child being born, I just-- you-- you-- you have a feeling that, you know, you would do anything to protect that life and-- it's a dangerous feeling that you have to-- you have to-- you have to watch. But you can put it to use in terms of, you know, just getting politically active and not lying down. I think that's the message that your show puts out, that we-- we most view-- your viewers most respect: Don't like down. Get up. You can fight against what's coming at you. You know, you can be on top of your life. WINFREY: Well, we're gonna come back and talk about that a lot. Coming up, how Bono is trying to lift what he calls a death sentence for millions of people. A lot of you might not even be aware of this. Also ahead, actor/comedian Chris Tucker is going to explain why just a week with Bono in Africa was life-altering for him. Wouldn't you want to be on that trip? Chris Tucker, Bono, Africa. More with Bono when we come back. (Footage of U2 performing) (Announcements) (Excerpt from U2 music video) WINFREY: And Bono is here. He's from the legendary rock band U2, of course. Bono says being a rock star is just a part-time job for him because what he wants to do is to use his life, to really turn his celebrity into something more serious. Let's look at that. (Excerpt from videotape) WINFREY: Bono is more than just a mega-rock star selling out stadiums worldwide. He's a rocker with a conscience. His goal: to cancel multimillion-dollar debts owed by poor countries so they can focus on their own health care and education. Bono has become the most well-respected rock 'n' roll ambassador of the world. From presidents to prime ministers and even the pope, he has impressed top leaders with his genuine concern for world problems. Even the most reluctant politicians met with the Irish rocker and many of them had never even heard of him. Bono moves easily between sold-out rock concerts and political power meetings. Earlier this year he attended the World Economic Forum with Bill Gates, and just days later he hit the stage at the Super Bowl for a TV audience of 130 million. BONO: Bye. Mr. TUCKER: See you later. BONO: Bye. WINFREY: Bono's efforts to help poor nations was highly publicized this spring when he toured Africa with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill. BONO: For 7 cents out of $10, you can change millions of lives. That's what it would take a year to transform the world that we live in. Secretary PAUL O'NEILL (U.S. Department of the Treasury): We've spent trillions of dollars on these problems and we have damn near nothing to show for it. WINFREY: Despite some differences of opinion on their trip, the two shared a passion for their mission to help struggling African countries. Bono continues his crusade to bring an end to the crisis of poverty, AIDS and foreign debt in Africa. He hopes the United States and other wealthy nations will stop and listen. BONO: (Singing) 'Cause we still haven't found what we're looking for. (End of excerpt) WINFREY: Well, since Bono began talking to the White House about debt, President Bush signed a bill promising to give $5 billion a year in aid to poor countries. But the bill still has to pass through Congress. Did you think that was progress, though? BONO: Oh, yeah, I think we are making progress. I mean, right across, you know, both sides of the aisle, there's-- there's people who are actually waking up that-- that this is actually an issue that might-- that-- that is not just-- has a moral force, but is actually-- it's just-- it's-- it's also the right, you know, smart thing to do. I mean, Afghanistan, as an example, you know, there's probably another 10 Afghanistans in Africa if we let that-- that continent go. WINFREY: So what was it about Africa that grabbed your passion that you decided, "I'm going to now not be silent about it"? BONO: Well, I don't know. I mean, I-- Irish people probably, we have a history of famine ourself. I mean, in the middle of the 19th century the population of Ireland was halved from eight to four and, you know, two million people died and two million became policemen in New York City. But, you know, it's-- so it's whatever-- the thing is-- if there's such a thing as folk memory, I think we have it on us. But also I worked there. After Live Aid-- you remember the "We Are The World" thing, all that? WINFREY: Right. Yeah. Yeah. BONO: I went there to just work with my wife, Ali, and we went, we spent a month there. And... WINFREY: In Ethiopia. BONO: In Ethiopia, right in the sort of-- right there in-- in-- in the middle of the famine. And I just-- I saw stuff there that kind of certainly reorganized the way I saw the world, and I didn't know quite what to do about it. And, you know, you can throw pennies at the problem. WINFREY: Right. BONO: But at a certain point, I just felt, you know, God is not looking for alms, God is looking for action. And-- and there's a-- you know, there's problems-- you can't fix every problem, but the ones that you can, we've got to. There's people--two and a half million people are going to die of AIDS next year. We have the drugs. And I want to say, "Look, these are in Europe or America." These are-- these drugs-- see them as advertisements for American innovation and technology. And if you get those drugs to the poor places and you save lives, I think you're gonna make it a lot more difficult for extremist groups to whisper, you know, evil-minded ideas about America. WINFREY: OK, so that's a start, but-- OK, so I'm watching at home right now. We have an audience, say, 10 million people watching now. BONO: Wow! Hi. WINFREY: A lot of-- Hi, everybody. BONO: Bono. WINFREY: A lot of-- a lot-- a lot of them are women at home with their own children, worried about them coming home, their husband coming home for dinner. What does this have to do with her life? BONO: Wow. See, there's the country of America... WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: ...which you have to defend. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: But there's also the idea of America. America's more than just a country. It's an idea, OK? That's why... WINFREY: I love that. I want to cry right now. I do. I love that. BONO: I mean-- no, I'm a fan. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: You know, I'm a fan of-- I-- Irish love-- love America. It's not just because it's, you know, land of the opportunity, it's because it's an idea, an idea that's supposed to be contagious. And-- and I just-- you know, there was-- there was two shocks in-- in the week of-- of 9/11. Of course there was the attack on America and the shocking loss of life. But the second one hasn't been talked about as much, but I think it was very important for America. And that was watching people jumping up and down in Jakarta and Jalalabad, around the world, celebrating as the twin towers turned to dust. And I think Americans just went, "Stop right there. How did that happen to us? We liberated Europe in the Second World War. This is America. You know, are-- we-- you know, the-- we're-- we're-- we're not-- how did this happen to us?" WINFREY: Yeah, I know. That was the question. I even did that show. People wanted to know, why do they hate us so much? BONO: Well, because we-- we have -- and it's true in Europe as well -- we've made it easy-- we've made it easy for people. You know, as wealthy as we've gotten over the last 20 years, unimaginable wealth in the West, we're giving less and less. Did you know that? People don't know that. People don't know that. You know, recent poll, they asked, you know, Americans, "How much do you think you're giving to the-- you know, the poorest of the poor?" They said, "Oh, maybe 10 percent, between 10 percent and 20 percent of the, like, GDP." WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: You want to know how much it is? WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: It's .1 of a percent. WINFREY: Really? BONO: OK? And Americans-- or as you said and we said earlier, this is-- this is a generous place. The only reason that Americans are not-- are not leading the world in this is because the politicians don't think there's a vote here, and they're wrong. WINFREY: Yeah. Right. BONO: They're wrong. But to-- you know, just to answer your question about, what does it mean? WINFREY: Yeah. What does it mean? BONO: See, I-- I-- a mother-- you don't have to explain to a mother that the-- the life of a child in Africa has the same value as her child. You don't have to explain that. You might have to explain--you might have to explain, you know, people who come to-- you know, people who buy CDs. You might have to explain to-- you know, to-- to men, but not to women. This is the right show to say that. WINFREY: That is good. So as I mentioned -- Bobby Shriver had mentioned this to me a year or so ago. Explain the drop the debt idea. BONO: Oh, it was a great idea. Look, there was the millennium, all right? It was going off. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: OK? Everyone wants to throw a big party, OK? WINFREY: Correct. BONO: I like parties. WINFREY: Yeah. I do. BONO: But no one quite knew, you know... WINFREY: What to do. BONO: ...like, what to do. So I-- I went to Bill Clinton and I said, "Look, there's this idea going around which is, you know, make this the opportunity to cancel all the old debts," because a lot of these countries, you know, the poorest of the poor, they're paying, like, ridiculous sums to us every week. WINFREY: Yeah. BONO: I mean, we were involved in Live Aid. WINFREY: Live Aid, yeah. BONO: We raised $200 million. Wow! We thought we cracked it. Africa's paying $200 million a week to the richest countries in the world, you know, in Europe and in America. We said, "Well, you know what? Let's make this a chance -- let's stop that and let's start again. Let's begin again." And-- and so we made progress with that. And actually, you know, Bush and Clinton came together on that one, and this is a thing that we've got to make above politics. WINFREY: But I think Americans would say, "But at what cost to us?" We drop their debt, then what? BONO: Well, you know, we don't-- first of all, here's the way to make-- make it work. We've got to be tough-minded about this. Let's not-- I'm not a whinging liberal, by the way. I'm no hippie with flowers in my hair. I come from punk rock. WINFREY: OK. BONO: We-- Got it? OK? WINFREY: I got that, I got that, I got that. BONO: OK? So, you know, I've got an organization s-- that-- we're involved in called DATA. WINFREY: DATA. BONO: OK. And it's debt, AIDS, trade. That's the big issues facing Africa. But in return -- the acronym works both ways -- in return for democracy, accountability, transparency-- if these African countries are corrupt, if they won't play ball, they're not getting these breaks. WINFREY: Debt, aid, trade. That's it. BONO: Yes. They're not getting these breaks. So it's tough. So what you're saying is, you know, where there's a new democracy coming in, there's good government and, you know-- and they're open to civil society, then we say, "OK, now we'll cancel your debts." OK. WINFREY: One of the things-- one of the things I've heard you say is that this generation's gonna remember-- be remembered for the Internet... BONO: That's right. WINFREY: ...the war on terror and? BONO: And how we let an entire continent, Africa, burst into flames while we stood around with watering cans, or not. And I think it's exciting to be part of a generation that actually says, no, now in-- with-- the world is a smaller place, distance cannot decide who is our neighbor to love. You know, love thy neighbor. It's not about distance anymore. And we can't afford not to. The world is too close, but there-- the fires that start in-- in Afghanistan, they reach our door. WINFREY: Yeah. Don't we know now. BONO: OK. WINFREY: Don't we know now. Coming up, actor/comedian Chris Tucker traveled with Bono to Africa. In fact, Bono says Chris was really the rock star on that trip. Everybody knew him. BONO: Sure. WINFREY: And we'll talk to Chris Tucker when we come back. We'll be right back. [continued in part 2...]
|
|
|
||||||
|
||||||||
