Biography
The lead singer of politically-charged Irish band U2 since 1977, Bono's involvement with the movies has been mostly musical. Combining music and politics, Bono took part in
Bob Geldof's
Do They Know It's Christmas (1984) project to combat famine in Africa, and the anti-South African apartheid documentary
Sun City - Artists United Against Apartheid (1985). Bono's primary 1980s onscreen appearance, though, was the concert documentary U2: Rattle and Hum (1988). Shot during the apex of the band's success with their hit album The Joshua Tree (1987), U2: Rattle and Hum delved into the band's admiration for rock's pioneers along with presenting performance footage from their Joshua Tree American tour. Since then, Bono (with and without his bandmates) has worked regularly with German director
Wim Wenders, contributing songs to the soundtracks of the futurist road movie
Until the End of the World (1991), and the
Wings of Desire (1987) sequel Faraway, So Close! (1993), and serving as one of the producers, writers, and composers for
Million Dollar Hotel (2000). Harking back to the Irish politics that drove their 1983 album War, Bono and U2 contributed a song to
In the Name of the Father (1993). Bono also appeared onscreen as himself in Rattle and Hum director
Phil Joanou's
Entropy (1999) and Wender's aforementioned
Million Dollar Hotel. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide