Quote #169

These days, everyone wants John Lennon's sunglasses, accent and swagger, but no one is prepared to take their clothes off and stand naked like he did in his songs. Putting your head over the parapet means something completely different these days, but it's still a big part of what rock is all about for me. You have to use your celebrity, negotiate your position and be aware that celebrity can diminish a cause as much as illuminate it.

More from Bono

  1. There's a great freedom when you have your feet in two so called mutually exclusive worlds: The world of irony, and the world of soul, The …
  2. This is the song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We're stealin' it back.
  3. There are potentially another 10 'Afghanistans' in Africa, and it is cheaper by a factor of 100 to prevent the fires from happening than to…
  4. Those songs we sang on tour really helped me through the death of my dad. The problem with grief is bottling it up and that's when it can r…
  5. There are many side roads and back streets to rock 'n' roll, and most of us get lost down them at times.
  6. To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.
  7. The truth is when that singer is saying something that comes from right down within him, and it affects you right down within you. That's w…
  8. To some, music is an excuse to make money. To others, money is an excuse to make music.

All Bono quotes