Bono: in person(a)

photo credit

Some people don't know Colbert is in character..
But when he really wants to preach, he slides out.
He IS a Sunday School teacher, you know...

It's well known that Bono was well in character as he was "in character" for much of the "No Line" album...whether a traffic cop (title track and "Fez/Being Born"), druggie getting converted at 3:33 ("Unknown Caller"), God (same song) or a reporter as in  this song ("Cedars of Lebanon") with video excerpt below from the  Corbijn "Linear" movie.  One accustomed to ADD music videos will find this  video boring, but I find it oddly effective and affective.  Though it is official, it was not meant to be an official music video for the song...and has the bonus of presenting the character Bono is singing/psalming'/lamenting as, in character, without having to lip-sync:




Many will know that early in their career, Bono was often found inb character ("the Fool" etc.).
Of course, his personas became famous.infamous by the time of Mirrorball Man/They Fly/MacPhisto (see labels below for that third dude).


But one intriguing voice he sometimes took on in the early 80s was Julie; often as a second-hand way of becoming an apologist for the band's faith.

I have noticed that Bono often gives away his most evangelical/evangelistic lines either to personas..or guest vocalists
(most notably B. B. King, who got the sermon in "Love Comes to Town"; the church choir in the live version of "Still Haven't Found," and to Edge, who got the scripture in "Miracle Drug.")

Though I wish I remembered this all as it happened, I heard him slip into the Julie  character (would Eno call it "channeling"?) in New Haven,
as I posted a few years ago.  Excerpt:

... audio snippet here of the amazing 1983 U2 worship service...uh, concert...I attended (Skib is jealous again)...Bono on this tour often added a bit to "I Fall Down" about the character Julie saying  (as he/she does here) "I am a believer...I have the Spirit...I've got faith, hope love...I can believe....(God) will pick me up..."
(video of another version: Sydney, 1:58ff here).

-LINK