In 1976, Larry Mullen Jr., then a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, Ireland, posted a note on the school's notice board in search of musicians for a new band. Mullen would later describe the resulting jam session as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge."

The band originally settled on the name "Feedback" because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. After their first gig, they changed their name to "The Hype", and then finally settled on U2, which they chose for its ambiguity and open-ended interpretations.

The nickname was originally inspired by his sharp facial features, but also applied to his sharp mind and the way he observed things from "the edge."

Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait, without you
With or without you

Bono is a shortened version of "Bono Vox", which is Latin for good voice and was also the name of a hearing aid shop in Dublin.

Three times on The Joshua Tree tour, the group confounded fans with the surprise appearance of a country band called the Dalton Brothers, who took their name from the notorious Dalton Gang of the 1890s, perpetrators of a wave of train and bank robberies in the Old West. Wedged between sets from such legit opening acts as Los Lobos and the BoDeans, the modern Dalton boys ("Alton," "Luke," "Duke" and "Betty" Dalton) took the stage in cowboy hats, wigs and western wear, with some audience members reportedly unaware they were actually Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam in disguise. A detailed bio on a Dalton Brothers webpage declares: "We play two kinds of music: Country and Western."

Staged in support of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 to 1993. Bono regularly called the White House in an attempt to contact President George H. W. Bush. Though Bono never reached the President, Bush did acknowledge the calls during a press conference.

I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven't found
What I'm looking for

One of the world's best-known philanthropic performers, Bono shared Person of the Year honors with Bill & Melinda Gates. The trio was honored for their global mission to end poverty, disease--and indifference.

Bono is almost never seen in public without sunglasses, as he suffers from glaucoma. During a Rolling Stone interview, he stated: "I have very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up. I've a blockage there, so that my eyes go red a lot. So it's part vanity, it's part privacy and part sensitivity."