Bono review – U2 frontman’s pared back ‘solo in Soho’ show is a triumph



Palladium, London
Forsaking the stadium for the Palladium, Bono’s intimate show retraced his beyond to amusement that his unforgettable occurrence nevertheless burns

Bono onstage astatine New York’s Beacon Theatre for the spread nighttime of his Stories of Surrender excursion, selling his memoir Surrender. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for BNBono onstage astatine New York’s Beacon Theatre for the spread nighttime of his Stories of Surrender excursion, selling his memoir Surrender. Photograph: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for BNJonathan Freedland@FreedlandWed 16 Nov 2022 19.20 ESTLast modified connected Wed sixteen Nov 2022 19.47 EST

Bono got present to London to present a show with pleasance – and unashamedly wrong the telephone of love. The feline who has dominated arena stone crossed respective continents for the prime a portion of 4 galore years selected “to forsake the stadium for the Palladium”, arsenic helium placed it, to travel connected signifier without his chap participants of U2 and “to beryllium solo successful Soho” – successful bid that helium mightiness unfurl a quiet, each astatine erstwhile intimate communicative of emotion and ache.

Even earlier helium walked connected – to beryllium subsidized by utilizing a harp, cello and percussionist-cum-musical manager – it go wide that this turned into to beryllium nary mundane display. Among those looking, their telephones placed successful compulsory locked pouches to guarantee a nighttime of unbroken interest, person been chap musicians Noel Gallagher and Brian Eno; beyond and acquisition comrades successful assets and indebtedness alleviation campas Bob Geldof, Richard Curtis and erstwhile Labour cupboard curate Douglas Alexander; and the idiosyncratic who managed U2 erstwhile they person been somewhat retired successful their young adults: Paul McGuinness.

From the start, Bono salled that helium was aiming for immoderate happening one-of-a-kind. When the assemblage attempted to clap alongside, helium stilled them with a gesture. Only arsenic soon arsenic did helium invitation them to articulation him successful a refrain (of Sunday Bloody Sunday). This became not to beryllium that benignant of display.

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Instead, implicit an hr and 3-quarters, helium unfurled what helium promised volition beryllium the communicative of ways his spouse, Alison Stewart, had “saved maine from myself”. There had been repeated declarations of emotion for her, and but it changed into not that narration that preoccupied Bono. Instead, echoing his bestselling memoir, Surrender, the vocalist and activistic again again and again to the affection helium craved nevertheless which go successful nary mode afloat spoken: the emotion of his father.

So yes, Bono told the communicative of however U2 came together, and determination was a abbreviated motion to the modular terrain of stone autobiography – however we wrote the songs – with a visceral relationship of the gestation of I Will Follow. But the moments that lingered person been portion Bono became actor, with retired a other than chairs arsenic his acceptable – arsenic helium recreated the regular pub conversations unneurotic with his father, with Bono gambling each parts: the needy lad and his inexpressive father, stubbornly refusing to beryllium inspired by means of his son’s galloping, international-conquering fulfillment.

It became those moments of show – complemented done abbreviated Bono cameos, arsenic helium channelled the voices of a procession of characters from Luciano Pavarotti to Diana, Princess of Wales to the doc who operated connected his “eccentric heart” portion Bono got present adjacent demise successful 2016 – that made this a due portion of theatre alternatively than simply a stone celebrated person’s unplugged acceptable with a fewer other talky bits successful between. The display, conscionable similar the ebook, had a communicative enactment and created moments of existent emotion – nary longer slightest successful the performer himself, who regarded adjacent to beaten by the constituent of the curtain name.

Of course, the full batch whitethorn privation to person seemed similar hideous self-indulgence, and Bono knew that too. He stated that penning a memoir is “preposterous” and that appearing it is “a full antithetic grade of navel-looking at”. But helium got distant with it for arsenic a minimum 3 reasons.

First, determination was conscionable capable humour (and self-consciousness) to puncture the pomposity. A abbreviated Tommy Cooper impersonation – successful world missing erstwhile helium did the amusement connected Broadway and successful LA – turned into decidedly unstarry capable to beryllium triumphing.

Second, Stories of Surrender raises a fewer questions that spell beyond the beingness and achievements of Bono himself. He wonders astir activism. Is it worse for a fabulously affluent feline to bang connected astir satellite poorness – oregon present not to? He wrestled retired large with the pragmatism that made immoderate sanction him a hypocrite for operating intimately with, for example, the adjacent George W Bush medication that invaded Iraq. The little backmost cowl of Surrender features a scribbled effort astatine a subtitle: “Confessions of …”. The words “artist”, “activist” and “arsehole” are each provided, but crossed out, earlier than settling connected “actualist”. On degree, Bono defined the operation arsenic “People who truly request to get crap completed”. And determination has been a speedy nevertheless candid treatment of an underplayed constituent of Bono’s beingness and work, namely his Christian religion.

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And third, the song, which, of course, made each of it work. This amusement changed into a reminder of the mode profoundly embedded the songs of U2 are wrong the people reminiscence, nevertheless they've not often, if ever, been heard similar this. The preparations person been spare, to the constituent of diffidence – occasionally halting conscionable earlier than the take-off that mightiness restitution a stadium crowd. The extremity effect became that, successful a classical which see With oregon Without You, the ache, the ache, became unmistakable and new.

When helium closed the amusement by utilizing making a song, connected my own, a Sorrento melody liked by means of his precocious father, the effect changed into whole. This turned into a representation of the creator arsenic a young man, who, careless of that he's present successful his 60s, nevertheless yearns. That hearth burns nevertheless – and it's miles unforgettable.