George: ...And we've just been joined by Bono. Greetings!

Bono: How are ye? Sorry I'm late. It's a long story.

George: But you're here, thats what's important. And welcome back to Dallas, third time through.

Bono: That's right, third time lucky.

George: And this is gonna be a big one.

Bono: Actually the first time was lucky as well. This is - I mean we don't consider that we're coming back to do the same thing again, this is a new band that people are about to see.

George: You keep playing larger and larger venues, is the band growing up with the venues too?

Bono: Yeah, I think if you stay in the same place you become stagnant, your music becomes stale, so... We're quite ambitious as a band as you probably know, and I feel that we're able to actually turn those venues into small rooms; at least that's our ambition when we walk out on the stage.

George: Boy, you have got to be one of the best live bands I've ever seen too -

Bono: Oh, thank you.

George: I've got a bunch of people - you saw the people downstairs I guess?

Bono: Yeah, there's a lot of people outside, another reason I'm just a little bit late, they're really nice people as well.

George: Well I've got a bunch of people on the phone that have been patiently waiting, and why don't we put some of them on the air? Let's just see what they've got to say. OK, you're on the Rock & Roll Alternative with Bono, Mike and George here.

Caller: Yeah I'm just wanting to know what they thought about the Us(?) Festival.

Bono: The Us Festival! It was very good for us, in the sense that I think when you're faced with 200 000 people there's no hiding. (laughs) You can't hide behind your haircut, you have to deliver, and I think there's a lot of bands get showed up, that they weren't really bands at all, that they were just part of a production line or assembly line process, y'know somebody stuck fashionable heads on various different types of bodies and put them out on stage. But there were a few bands that actually carried, and I'd like to think that U2 were one of them - a lot of people, even sort of cynics, people who hated the band, seemed to be surprised at the way it worked for us. Again, it is because we are a live band.

George: Thanks for callin'.

Bono: Who was that by the way?

George: Oh that was just one of our callers, we'll get names...?

Bono: Yeah I like to know their names.

George: OK, ah, what do you think of some of the new bands coming out like Kajagoogoo and ah, there seems to be a bunch of bands like this. I was a little disappointed with some of those bands but what do you think of that?

Bono: I just, you know, I'd like to start the interview by saying that I've no real time for this, y'know, categorizing of new music or old music, this group plays U2 music, and that's all that counts. I think the only distinction is between great music and not great music, at the present there IS a lot of not great music about, I think, and I think the music lacks a lot of soul, a lot of spirit, I think that's what rock & roll was about -

George: A sense of humour?

Bono: Yeah maybe a sense of humour, that's a criticism you could apply to U2, people say we take ourselves too seriously. Have to plead guilty (laughs) But you know, you HAVE got to be able to laugh at yourself, but we rarely do that on stage, I think it's off stage when we laugh at ourselves. If you're in the company of The Edge that's very easy.

George: OK you're on the air with Bono.

Caller: Yes, I was just wanting to tell Bono I really do like their music and I've seen them in concert and I was very impressed with the performance, but I was just curious why you don't do the song 'The Refugee' in concert.

Bono: Um... What's your name?

Caller: This is Annette. I saw you in Austin last night.

Bono: Oh great. There's only one thing about 'The Refugee', and that is that we can't play it (laughs), well actually The Edge has forgotten how to play it.

Caller: I don't believe that!

Bono: Well we were thinking about bringing it into the set actually, at times its really hard pinning the musicians in this band down, it's like there's a song called 'A Celebration', I dont know if you've heard of it, it's available on import, well they've forgotten how to play that as well.

Caller: That's too bad, I like that song.

George: You started your set last year with that, it was the first song out.

Bono: Yeah, I think so. Again, for me a performance is kind of a total thing, and the songs have to fit the mood - we're looking for a certain feeling for on stage, and there is an ebb and a flow, there is a beginning and an end, and we leave songs out if we feel that they're going to interrupt that flow, and though 'Refugee' is a song I'm very proud of, and a song we used to be able to play (laughs) I'm not sure it would fit in with what we're doing on this, either. There are numerous reasons, yeah.

Caller: Well I also would like to say thanks for playing '40', that's one of my favourite songs and I thought that was beautiful last night.

Bono: Yeah... If you were in Austin what are you doing here, are you ringing from Austin?

Caller: No I'm in Dallas, I flew down to see you, I was the one with the beret on last night.

Bono: With the what?

Caller: The beret?

Bono: Hey, oh I borrowed your beret! Oh wow, God, that's -

Caller: Yeah, mm-hm, I was just wanting to make sure you saw the NO GUNS button on it.

Bono: Yeah, I saw the NO GUNS button on it. Yeah I saw you, I think I'd probably recognise you if I bumped into you on the street. Will you have the beret on tomorrow night?

Caller: Yes, uh-huh. Well I just want to say God bless you.

Bono: Yeah thanks a lot, God bless you, see you around.

George: Thanks for calling, Annette. Wow, let's try some more - you've got adoring fans out there, thousands of them!

Bono: People kind of, the people who do like us really like us really love us, it's not a kind of passing trend with this band, I think that's true. I think it's true of the Alarm as well, and I'd also like to say it's our privilege to have a band like the Alarm guesting with us. I recommend people come down early to see them.

George: Indeed, indeed. Mike is still here if you want to ask Mike anything while were on the line together, as well, aren't you Mike?

Mike: Hello.

Bono: Where are the rest of the band, Mike?

Mike: Getting some well-deserved sleep I think at this moment, they should be glued to the radio to listen to this.

Bono: Oh, I see. Oh right, well this'd wake the dead, so I think if they were asleep they're probably awake now. How're ye doin' man?

George: OK, you're live on the Rock & Roll Alternative.

Caller: Hi this is Josh again, I have a couple of burning questions for you. What does An Cat Dubh mean?

Bono: It's Gaelic, Josh, by the way I like people who come back for more. Yes it's Gaelic for The Black Cat -

Caller: OK, I was looking through Sanskrit, I didn't know what that was!

Bono: Yeah it's Ahn Caht Duv [he pronounced the u as it sounds in pull - Scarlet*], it's Irish, in fact I was kicked out of University for not speaking that language, and quite ironically I learned to love the language later on. In school in Dublin we were forced to learn our native language, and at that stage I was pretty obstreperous and I would never do anything that anyone forced on me, and I refused to learn Irish, I think I learned German instead, and when I went to University - it was a national University and they kicked me out for that very reason, and I've since learned to love the language and regret not learning it, and so it does creep back into the music in some ways, I think we've used Gaelic in other songs as well.

Caller: Also, what's the Latin in 'Gloria', that (sings)

Bono: Hey that's pretty good! D'ya want a job? I'm losing my voice at the moment, so maybe you should take the stage instead of me. Ah, I don't fully know what it means, actually. When we were recording the song 'Gloria', the song is very much about not being able to express yourself, it says I TRY to sing this song, I try to stand up but I can't find my feet, so the song resorts to Latin, to another language to try to express itself. A friend of mine was a Latin scholar, and he helped me to get across what I wanted to say, but I couldn't give you a literal translation, sorry!

Caller: Yes that's great, can I ask a couple more?

Bono: Ah, no. (laughs)

George: One more, Josh. One more.

Bono: Of course.

Caller: OK I wanted to ask about the, um - I saw you on the Tomorrow Show very early on, I think it was your first TV appearance in America?

Bono: Oh wow! Yeah.

Caller: And it was fantastic, and I was a kind of a yokel in the small boondocks up in Wichita Falls and I stayed up late for that, and at the end of 'I Will Follow' Adam Clayton - this is kind of directed towards him, I wish he could have been here, but he took his bass, and he took the tuning knob and turned his bass down a couple of frets and made it out of tune with it and kept on playing, and it had a really neat effect and I was wondering if you did that ever in concert.

Bono: (laughs) I think that was for the value of - what was the name of - Tom Snyder, that was the guy. Yeah he's amazing, he's got a really long finger and he kind of points it. He asked Edge, he sat down Edge and he said, (puts on funny voice) What's your name?

Caller: He said The U2.

Bono: Yeah he said The U2 so we corrected him on that, and then he [Edge] said The Edge and he said (funny voice) Oh, that's a funny name! And Edge said, Well we wanted to call me Johnny Carson, but somebody else had thought of that. From that moment on I think we became Tom Snyders un-favourite band. He's actually an interesting guy when you get him backstage, there's more to him than his long finger.

Caller: Yeah he prefers Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics I think, so you have to feel a little sorry for him.

Bono: I really, I enjoyed that. What was that word you used there Josh, you said you were just something-or-other? Did you say you were like 16, or a yokel? What's a yokel?

Caller: I dont know where that word came from, I remember someone saying Local yokel and I guess that would describe it, 'cos I was in 9th grade and just sitting up there not finding any way to find fun in Wichita Falls.

Bono: Yeah I think I should say as well, I don't care where people come from, how old they are, what grade they're in; whatever level people are into the music, I'm into the people. So I'm flattered that you would stay up to see that show, 'cos that was interesting, we enjoyed it very much. I think we went into the audience that night, and that also surprised them a bit.

Caller: Yeah - the bells, the first time I heard you in a record shop, there in Wichita Falls, the daring one, the bells are what caught my innocent youth's heart, and then -

Bono: You mean the glockenspiel?

Caller: Yes, the glockenspiel, I wish that was still in there sometimes, that really makes me sing.

Bono: Thats interesting, yeah. We'd a bit of an argument with Bruce Springsteen over that, he figured he'd thought of it first.

George: Thanks for calling, Josh.

Bono: See you round!

George: Well I want to play a song. You want to play 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'?

Bono: Yeah, right.

George: What can you tell the people about this, besides they just have to listen to it and think.

Bono: Well sometimes on stage I try to explain to people that it's not a rebel song, and basically it is a song about Ireland where we come from and about the troubles, it's a song basically - How long must we sing this song, it says; look I'm sick of it. There is no right or wrong, there can never be a right or wrong when it comes down to somebody putting a gun to somebody else's head. And as an Irishman I feel I can make that statement. Some people say, well we come from the south of Ireland, therefore we have no right to make a statement about what's going on in Northern Ireland, that the bombs dont go off in MY city. And I just explain to people that the bombs may not go off in my city, they may go off fifty miles up the road, but they are MADE there. And so I feel we've a right to sing this song, and it is a song we ran away from, for a long time, were very frightened of, frightened to make a statement, but now that it is out of our system Im glad it is.

******************************************

George: Alright! U2! And that is 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', off a terrific album called War. In the studio with us tonight weve got Mike from the Alarm and Bono from U2, and we are taking your phone calls. Bono, I wanted to ask you about something,

Bono: Oh, yeah? (laughs)

George: Oh I - OK, here goes - I'm gonna save this. Were gonna take some more phone calls and then I'm gonna yank this out, and were gonna watch you get surprised. So you want to talk some more to people.

Bono: Yeah, sure!

George: OK, you're live on the Rock & Roll Alternative.

Caller: Oh good - I - is this the guy from the group?

Bono: (laughs) Yeah, look I'm anybody you want me to be! Who would you like me to be?

Caller: To talk to you I had to make up an excuse, but really I just wanted to say Hi and everything?

Bono: Oh wow... That's, thats - well I'm really taken aback, what's your name?

Caller: Um my name is Holly Jefferson.

George: How old are you, Holly?

Caller: Me? Im twelve.

George: Are you going to be at the show tomorrow?

Caller: Yeah, I guess. Yeah I am.

Bono: You guess? I hope you're going, after this! This is amazing, I've never - hey who's laughing in the background? I want to speak -

Caller: (laughs) That's my sister.

Bono: I wanna speak to your sister, put your sister on the phone, Holly. What's your sister's name?

Caller: (laughs hysterically)

Bono: Thats a funny name, isnt it?

Caller: Katherine.

Bono: Kathleen?

Caller: Katherine. K-A-T-H-

Bono: Katherine, well that's very nearly an Irish name, actually, so she can't be half bad. Let's talk to your sister.

Caller: OK, but hold on. I'm just wanting to say that you're an excellent group and everything, I really love your group.

Bono: I think you're excellent as well!

Caller: Well thanks but I really wanted to ask you a question about your group, too.

Bono: You really do?

Caller: Yeah, what's the name? (giggles) Hold on here's my sister.

Bono: Wow, it's all happenin' here! We're called Led Zeppelin!

Caller: Hi, this is Katherine.

Bono: How old are you, Katherine?

Caller: Oh I'm not the one who had the question, that was my sister.

Bono: I see, but how old are you?

Caller: I'm fifteen.

Bono: Yeah, you sound a little more mature, and sort of laid back. You sound like somebody who's probably going to go to the show tomorrow night.

Caller: Oh, I didn't get tickets!

Bono: Yeah, well that's why I'm talking to you. (laughs) After this, I mean we're gonna blackmail you into going. Are you the sort of person that's, you're sittin' back, youre havin' a cup of coffee, and you're watching TV or you're listening to the radio, to your favourite DJ, and this group like just walks in off the street, and they're called U2 say for instance, and you may not have even have heard of them -

Caller: Yeah I've heard of U2.

Bono: Oh wow! And you think, I'll just ring them up and say hello, because that's what other people do. And now that you've got through you're not really sure what to say! Are you one of those type of people?

Caller: What? (general laughter) I can't hear you very good, I'm trying to hear the radio and listen to the phone at the same time.

George: Well just listen to the phone. What's your question?

Caller: Um, Holly, what was your question?

Bono: Well I've got blue eyes, um...

George: Do you like peanut butter?

Bono: Um, five-eight on a good day...

George: What was your sister's question?

Caller: OK, she wanted to know what it was like on the road? Here she is. (Holly) OK what is it like on tour?

Bono: On tour, that's - ooh, that's a difficult one, ah (laughs) I don't know! And... I'm not very good at talking about such things. It's very easy to become a piece of luggage or a suitcase when you're on the road, I'll put it like that. And we try not to, we try to keep our eyes open. A lot of people in our business kind of... It's hip to be bored, if you know what I mean. Like people say, Well you're on a 2-month tour, that must be really boring, y'know being away from home, you talk to other groups and they find touring boring, and then you talk to them about being in the studio and making records, and they say Well man that's really boring as well -

George: They like getting the cheque though.

Bono: Yeah, and then you talk to them about y'know, Do you like to talk to people or meet your audience, or even talk to people on the radio? and they say Oh no man, that's really boring, and it's usually them that's boring! So, to answer your question I think being on the road is like anything else, it's what you want to do with it. Y'know, if you want to go around with your eyes and ears closed you can, but if you want to go out and you want to meet people, if you want to go to the movies like I did tonight, you can do it, if you, y'know if you wanna go to bed like the Alarm are (laughs) you can do it. I like being on the road, and I think real bands, i.e. as distinct from unreal bands, are at home when they're on stage. I think that's true of both our groups.

Mike: It certainly is. Just want to get some sleep!

George: You're on the Rock & Roll Alternative with Bono, and Mike. What's up?

Caller: Um, hold on.

Bono: Hold on! Yeah!

Caller: I'd like to ask you, um, which is more satisfying, playing live or recording?

Bono: We, as a band we treat the two mediums completely differently. There are times when I've gone to concerts and I've seen a band play, and they've just basically played their record. Exactly as it was, in fact I might as well have stayed at home. With this group, in many ways like the Beatles; um the Beatles had a belief that the stage was very different to the studio, and with us we just approach them in two different ways. It's far more direct live, far more straight to the heart, straight to the point, far more - maybe aggressive. When we're in the studio we try to layer things. A guy was speaking to us earlier about glockenspiel and various other instruments that we've used on our records, and we do that so that a year or two years or three years after people buy our records they're still discovering new things about a song, or an LP. So we layer our records, whereas live it's at the moment, you try and capture the moment, capture the feeling of an audience; it changes every night, we don't play the same set every night, we might play the same SONGS every night, but it doesn't come across in the same way.

George: You seem to haunt Windmill Lane Studio in Dublin, constantly.

Bono: Yeah, Windmill is more than just a recording studio for us, it's sort of a home. It's in Dublin, it's on the docks, er, if you have a copy of October, on the back of it you'll see the Grand Canal dock in Dublin, and it's just behind there. And it's also a video complex, and that's where we make our videos. 'New Year's Day', and 'Gloria', and 'Two Hearts Beat As One'. We shoot on the location.

George: So you just walk down the street and there -

Bono: Yeah, it's like theres a lot of people there who are working in both audio and visual areas, and its a complex that we're a part of 'cos we grew up with it.

George: Now the band's been around Dublin for some time, and I wanted to find out something; have you seen this album very often?

Bono: Oh. Says the DJ, picking up an old - what is it - it's a Just For Kicks compilation LP that was released three and a half years ago, maybe four years ago. They're all the bands on the cover, see those names on the cover?

George: The Ten Commandments, and Zebra, and Berlin - not the same Berlin though - the New Versions, Resistors -

Bono: Yeah, they're kind of all the garage bands in Dublin, they put together a compilation. Its probably one of the worst compilations you're likely to hear actually. I haven't seen that in years in fact! Where did you get that?

George: I picked it up in London, those things are still hanging about.

Bono: (unintelligible) songs on this actually. This is called Just For Kicks, and there's a - on side two, track number one, 'Treasure In the Wasteland', by a group called the Atrix(?), they were an amazing band. I think that's probably all that I like on this, apart from - I do like the version of 'Stories For Boys'.

George: Well you want to play that? I've got it queued up over here.

Bono: (laughs) Do I have a choice? This is the demo version, this is like - what - four years old, this is not the one that's on Boy.

George: It's 1979 I think.

Bono: Oh yeah...

George: What was the story, I understand that this was a demo that CBS picked up and ah...

Bono: Yeah. We went to play London and play round England, a lot of Irish groups had to do that 'cos there's no real Irish record companies that are interested in signing Irish bands unless they're traditional artists or very bland pop artists, and so we had to go to England to get a record deal, and the way to do that was to play live and try to show people what you were. And we did that, and nobody wanted to sign us. (laughs) And CBS nearly wanted to sign us, and they took us into the studio and we recorded three tracks with them, and then they said no, they didnt want to sign us, so we released behind their back... sort of... a three-track EP called U2:3, with 'Stories For Boys', 'Out of Control' and 'Boy/Girl', and that single was successful, in a funny sort of a way, and a lot of people wanted to sign us then. CBS were quite embarrassed about it.

George: That's just been re-released now.

Bono: Yeah. Well it was on CBS Ireland, but we're on Island Records and CBS are a bit embarrassed about that because CBS England turned us down. And they also made life very difficult for us; CBS England and CBS America are two different companies, and when we turned them down - 'cos they started offering us contracts then, and we were tearing up their deals 'cos they were basically trying to put us in jail; thats what it felt like, the contract, and we turned them down, and then they tried to stop us releasing the single U2:3 because it was their demo. But it got out, got out on a single and it got out on this compilation also.

George: So, this is the way it started; U2 and 'Stories For Boys'.

******************************************

George: 'Stories For Boys' by U2, on the album Just For Kicks, good luck finding that one!

Bono: I don't know how you did it, I have to credit ya, you've obviously done your research, and you know what you're talking about which makes a change.

George: No, I'm just a fan. I'm just a fan, Bono.

Bono: Well it helps! Y'know its funny because when we started out we were a bit guarded about talking to people and we used to treat people in record companies with kind of suspicion, and if you'll forgive me disc jockeys; and we more and more realise that a lot of the reasons why people are in the business is because they were fans. (laughs) And we are fans, and you dont have to become part of the machine, you can still believe in music even if you've been doing it for ten years or five years. But it is a pleasure to talk to somebody who does know what he's talking about.

George: Let's talk to some more fans. And then Mike's got a surprise for us. You're on the Rock & Roll alternative.

Caller: Oh my God.

Bono: Oh no there's no (laughs) no I mean ah, you - yeah you flatter me, go on! How are you? Who's this?

Caller: This is Toby.

Bono: Toby.

Caller: Yes. Oh, it's not every day you get to talk to your idol.

Bono: Oh now, shucks; I bet you say that to all the guys. (laughs)

Caller: (laughs) Oh God. I really don't have any questions.

Bono: Wow. Can I ask YOU a question then?

Caller: Sure.

Bono: Um, why did you ring? (laughs) Oh I mean, just to say hello. Are you going to the show tomorrow night?

Caller: Yes I am.

Bono: OK. Well do say hello.

Caller: I've got a tremendous crush on you.

Bono: Oh well, I mean I've - we've only met, I mean in the last 20 seconds and already I find myself falling in love with you.

George: We could break her heart, you just got married recently didn't you?

Bono: Yeees, OK - but we dont have to talk about that in front of Toby.

George: OK, we won't tell Toby.

Caller: She's a lucky girl.

Bono: Well she's a lovely girl actually, as well. I'm sure you are as well.

Caller: Oh, I guess I'm told I am, but you know (laughs)

George: Well we'll see you tomorrow night then, Toby.

Bono: Yeah, thanks a lot for calling in, anyway. It's... thankyou. (laughs) There's a lot of really nice people in this city, actually.

George: Yes, there are. Here's one right here. Live on the Rock & Roll Alternative.

Caller: Hello George, this is Terry.

George: It's Terry.

Caller: Yeah, how's it going?

George: We're doing fine. What's up Terry, what do you want to know?

Caller: Ah, hey Bono, how's it going man? Before I get started with my questions I'd kind of like to say that things musically they're not too good, but I think your band is one of the best around, and that you've really got the shine in your music and...

Bono: Thanks man!

Caller: 'Cos I really enjoy it. And my question is, what's your advice for the aspiring young man who wants to break into the music scene?

George: Aha, good question; there's a lot of those folks out there.

Bono: Let me think, um... I think there's one thing that I find myself repeating, which is kinda just to tell people to stop emulating or simulating what they hear on the radio, and try to as a band develop their own sound. Nobody wants to hear U2 II, nobody wants - I mean we spent the whole '70s hearing Led Zeppelin 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Led Zeppelin 1 was OK, it's just when it gets down the line it starts to wear off a bit. And we've gotta look out for the same now, even in the '80s. Everybody, everybody is original. You are original, I'm original, we all eat, drink, talk, walk differently. If you apply that logic to your instrument you should come up with an original sound. I think it's, you know you can learn from other people, but you've gotta be careful that they don't take you over and dominate you so that you haven't got a personality yourself, and that's the biggest problem in music and for most bands, is getting over sort of personality crisis, where they have no personality themselves. You must develop your own sound.

George: Just be yourself.

Bono: Yeah, that's it.

George: Indeed. Rock & Roll Alternative, you're live on the air.

Caller: Yeah, ah, I was wondering, since the band is so politically minded and active, did they get their name from the U2 spy ship that was shot down over Russia during the Cold War?

Bono: Ah, the answer to that question is no. And this is something I'm glad you've rang and given me the chance. We're not, we are not a political group. People in the media have been trying for years to categorise the group, and now they might, they think they kind of got what -

George: Aha, we've got something here!

Bono: And the reason we put the child on the LP cover was to make the point that War is not just a political LP, it's much more than that, and it's much more subtle than that. We could have put a tank or an armoured car on the cover and it would have been very obvious. But we're talking about war on many many different levels, not just national. OK the song 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' is about Northern Ireland, 'New Year's Day' does deal in its imagery with the Solidarity movement, it was inspired by documentary footage, film footage, of that movement. But for the most the LP is not at all political, it's personal. And I think its the same with the name. The name U2 is just a letter and a number, it's nothing else. Somebody else had thought of The Beatles (laughs), we just wanted a name that would make people make up their own mind about the group, that's all. They'd say, U2, what sort of band are they? Y'know, if we'd called ourselves The Snots people would have said, Oh, that's a Punk group, or if we'd called ourselves Deep Zeppelin they'd say thats a y'know, a whatever!. We wanted an original name and a simple name.

George: Thanks for callin'!

Bono: Thank you.

George: In fact you never even really brought Ireland up in a song until you did 'Tomorrow' on October.

Bono: Yeah, well it was only when we were uprooted and thrown across half the world that we started to think about where we'd come from. It's funny, you don't think about whats goin' on in your own hometown, let alone your own homeland, until you're away from it. And it's traditional that with writers from our country - if you think of Joyce, or even Yeats, that he had to leave the country before he started to actually be aware of what was happening within the country. And it was this country provoked me to write about my own. Especially during the Bobby Sands incident and the hunger strikes, as you probably remember, people seemed to misunderstand so much! They seemed to think it was a black and white situation and were giving money to get the British out of Ireland or whatever, and it's just not as simple as that. And we were so sick of it that we just had to make a statement, and in making that statement people got Ah! (snaps fingers) They're a political band.

George: Instantly.

Bono: And I'm sure that guy who rang up - I'm glad he rang up to give me that opportunity - himself, listening to the music wouldn't think that, it's just what people have kind of put across.

George: Well I'm glad you didnt go on the cover of War with a studded belt, you'd instantly have been a Punk band.

Bono: Yeah, this is not a Punk band, this is not any type of band, this is U2.

George: Right. The boy on the front of the album cover surfaced on Boy, the first album in the UK, lives down the road from you? Is that right?

Bono: Yeah he's a little brat. (laughs)

George: Is that how you busted his lip?

Bono: You know I never even noticed the bruise on his lip until we were developing the photographs.

George: It's perfect for the album cover.

Bono: Yeah, its like for the first LP cover, for Boy - in Europe he was on the cover, in America he was on the inside sleeve - we used to have to bribe him, like with chocolate and kind of candies you call it, sweets we call it, to keep him still to take the photographs. By War he was getting into it, and he would be walking around a room and you'd say, Radar! - 'cos thats what we called him, his name's Peter - we'd say, Look at the camera, and he'd just turn and he'd LOOK and he'd open his eyes, and there was a lot in those eyes. Mm, I think we captured the moment.

George: That's a very effective album cover. Mike, you told me that you -

Bono: Must just say, George, that your wife is really wonderful, she's really good.

George: Okaaay, (Bono laughs) I was looking at a cryptic note, we're immersed in stuff here today - Mike you had a special song you had brought up here.

Mike: Yeah, been trying to play this to Bono all tour but haven't had a chance to do it for him yet, but we'll let him hear it now.

Bono: What is it?

Mike: Ah, you wait and see. I'll tell you about it when we've played it to you.

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