Bono Quotes

Selling out is doing something you don't really want to do for money. That's what selling out is.

But more than anything else, for the British folks Irish people were all terrorists. So when we went to Britain, it was always a lot of resistance to U2. And that's why we came to America.

In my view, the only thing worse than a rock star is a rock star with a conscience.

I used to love Kurt Cobain, when he was telling people we're a pop band. People would laugh, they thought of it as good old ironic Kurt. But he wasn't being ironic.

I put Catholic guilt to work pretty good for a rich rock star.

The mind can only see what it is prepared to see.

Perception is real even when it is not reality.

Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.

Complexity creates confusion, simplicity focus.

Creative thinking - in terms of idea creativity - is not a mystical talent. It is a skill that can be practised and nurtured.

Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone.

Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea.

Because you know when you first become famous, you start walking a little different because people are staring at you.

My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ.

There's no retirement for an artist,its your way of living so theres no end to it.

To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal, If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel. On your knees, boy...

I'm never nervous when I go to meet heads of state. I feel they should be nervous, because they are the ones who'll be held accountable for the lives their decisions will impact the most.

Celebrity is ridiculous and silly and it's mad that people like me are listened to - you know, rap stars and movie stars.

Sub-Saharan Africa is also home to 400 million of the world's poorest people.

When I realised I was transgender I was so afraid of what my transition would do to everyone else in my life and how they would react to it and would I be rejected?

The quality of our thinking will determine the quality of our future

There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all.

People have said to me, 'You can't write songs. You can't play an instrument.' But I've got 10 gold records.

We all love the environment, but we have placed creatures above people. A rat is a rat.

With all due respect to lawyers, it's wonderful that you have this intricate knowledge. You break down words to the nth degree. And sometimes I find it rather disgusting. And it goes on and on.

Sometimes religion gets in the way of God.

I love America and I hate it. I'm torn between the two. I have two conflicting visions of America. One is a kind of dream landscape and the other is a kind of black comedy.

I fell in love with you because there was a mischief in your eyes.

So what we're talking about here is human rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, period. And what we're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality.

Marriage is this grand madness, and I think if people knew that, they would perhaps take it more seriously.

To be successful you have to be lucky, or a little mad, or very talented, or find yourself in a rapid growth field.

Even though I'm a believer, I still find it really hard to be around other believers. They make me nervous, they make me twitch. I sorta watch my back.

Convictions, in the end, they can be dangerous, but a world without them is just kind of an awful kind of gray, amorphous mass.

The human heart is greedy; it will use religion, color, or any other excuse to justify its greed. Blame the human heart.

I think carrying moral baggage is very dangerous for an artist. If you have a duty, it's to be true and not cover up the cracks.

I get to hear the really good or the really bad things in the press, but I don't read it. I can afford to say that because public opinion does not drive U2's audience.

Rock stars are good at making noise.

I felt rich when I was 20 years old and my wife was paying my bills. Just being in a band, I've always felt blessed.

It's not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It's not an accident. That's a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions.

Happy the country that lives on nothing but its wits; cursed be the one that thinks it can get rich by planting or digging or drilling for wealth.

I'm home a lot. Because I live in Ireland, we can live under the celebrity radar. I might go missing for a whole year.

U2's best work has always been when we didn't know what we're doing.

Every artist is a cannibal/every poet is a thief/all kill for inspiration/and then sing about the grief.

I'm as skeptical as anyone would be about celebrities and causes - and I will dare to say to you that I don't think of myself as a celebrity per se.

The extraction of oil, coal and minerals brought, and still brings, a cost to the environment.

If September 11th has taught us anything, it's certainly that the world has never been so interdependent. It is impossible now to be an island of prosperity in a sea of despair.

As hard as it is, as ghetto as it is, hip-hop is pop music. It's the sound of music getting out of the ghetto, while rock is looking for a ghetto.

Anyone that's involved in development has discovered that all the good work that's been done in development has been undone by the AIDS emergency.

There was a moment when Prince did rock & roll with a sponge-y seductive sound. I think that's what was in our head for 'Get On Your Boots.' But actually, the song is much more punk rock.

Particularly conservative Christians, I was very angry that they were not involved more in the AIDS emergency.