Thursday, May 24, 2007

Bono "What a Knob I am"

I personally do not like U2's frontman, Bono, or should I call him by his real name - Paul David Hewson. He has became too "preachy" over the years as his fame status slowly elevates, while completely left the other band members in the dark.


bonospoof.wmv by the Chasers

Although his face was on several humanitarian campaign posters, many of his own practices are questionable, if not, unethical.

For one, he moved his multi-million euro song catalogue from Ireland to Netherlands to avoid paying taxes, thus leaving his homeland (which he is so ever proud of...) with greater tax burdens.

Secondly, he signed a petition along with 4500 other artists trying to increase the limitation on music copyrights from 50 to 95 years.

Last by not the least, he accepts awards from politicians and governments that he also criticizes.
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10 comments:

  1. LynneMay 24, 2007 at 9:03 AM

    Wow, what a hypocrite. Was he this bad in the 80s too?

    ReplyDelete
  2. BillMay 24, 2007 at 2:06 PM

    Well... I have some sympathy for artists moving their tax base out of the UK. iirc, the government claims 80% of income from entertainers.

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  3. tianMay 24, 2007 at 2:12 PM

    Bill,

    1. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, the largest city in Ireland.

    2. Ireland is not UK.

    3. Bono's citizenship states he is still a citizen of Ireland.

    ReplyDelete
  4. HotYellowChocolateMay 24, 2007 at 3:26 PM

    Aw, he's a pretentious douche AND a hypocrite?
    Makes me glad I never liked his music.
    I listen to GN'R, at least Axle had the good taste to let everyone know upfront that he's crazier than a sh*t house rat.

    ReplyDelete
  5. jm_kayeMay 24, 2007 at 8:57 PM

    Have you seen this?

    http://www.exile.ru/2002-September-06/dr_dolans_torture_tips.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. maggieMay 25, 2007 at 4:09 AM

    U2 was playing a concert in Glasgow, when Bono asked the audience for total quiet.

    In the silence, he started to slowly clap his hands, once every few seconds. Holding the audience in total silence, he said into the microphone, "Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."

    A voice with a broad Scottish accent, from near the front of the crowd, pierced the silence ...
    "Well, fookin' stop clappin' then!"

    ReplyDelete
  7. AntoMay 28, 2007 at 1:19 PM

    In Ireland artists do not pay tax on many forms artistic production including composing. Its a great idea in principle, and helps lots of struggling artists. U2 is a business, it does market research before and after putting together an album. I think the tax exemption should be capped for business/artists above a certain income threshold. Pay up. Ireland is attempting to meet it's UN commitment on aid, if Bono cared he would pay his taxes.

    ReplyDelete
  8. BillMay 28, 2007 at 7:23 PM

    Thanks for the clarification!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ShauntuMay 31, 2007 at 6:38 PM

    Ireland must be a crappy place if it has to rely on a singer's taxes to survive...

    ReplyDelete
  10. AntoJune 4, 2007 at 1:03 PM

    Shauntum, nice comment.
    Ireland is a small country, it collects tax of around €45 bn per year. Its hard to get a reliable figure for U2's earnings, but it estimated to be close to €0.6 bn per year. If they paid up, the tax take would make a big dent in Ireland's commitment to give 3% of its GDP to third world countries. Ireland is one of the better countries at giving because its aid is not tied to trade. Man I am so angry... I need a Guinness.

    ReplyDelete

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