(Credits: Apple TV+)
Wed 19 November 2025 0:00, UK
Like any other messianic figure in rock and roll, Bono knew the importance of maintaining a legacy in the music industry.
There are more than a few times where he has stuck his foot in his mouth or made something so insanely stupid it’s hard to take seriously, but there was never a moment where the U2 frontman didn’t believe everything that he ever sang. When he eventually crosses over to the other side, though, he has a very specific idea of how he wanted a version of rock and roll afterlife to play out.
Then again, it should come as no surprise that Bono has kept his focus on mortality so close to the chest. He was always outspoken about his religious beliefs, and while that was bound to be polarising for more than a few people, but when listening to an album like October, you can feel the commitment in every word he says, even if it was bound to be a PR nightmare for everyone that was trying to market them as a standard rock and roll outfit.
But even when the band made their greatest records, there was always a tinge of religious iconography scattered throughout everything. It was never outright said, but the subtext behind having a gospel choir on ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ was about more than a nice sonic touch. For every member of the band, all types of music had religious power if you applied them in the right way.
After all, what is Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar if not a man sacrificing his instrument over to the musical gods? It might have pissed religious fanatics because he wasn’t practicing any sense of faith in “the right way”, but Bono knew there was never any wrong or right way to make that kind of music. It was about how it moved something in him, and he felt that there was a spot reserved in heaven for Elvis Presley.
While he was far from the most upstanding member of society while he was on this Earth, Presley’s influence can’t really be discounted when looking at rock and roll. He helped expose rock and roll to a completely different race of people that had their minds closed, and while he did profit more than anyone else at the time, he held onto the firm belief that any rock and roll venue could be turned into a place or worship if someone had the right songs behind them.
So when Bono was asked who he wanted to meet in heaven, he knew he needed to have a conversation with Presley first, saying, “It would have to be Elvis. Y’see what most excites me about America is this collision of two cultures, African and European, and that’s what gives the heat to America, its sex appeal. You get these two cultures jammed together – sometimes very painfully jammed together. But those two cultures melt together in this one man’s almost-spastic dance… Elvis Presley as a dancer means as much to me as he did as a singer.”
Although Bono’s version of carrying on Presley’s legacy had the potential to enrage people, he took all of those dance moves to heart in the right ways. Nothing was ever contrived when he played, and even when he was making his ironic rock and roll moves during the ZooTV tour, there was always a little bit of flair that was reminiscent of what Presley’s moves were like back in the day.
Bono’s time to go is hopefully a long way from now, but even in death, there was no way he was going to forget what Presley brought to the world. Because for all of the great music that he put out during his lifetime, ‘The King’ made people feel the music for the first time, and that’s a gift that no one would have traded for the world.
Related Topics