*Sigh*
Did anyone watch the Bono Biography on the Biography channel earlier this week? How many sites are there out there with *correct* information about U2 and Bono? Couldn’t the writer/producer of this program have checked their sources?
To have the program claim that the October album came out in 1983 with songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” on it really disappoints me.
There are a few other inconsistencies with the program on Biography. One would think that if you were putting something to broadcast with the reputation that the Biography channel has, they’d make sure their information was correct. Anyone else disappointed with the content of this program?
rihannsu said,
December 29, 2007 @ 7:55 am
I couldn’t get that channel so was waiting for someone to upload it, but no one is goind to bother. From the discussion on interference it sound way more pathetic than the Chrome Dreams unofficial bios. At least those are pretty accurate if lame.
Donna said,
December 29, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
I couldn’t agree more! I expected far better from the Biography Channel, but they totally phoned this one in. In addition to the blatant factual errors, they obviously couldn’t get very many copyright clearances either. Did you notice how they kept showing the same four or five pictures and that some of them were obviously copycat paintings of photographs? Dave Fanning had some interesting comments, but overall it was a very disappointing waste of time…
Sherry said,
December 29, 2007 @ 2:21 pm
Donna - I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. To have a photo of Bono holding his youngest son, John, from Bob Hewson’s funeral in 2001 with the narrator saying “Bono became a father for the first time in 1989″ is just poor to say the least. You could tell that they didn’t have much to work from when they played the same drum riff from Sunday Bloody Sunday and had a fake-sounding guitar solo from the Pride chorus.
Not only did the visuals not appear to be chronologically correct with the narration, but they also had folks who had little-to-no real connection to Bono with the exception of Dave Fanning who, frankly, gave very ambiguous quotes because I feel he knew the type of people he was dealing with. Eamon Dunphy was used quite a bit to add his thoughts, and many fans know how unreliable and untrustworthy he is given the inconsistencies with his book on the band.
As Rihannsu pointed out, the Chrome Dreams bio, as pathetic as it is, topped this one from the Biography channel.
If you read through on the credits of the Biography program, there was no mention or “thanks” to anyone in U2’s camp, so methinks this program was put together with no authorization or attempts to get permissions.
April said,
December 29, 2007 @ 4:53 pm
One of the primary contributors to the program was that guy who wrote the horrible biography “Bono: In the Name of Love”, which is full of errors. The minute I saw that guy I had a bad feeling about the entire program.
The child Bono is holding in that photograph is Eli. John was only a few months old when Bono’s father died. There are photos out there of Bono with an infant Jordan, so I found it very odd that they used a photo of Bono and Eli to illustrate Bono becoming a father for the first time.
No mention of any albums after Achtung Baby, and they acted like Bono has devoted his entire life to being a statesman and campaigner for Africa. In reality that phase of his life only began 9-10 years ago. Between his time in Ethiopia after Live Aid, and his involvement in the Drop the Debt campaign in the late 90s, he wasn’t heavily involved in African causes, at least not publicly.
Donna said,
December 29, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
Sherry — I know this is off-topic, but I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your article about Mercy. I am very proud of you for writing it and expressing our beliefs in such an articulate and intelligent manner. Jesus is indeed the reason — for every season!
Sherry said,
December 29, 2007 @ 8:34 pm
April - yup, you’re right…’twas Eli. My bad.
Donna - thanks for the kind thoughts on my Like a Song article.
ian said,
December 30, 2007 @ 12:13 pm
oh, man —
i watched that show and was in shock how poorly done it was. it was like a 5th grader did it, the day before it was due.
the seemingly cycled the same six photographs over and over, and played the same ‘u2′ like sounds over and over, too. and none of the pictures matched up with the facts, presuming the facts were correct iin the first place.
my favorite error was, “u2’s big hit off the October album, Sunday Bloody Sunday!”
sheesh…. i’m so inspired i think i’ll write Biography an email about this one…
Nancy said,
December 30, 2007 @ 9:52 pm
Hi Sherry -
I really loved your article about “Mercy”. I’ve never heard it and have now begun searching the internet to hear it and, hopefully, download it. No luck so far. Do you have any suggestions? I’m a U2 fanatic (like many) and am on a quest to add to my U2 iPod library which currently conists of over 400 songs. I’m just dying for new music, but will never tire of everything they’ve put out so far. Well, anyway, your help would be most appreciated.
Love this site!
Nancy
Edwardo said,
December 31, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
New Year’s Day is actually on War. October came out in 1981.
Sylvia said,
January 2, 2008 @ 11:10 am
Today I was looking through the rockhall.com website and there it is under the U2 “Timeline”:
“March 13, 1960: Adam Clayton, bassist for U2, is born in Chinnor, Ireland.”
“August 8, 1961: Dave “The Edge” Evans, guitarist for U2, is born in Wales.”
Sian said,
January 10, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
I didn’t see that bio, but from what people are saying about it, it was full of errors. I’m almost glad I didn’t see it!