What Makes U2 Run?

U2 / Photograph by Takay

"People are smart; they're also interested in commerce and other forces that shape the world. They don't need the 'let's pretend' game we used to play," he says. When Bono latches on to an idea, which he does often and easily, he stands and paces. He started wearing sunglasses around 1992 to help get into character as a rock star, to create "a little bit of distance" as he says, and he's barely taken them off since. When he does remove his custom Armani shades to lock eyes and make a point, the effect is not unlike John Belushi finally shedding his Ray-Bans to arch a brow at Carrie Fisher in The Blues Brothers. "One of the most misunderstood words in the lexicon of pop culture is authentic," he continues. " 'Okay, somebody certainly can't be ambitious for material things if he is to be an artist -- let's establish more ground rules!' Being fucked-up on smack looked like authenticity to a lot of people, but guess what? It's not. We've been through this bullshit so many times; it's actually about coming to grips with your own ambition and ideas and being prepared to take shit for them." Glasses back on. "I've proved I can take shit for what I believe in."

So, with the benefit of diligent apprenticeship alongside the world's brightest business minds and a most enviable Rolodex, what big ideas does the man who has successfully tackled niggling problems like global hunger and third-world debt cancellation have for saving the cratering music industry? The decision to liquidate $25 million worth of the band's Live Nation stock last year nearly kneecapped the company, even as it put U2's clout into dramatic relief. And the decision to release Horizon with a downloadable widget containing lush visuals, directed by longtime U2 photographer Anton Corbijn, is certainly a step toward reestablishing the album as a commodity worth buying and owning. But what about the big picture?

"I was watching as the business was heading towards the edge of the waterfall seven years ago, and I wanted to be part of the solution," Bono says, grinning crookedly. "As it happens, that's an ongoing search."

Read the entire U2 cover story in the April issue of SPIN, on newsstands now!