A recent yard sale in Amsterdam has unearthed a number of artefacts from the formative years of one of Ireland’s proudest exports. And the finding of this fabulous trove has nothing to do with thinking of an excellent blog title first and then making some stuff up to fit….
12 Sep 1978
Dear Paul,
I think it’s a great idea to start a band. And I think you’d be a really good singer. I’m currently working on a guitar sound that will be an ideal foil for some really pompous lyrics, if you have any to spare.
I’m just worried about one thing at the moment – You said at rehearsal that you were going to change your name to Bono Vox. Call yourself the latin for ‘good voice’ might be seen as a little, er pretentious in these post-punk years?
Just saying.
Dave.
12 October 1978
Bono,
Thanks for getting back to me on the whole name thing. Actually, I’ve never been terribly keen on the whole ‘my name is Dave’ business either.
I’ve decided that I’m going to call myself something different too. I think it needs to be really edgy and abstract. Any ideas?
Dave
10 June 1981
Bono,
Thanks for the discussion earlier. Of course I don’t mind you insisting on communication in writing. You’ll be wanting to spare your voice for some of your more trademark wailing on the new album, I’m sure. I have to confess though that I’m a bit concerned about the latest on the stage show. I’m not sure that climbing the lighting rig and waving that big white flag really works after the first ten times?
I may be wrong, and I know you’re normally right.
The Edge (Please stop calling me Dave)
7 September 1984
Bono,
You know how you decided that you were going to become Bono instead of Bono Vox because it was less, and yet slightly more, pretentious. Well, I’ve been thinking about ‘The Edge’ And I’ve decided that the The in The Edge is the The that the world doesn’t need. Also, that was a sentence that had 7 The’s in – impressed? Anyway, people with The in their name are like The Undertaker or The Destroyer, like in WWF, so that doesn’t seem right to me to be like them. And one word names are cool and important, right? Like Gandhi. And Prince. And Liberace. And Jordan. So I’ve decided to drop the The. From now on you can just introduce me on stage as Edge, right. And don’t you give me any of that nonsense about my own state of self-importance. You started it.
The* Edge
* sorry, force of habit
15 January 1980
Bono,
I was working on my Airfix airplane kits at the weekend and had a bit of a disaster. Some superglue fell out of the fuselage of a Mitsubishi Zero as I was putting it together and it’s stuck all of the controls on my guitar pedals. I’ve tried freeing them up but no success. Really sorry, but I fear I’m going to be stuck with this guitar sound for at least the next eight albums.
Edge
26 November 1984
Dear Bono,
Hope you had a good time at the Band Aid shindig yesterday. I confess I was a little disappointed not to get an invite, especially as Big Country were there with their big hair and tartan shirts and huge guitar sound what I’m sure I started off. Anyway, about your line in the song. Really like the screaming approach to the line, it sounds like you really mean it. My only worry is, whether, as a practicing Christian, you should really be thanking God it’s them instead of you? I’ve a horrible feeling that this might come back to haunt you, although, as I always say, you know best.
Yours, Edge
1 June 1986
Bono,
I’ve been thinking for a while that I’m needing a bit of an image to go with my world-famous guitar sound. I was thinking about wearing a stupid hat for the rest of my life. Note this has absolutely nothing to do with male pattern baldness.
Thoughts?
Edge
1 January 1987
Dear Bono,
Happy New Year. I do think the new album will be a cracker, as Frank Carson would say (I know you’re not really a fan). One thing I’m a tiny bit concerned about. If we call it the Joshua Tree, isn’t there a danger that Larry will think that he’s being kicked out again? What if we called it the Joshua Four, do you think it would lose any impact?
Yours, Edge
The Emu 