Customer Reviews

Killing Bono: I Was Bono's Doppelganger

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Let's get something straight from the get-go: this is the best book on music for 2004. Darn-sure qualifies as one of the Top 5 of all time, for that matter. And speaking of the matter, this is the most painfully pleasant description of the music biz's sorry-ass state ever put on paper.

Anyone who ever has even remotely dreamed of making it in a band (HELLO-OOO all you folks) must read this book. Mr. McCormick pulls no punches. He shovels the blame on incompetentcy, including his own. He documents the rise from gymnasium cover band to the most exhaulted level stardom by his school chums in U2, particularly Bono to whom he remains close.

The comparison and contrast could not delineate a clearer gap.

The writing reads as rapidly as a Ramones song: "onetotreefo" so you never get the slightest bit bored or anxious over the author's misguided efforts and tragicomic outcomes. How many ways can a band win in the music biz? Well, there's only one way things work when you're successful. How many ways can things get screwed up? Incalculable.

A modern classic is what we got with this. Sadly, I don't know if the ol' boy has anything left for a follow-up of substance. But he certainly did provide plenty of insight in this book.

This book succeeds on three levels

1) A vivid portrait of growing up a rock fan in Ireland in the 70's and coming of age as a struggling rock musician in the 80's
2) An excellent portrait of the makings of a supergroup and rock icon written from a fascinating perspective- a long time friend who is STILL a friend.
3) A great autobiographical rumination on letting go of your dreams while building new ones and embracing the person you are.

As a U2 fan, I loved the captions with Bono. It's refreshing when a famous person who seems to be a nice person in the glare of celebrity actually turns out to be a nice person behind the scenes. Bono comes across as a good guy and genuine person.

I like that the two are still friends nearly thirty years later despite their different experiences. It's as if Paul McCartney had still shared a pint and chewed the fat with Pete Best on occasion....

A wonderful aspect of the book is that confirms that you never outgrow your true friends (and shouldn't)and that you shouldn't forget where you came from....

Mr. McCormick- please write another book! You are a fine talent and more importantly- a fine human being....

First the basics. McCormick grew up with this guy named Paul. They both formed bands and played the circuits, making connections with the music industry big wigs and recording their songs. Paul is now better known as Bono. McCormick is now better known as the music critic for the Telegraph. So what happened? What makes one person become a star and another fail to break through the maze of the music industry? Talent? Fate? Luck? This book takes you on the whole journey, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, but always interesting. I blazed through its 384 pages in four days, and wish there were still more of it to read. Along the way I was treated to deep discussions of fame, fortune, misfortune, music, the music industry, religion, and life in general. McCormick weaves together several themes and keeps them all relevant and alive. If you've ever dreamed of being a rock star, read this book.

I happened upon a commerical for this book--something very rare. Naturally, being a fan of U2 I filed the title away in my mind to later order a copy from Amazon.

Neil McCormick has written an amusing little book about many different subjects with Bono being the re-ocurring voice of faith throughout. I found myself identifying with Neil as a person. I, too, have enjoyed U2's rise to success, though initially I did not like them. I, too, have little faith, little belief in God and am quite the cynic. I, too have a love affair with music, but I never felt I'd have made it as a rock star (for me it was film star!)

Anyway, "Killing Bono" is basically Neil's experience of befriending the members of U2 when they all attended high school together. He formed his own band and they formed theirs. Neil never came close the success of U2, but he always remained friends with Bono. The book also highlights the pitfalls of the music business. Along the way, Neil meets many famous rock stars, er, pop stars such as Sinead O'Connor, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and lesser known artists (which I actually have in my music collection!) such as Jon Astley and Black.

I must say that if you love popular music like I do, and you know quite a bit about U2, like I do, then this book is a very enjoyable read. I'd love to sit down with Neil and discuss popular music! In fact, it would be interesting to sit with Bono and Neil and talk about popular music! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in reading about Neil McCormick's struggles to become a ROCK STAR!

You don't have to be a U2 fan to love this book! However, it is a must read for any U2 fan! Neil McCormick has such an interesting story to tell, having known Bono and co. since before they assembled their band. Watching Bono and U2 ascend to global super-stardom was both frustrating and exciting for the aspiring rock star who seemed to receive a dose of bad luck for every bit of good luck that made U2 the most popular band on the planet. Going from band to band, Neil and his brother just couldn't seem to land a record deal that would enable them to match the success of their school buddies Paul, Dave, Larry and Adam. Through it all, Neil finds comfort in his continuing friendship with Bono and his wife Gloria, not to mention a promising career in journalism. The failed quest for fame and greatness, mixed with intense envy and frustration of the greatness of others, reminded me of the film "Amadeus," in which Salieri burns with envy at the greatness of Mozart. Neil is Salieri to Bono's Mozart, but what I think he has learned at this point in his life is that it isn't so bad being Salieri.

Neil McCormick has written a brilliantly witty, poignant, and insightful look at one of the world's most admired and famous figures. And, he's done so in a thoroughly, delightfully irreverent way. People who love or hate Bono will probably enjoy this book and laugh out loud at many passages. But, McCormick also affords Bono respect and even, at times, appreciation and affection.

Even better than the insights on Bono is the hard-luck, almost slapstick story of McCormick--a wannabe rock star possessing some significant talent who never seemed to get any breaks and watched his childhood friend acheive all of the glamour and fame that McCormick himself craved. Through it all, they somehow maintained a cordial friendship, depsite their widely divergent views and personalities.

McCormick is a stellar writer--a reader may be grateful that he never made it in rock and roll, as the literary world may have been robbed of a very bright light indeed. Many times, I laughed out loud as McCormick skillfully sets up scenes worthy of a Blake Edwards farce, with himself as the victim. He is self-depracating, but it only increases the reader's admiration for him and all that he overcame. We can all identify with McCormick's quest for fame and fortune...his dreams of superstardom...and his envy at watching someone else get it all.

Bono himself writes a wonderful forward that is priceless in its own way. As seemingly different as these two are, the reader begins to notice certain strong similarities and bonds between them.

For fans of Bono or McCormick or even obscure 80s music and style, this book is a blast.

Bono has to have tremendous integrity and personal charm to have retained the good will of so many of his long time aquaintances. Neil's love for Bono shines on every page of this engrossing book, when he had every human reason to be eaten up with hateful jealousy. It speaks well of Neil that he is able to separate Bono's rock stardom as having nothing to do with his own failure as a rock star. It's a wonderful book and I wish more of Bono's friends would write such an honest account of their relationships.(Are you listening, Gavin?) I listened to Neil's songs and I'd say there is one area in which he is blinded. He simply doesn't have anywhere near Bono's talent, and charisma, but then, no one else does either.

Sex! Drugs! Rock 'n roll! Who wouldn't want to live life as a rock star? But what happens to all the artists who never make it? Neil McCormick is one of these unfortunate souls- and on top of that, he grew up with Bono. Neil shares with us his bittersweet story in his fantastic book, Killing Bono. This is Neil's true story of watching Bono and his band, U2, rise to celebrity status, while Neil and his many unsuccessful and short-lived bands fall into the pit of anonymity.

Killing Bono traces Neil's life, from his first thoughts of how he would become a star, all the way to the end of his "career", which proves his first ambitions to be futile. Neil struggles with his faith, his drug addiction, and simply surviving and striving to be a good person.

Neil quickly earned my empathy- who can't pity a man who's life was stolen by Bono?- and was a very entertaining character to read about. The reader experiences the trials and tribulations of trying to stay afloat in a rough sea that is the music business right along with Neil, and endures his heartbreaks and happy moments (few, but present) with him as well.

One thing about this book that I personally adored was being able to see rock stars as normal people, with the cameras turned off and before they were shoved into the limelight. I originally picked up this book hoping to read about Bono and the Edge, but I am very glad that my assumption was incorrect. I believe Mr. McCormick has led an equally, if not more, interesting life, even if he never really did achieve his goal of super-stardom.

This book is a wonderful read for any musician, wannabe rock star, or U2 fan (myself included in all of those categories!) It is an amazingly well written novel. Mr. McCormick has a marvelous (and rare) quality of using clever insight and witty remarks that are both humorous and have very valid points as well. I desperately hope he writes again, because after reading this novel, I'm craving more, and you will too, if you read this incredible book.

Why? Because it tells my story, too. Reading this was like reading a summary of my own life...different circumstances, different setting, different people, different details...but essentially the same story.

Neil McCormick has illustrated a lifetime of disappointments, frustrations, and failures with an uncommon balance of humor, wit, indignation, and poignancy. For all struggling musicians, artists, actors, etc., who have wondered if their toils and sacrifices would ever amount to anything...this book is for them. It is a story of the grim reality of trying to succeed in the music business, but it really speaks to all areas of endeavor where the creative individual aspires to succeed at what he KNOWS he is meant to do, all the while swimming upstream against seemingly insurmountable odds. It is a story of living in another's shadow; having to sit and watch as a close friend reaps rewards that you know were meant for you. It is a dual tale, in that while it is a fascinating look into the early development of U2(and the evolution of the Bono persona), it is more about the author's personal struggle with his own creative efforts. His attempt to reconcile his own worth as a musician in the shadow of his relationship with U2 is as humorous as it is touching (The segment where Neil is mistaken for The Edge by two young fans as Bono urges him to sign autographs brought a lump to my throat, I must admit). Neil's writing style makes for effective storytelling, and one ends up emotionally invested in his desire for success by the end of the book.

One of the major themes of the book revolves around the various incarnations of the McCormick brothers' bands, around which there is much discussion of various songs that were written between the brothers. By the last chapter of the book, I had read so much about the music of "Yeah!Yeah!" and "Shook Up!" that I was dying to hear their music! So, in a not-so-ironic twist, "Killing Bono" ultimately ends up being the King of all marketing schemes (I mean this in the most positive sense) by gradually and subtly creating a demand for Neil's music in the mind of the reader. BRILLIANT! He has finally succeeded at what he has struggled for decades to do: get his music noticed!Nevermind the fact that he had to spend decades becoming a prominent music journalist so he could write a book about his downtrodden dreams of being a rock star in order to accomplish that feat! Hmmm...maybe I'll become an art critic, and in a about 20 years...

Seriously, "Killing Bono" is ultimately a story about hope, and that our dreams can manifest in spite of the different paths we walk as individuals, even if it takes some of us longer than others.

In a stroke of good timing, Neil McCormick's album "Mortal Coil" (20+ years in the making) was recently released in the UK, and from what I hear, it's amazing. Amazon/USA needs to make this item available. I predict that as this book makes the rounds, more and more people are going to want to hear Neil's music, and then maybe his dreams of becoming a star will be realized. With "Killing Bono", he is already a literary star.

Briefly: A fantastic book for music lovers who grew up during the '80s -- witty and well-written. Even if Neil McCormick didn't find fame through his music, he should get his 15 minutes (at least) with this book.