Bono and The Edge have two of music history’s most memorable stage names. Believe it or not, those names came from their childhood social group.
The Edge touched on it in the new Disney+ special Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman. The guitarist explains this group of kids came together as a type of protest against the conservative society in which the lived in 1970s Dublin.
“We invented a whole culture of our own amongst friends. We called ourselves Lipton Village. I can’t remember why,” said The Edge. “In Lipton Village, all of our friends were given their own unique nicknames. That’s where I got the name The Edge. Bono’s village name was Bono Vox of O’Connell Street.”
Obviously, the latter name was eventually shortened to Bono. However, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. also had fun nicknames, too.”
“When you hear what their original Village names were, you would understand why they didn’t run with them,” says The Edge, with a laugh. “Larry was known as ‘The Jam Jar.’ Adam was ‘Mrs. Burns.’”
In disbelief, Letterman exclaimed, “The bass player is called ‘Mrs. Burns’! Ah!”
Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman is available for streaming now on Disney+.