BONO: AND THAT WAS MY IDEA

It's a busy time for Mr. Bono. Over the last few days he's come up with a tortuous excuse for legitimising his ongoing support for the Bush White House, revealed that his secret superidentity could have saved Michael Hutchence and now; now he's generously absolved Mick Jagger for "stealing" his ideas:

"We invented the B stage, the idea of going into the middle of a stadium or arena, on that tour. That was our idea that they borrowed."

Bono insists he can't complain about the Stones pinching some of his ideas, because he learned so much from Jagger and his band.

He explains, "The debt is much more in their direction."

A b-stage? Your idea, Bono? It was a good one, too. So good that George Michael went back in time and used it in the Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go video twenty years earlier. Along with every catwalk fashion show ever. And we're pretty sure we've seen footage of Simple Minds doing it too.

Next week: "I don't mind Franz Ferdinand copying our 'boys with guitars' idea", presumably.

Meanwhile, and this is for Miss Templeton, Bono recently claimed that, far from being a stupid affectation, his sunglasses were a medical requirement - his eyes are very sensitive to light, and if he had his picture taken without his sunspecs on, his eye would swell up and he'd see flash for the rest of the day.



... so this shot must have been the very, very first of a photo session, then?

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