
Bono
Bono of U2 in Dublin, Ireland 12.21.1982.
This was very early in my photography career – I was sent to Ireland to shoot U2 for Smash Hits just before Christmas, 1982, during The Troubles. Went to Keith Johnson Photographic to pick up supplies, and while I was there someone broke into my car and stole my portable studio lights. Had to go back to KJP and rent a set of lights and then drive to Heathrow.
This was right before New Year’s Day was released. We went to Belfast, where U2 were playing at the Mayfield Leisure Centre. They weren’t that big in England or the rest of the world yet, but they were already huge in Ireland. The gig was in a gym that must have had at least 2x as many people as it was licensed to hold. It was PACKED. People were hanging off EVERYTHING. So many people were smoking, there was brown sticky goo dripping off the ceiling. Nicotine!
This was to be the first time the band had played Sunday Bloody Sunday in Belfast, so Bono asked the audience if that was OK, and promised that if they didn't want to hear it, they would never play that song in Belfast. The crowd went wild, and during the song Bono climbed up and grabbed the peace flag that the band was flying.
The next day we drove with the band, in a minivan, back to Dublin. Sometime in the late afternoon, in the middle of the countryside, I saw a barn and asked to stop. We did an impromptu photo session in the golden light. And the next day, we did a “studio” session, with the rented lights, at the band’s house in Dublin.
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[image sizes are approximate]
SMALL : Print Size: 8½x11” : Image Size: 6"×9"
MED : Print Size: 11"×14” : Image Size: 8"×12"
LARGE : Print Size: 16"×20” : Image Size: 11"×16"
XL : Print Size: 22"×30” : Image Size: 18"×27"
XXL : Print Size: 30"×40” : Image Size: 24"×36"
★ Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm premium glossy paper.
★ Sizes up to 16x20 printed to order by Steve on a Canon ImagePrograf Pro-1000
★ Larger sizes printed at a print lab
★ all prints are hand-signed by Steve at bottom right, with location & date at bottom left
★ all prints come with a 2”-3” white border, and a black key line around the image, so they can be framed without a mat.
★ Archival pigment inks are used for vibrant colors, deep blacks, and long-lasting fade resistance.
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exiled Londoner Steve Rapport is a passionate music-loving photographer & campaigner for social & racial justice, who has often been fortunate enough to be in the right place, at the right time, with the right camera! Steve moved to the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans in 2022, and his house on Clouet Street also hosts his gallery, containing both his vintage and recent photography. The gallery is open by appointment.