New & Noteworthy: Fighting poverty as ONE

The U2 singer took some time out from the band’s “Vertigo” tour to hold a press conference in Beverly Hills to announce his project, “ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History,” and to explain its aims.
“We’re not just asking people to put cash in the pot here,” he said. “Americans are generous, we know they’ll do that.”
What Bono is seeking is something that will be far more valuable in the long run: popular support, which translates into political clout.
“We’re asking for their voice,” he said.
The singer was joined at the press conference by Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt, who was inspired by the U2 singer’s tireless activism to visit Africa and view the situation first-hand.
“I’ve seen it, I’ve been there, and to walk away from it and turn my back makes me culpable,” he said. “And I can’t do that.”
The ads, filmed in black and white, will feature a variety of celebrities speaking directly to the camera.
Bono has pledged to devote himself to the cause of eradicating poverty for the rest of his life.
“We can do this,” he told reporters. “I’m going to make that kind of extreme poverty history.”

It seems like Saturday night — or any time at all — is all right for fighting when your name is Elton John. Just ask Irish pop hunkette Brian McFadden, who joins Boy George, Madonna and half of the earth’s population in the Rocket Man’s verbal crosshairs.
The notoriously outspoken and cranky singer recently weighed in with his opinion of the former Westlifer’s debut solo single, “Irish Son.” And let’s just say that, unlike Brian’s stubbly, sexy new appearance, well, it wasn’t pretty.
Elton ranted to London’s Time Out magazine that he “nearly died” when he heard the song.
“I absolutely hated it,” he huffed. “It’s the worst lyric on a record I’ve ever heard.”
Hmmm . . . how bad could it be, really? Well, a quick Internet search turned up the lyrics to “Irish Son.”
I was born in the heart of Dublin
To a holy book full of rules
Made get on our knees every Sunday
With the other fools.
All right, so it’s not Lennon-McCartney caliber, and maybe Elton’s not so crazy after all. But the singer did take a sharp left into Meanville when he said that he had to “take it off before I committed suicide. It’s just horrible.” I mean, what’s not to like about lyrics like:
I’ve seen so much that has changed me
So just break with your past
Feed your own mind
Cos this Irish son has moved with the times.
Anyway, after his snarky remarks appeared in print, Elton began to feel a bit of remorse.
“It was wrong of me to do that to a fellow artist,” he admitted to the Sunday World. “I phoned Brian . . . and apologized to him for those remarks.”
Brian, who’s obviously a forgiving kind of guy, happily accepted Elton’s apology. Which is a relief, because the next time they meet, it’ll be with knives in hand.
“I am going to take him out to dinner to make it up to him,” vowed Elton.

Enter to win a copy of
The hot new book
“Bono in Conversation”
With Michka Assayas

With U2’s “Vertigo Tour” playing to sold-out arenas throughout the country and Bono in the frontlines of the fight to eliminate hunger and disease, the timing couldn’t be better for the release of French journalist Michka Assayas’s book, “Bono in Conversation.” It’s a fascinating look at the man behind the wraparound glasses: a wide-ranging conversation conducted over a few years between two old friends.
“I’m a person who actually doesn’t like to look back in my work, in my day, or in general,” Bono says in the book. “But maybe this is the moment. There are stories to tell that are not songs.”
Among the stories are accounts of his unhappy teen years in Dublin after the death of his mother, the formation of U2, and what motivates him to get involved in global politics. It’s a fascinating read and a rare opportunity to gain some insight into the man behind the world’s greatest rock band. (And lest you think that’s just a little N&N hyperbole, that title comes from Rolling Stone Magazine, y’all.)
The book hits the stores next week, but we’ve got five copies to give away to some lucky readers. You can enter online at www.irishecho.com and fill out the contest form on the lower left of the homepage, or send a postcard with your name, address and daytime phone number to:

Bono Book Contest
c/o Irish Echo Newspaper,
14 East 47th St., 6th Floor,
New York, NY 10017

Please include the answer to the following question:
What is Bono’s real name?
a. Paul Hewson; b. Paul McCartney; c. Paul Young; d. Les Paul

Deadline for all entries is Friday, April 23.

Briefings
Irish actor Peter O’Toole has officially reached the age (72) where he can do and say whatever he wants about other famous people, without fear of reprisal. The septugenarian star of such films as “My Favorite Year” and “Lawrence of Arabia” was obviously not a big fan of the “Death of a Salesman” playwright. According to IrelandOnline, O’Toole summed up his opinion of Daniel Day Lewis’s late father-in-law thusly: ” Arthur Miller? Another bore.”
Now, admittedly, that sounds a bit mean. But one can only assume that he’d just caught the film version of “The Crucible,” which starred DDL and (shudder) Winona Ryder on cable.

Fans of “The Simpsons” will want to keep an eye out for an episode called “The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost,” which was postponed from its normal Sunday night slot on FOX-TV due to the death of the pope. The show features the voice of Liam Neeson, who plays a man of the cloth.

You knew there had to be an Irish angle to the Charles and Camilla nuptials, so here it is: The plumed chapeaux that the American media seems to take such delight in slagging off were designed by Irish milliner-to-the-stars Philip Treacy. The wide-brimmed ivory topper, which the Sunday World described as featuring “a graphic fountain of feathers,” took the place of the more traditional veil-and-tiara bridal headwear favored by he royals. Other Treacy clients have included Grace Jones, Boy George and, um, Marilyn Manson.

In a case of the pot calling the kettle, um, tawdry, oddball Hollywood actor turned boxer turned biker Mickey Rourke has blasted celebutante (and amateur porn star) Paris Hilton for calling herself an “actress.” According to the entertainment Web site www.iol.ie, Rourke feels that this sort of thing is, well, bringing down the credibility of the acting profession. “Cate Blanchett is an actress,” ranted Mickey. “Paris Hilton is not. . . . I mean, how can they use the same word?” Especially since Paris has practically trademarked her catchphrase, “That’s hot.”

An anonymous bidder with deep pockets and — apparently — a deep craving for U2 images snapped up four previously unpublished pictures of the band at a Dublin auction last week. The prints, by the band’s longtime photographer, Anton Corbjin, initially failed to earn the reserve price of