Don’t Call Him Sir Bono

The always charitable rock-star Bono became a knight of the British empire Thursday. Showing his humility and sense of humor, Bono graciously accepted, but would prefer that he not be called Sir Bono.

“You have permission to call me anything you want… except sir, all right? Lord of lords, your demigodness, that’ll do,” the 46-year-old U2 frontman told reporters “after he was crowned a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in a jokey, informal ceremony in the Dublin home of British Ambassador David Reddaway,” according to the Post Star.

The knighthood was bestowed upon Bono as a tribute to his work as a crafty campaigner in the fight against poverty and disease in Africa. Before Reddaway dubbed Bono a knight, he was asked whether it was disappointing that becoming a knight no longer involves kneeling or even a sword, at that.

“Please, I wasn’t expecting you to kneel,” Bono replied in a humorous tone , his hand on the ambassador’s shoulder.

The Post Star also reported that “Bono was accompanied by his wife, Ali, and their four children, Jordan, 17; Eve, 15; Elijah, 7; and John, 5. Also attending the ceremony were U2 guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton, who unlike the other band members, is English-born and retains British citizenship.”

Unfortunately, bitter Irish nationalists have criticized the rocker for accepting a British honor. But the Dublin native, whose real name is Paul Hewson, paid little mind, noting the unprecedentedly warm relations today between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

“I think Great Britain is great,” Bono said. “And Irish people support British football teams. And Irish bands sign British record labels. And Irish people speak English. And we even have one (Englishman) in our band.”

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