Bono has revealed that Ed Sheeran told him he did not want to get involved in politics while the pair were working on U2’s “Yours Eternally”, a song from the band’s Days Of Ash EP that was written from the perspective of a Ukrainian soldier.
The comments came as Bono and U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. discussed the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian remarks at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Bono Discusses Sheeran And Macklemore Controversy
Speaking to Rolling Stone UK, Bono said he did not want to make the situation personal or focus too heavily on the dispute between Sheeran and Macklemore.
“I would say with Ed and Macklemore that we shouldn’t personalise this, what’s going on.
“Brian Eno said today that pop stars are like little fish in a large sea of huge forces and religion and politics… And so I don’t want to dwell on Ed and Macklemore and that incident.”
Bono then recalled working with Sheeran on “Yours Eternally”, which features Ukrainian musician Taras Topalia and takes the perspective of a Ukrainian soldier amid the war with Russia.
According to Bono, Sheeran was wary of the song becoming political.
“You’re not going to get me into politics, are you?’”.
Bono said he pointed out that the soldier who inspired the song was a fan of Sheeran.
“Yeah, but I just want to keep my thing free.”
Bono then said:
“You can’t be pushing people around.”
Larry Mullen Jr. Defends Artists Choosing Their Position
Mullen Jr. also addressed the wider question of whether artists should be expected to make political statements.
“artists [can] choose whether they want to be involved, and they are entitled to choose whether they want to be involved or not… And it’s not our job to criticise that, no matter how we feel.”
The drummer’s comments echo Sheeran’s own explanation of his approach to politics. Sheeran has said there is a reason he does not use his professional platform for politics, while also saying he respects Macklemore’s decision to speak publicly about his beliefs.
U2 Criticise Pressure On Artists
The discussion also turned to the circumstances surrounding Macklemore’s departure from Sheeran’s tour.
Macklemore said Sheeran told him Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, had said the rapper would not be allowed to perform at the venue and had allegedly rallied other stadium owners against keeping him on the tour.
Kraft confirmed that Macklemore was not welcome at Gillette Stadium, citing what he described as the rapper’s recent actions and a broader history of rhetoric and imagery he believed had been offensive to the Jewish community. Kraft did not confirm Macklemore’s claim that he had rallied other stadium owners.
Sheeran subsequently said the decision to remove Macklemore was made by the promoter and venues, rather than by him. He said he had spoken directly with venue owners, including Kraft, in an attempt to keep Macklemore on the bill, but was unable to change the decision.
Mullen Jr. said U2 would not accept promoters or wealthy venue owners influencing what the band could say on stage.
“We are absolutely clear about promoters or billionaire owners and the idea that they could have some influence on what you say or what you do on a stage.
“We’ve talked about this, and [if] you applied that logic to U2, we would have been out of business on Sunday, Bloody Sunday.”
Bono added that U2 had faced similar tensions over political expression throughout its career, including its activism around Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Arizona.
He ultimately stressed that artists should be able to make their own decisions about whether they want to engage with political issues, rather than being pressured into a particular position.
