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The man who would be Bono |
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Written by Chelsea J. Carter, asap
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Thursday, 29 June 2006 |
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 BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Rob Kemp does a double-take. Then he does a triple-take.
Bono? The lead singer of the biggest band in the world, U2?
He races up and introduces himself, shaking his hand and rattling off his adoration at a mile-a-minute pace.
Kemp, 23, doesn’t notice that the man has no Irish accent. Or that he’s carrying his own bag down the street. All Kemp of Abbotsford, Canada, sees is the legendary singer -- from the straw hat to the glasses to the jacket.
“I’m not Bono,” the man says.
This is the man who would be Bono. asap spent some time with Bono impersonator Geoffrey Knight -- a man who is such a ringer for the rock star that he eclipses other look-a-likes, and we found out that adoration comes in all forms, including human form.
BECOMING BONO
 Knight, 32, a long time U2 fan, came to Bono late in life. It began with a U2 concert in Seattle when his wife encouraged him to wear a pair of sunglasses, which he says looked nothing like the ones that Bono is famous for wearing.
“You know how people stare at you, and you get this feeling in the back of your head that someone is looking at you?” Knight said.
Stares -- they happened during the concert and again at the merchandise stand.
“This one girl had a little bit too much to drink, and she wrapped her arms around me. And then she stepped back and said ’You’re not him,”’ he said.
But it was a trip to Ireland to see a U2 concert a few months later in June 2005 that set him on his path to becoming Bono. In Dublin, where Bono can be seen sometimes walking the streets, the people who live there did more than a double-take. Some of them approached him.
BEING BONO
It started when he returned to Washington and related the experience to a friend, who in turn told him that celebrity impersonators can make a lot of money. Out of curiosity, Knight said, he logged on and looked at a few Bono impersonator sites. None of the impersonators looked a lot like Bono, he says.
Most people emulate their idols earlier in life, with their choice of clothing or a hairstyle. Sometimes they replicate a celebrity’s tattoo or adopt their nickname. But Knight had never subscribed to that. He was a guy who liked the music, the man and the man’s message about helping those less fortunate.
Knight sent some pictures of himself to an impersonation Web site. A month later, Boston radio station Mix 98.5 FM contacted him -- and flew him out to do promotions for the station in the days leading up to a U2 concert.
For a few days, Knight lived like a rock star. He took no money for the gig but did enjoy the perks -- from the use of limo to a suite in an upscale hotel.
“I would pop my head up out of the limousine. It was like magnet. The limo couldn’t move and people were asking to take their pictures,” he said.
LIVING BONO
There is little about Knight’s personal life that resembles the rock star. Knight and his wife own a Pilates studio in the sleepy university town of Bellingham; Bono owns several houses, globe trots for social causes and, of course, fronts the biggest rock band in the world.
But Knight does believe in some of Bono’s causes, such as “One: The Campaign To Make Poverty History. He donates most of the money he makes as a look-a-like to One, and lent his Bono-likeness to a video produced by his daughter, who was promoting the campaign at her school.
Being Bono has become a family affair as well.
His wife manages his impersonation career and keeps an eye on his wardrobe. His daughter helps him keep up with the latest Bono news, and Knight studies recent photos of Bono to keep up with his appearance.
There’s also the clothing and accessory price tag. A pair of designer sunglasses can run upward of $500 to $1,000, and the getting a custom hat made can cost hundreds of dollars.
“I’m so good at holding up the morale end of the package. I don’t try to abuse this thing, this gift I guess you can call it,” Knight said. “I was born this way. I don’t have any Irish in me at all. So yes, I guess it’s a gift.”
Their are a few physical challenges to impersonating the rock star.
“He has terrible posture. I would love to get him in a Pilates studio,” Knight said.
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Find it online here: www.extrasformovies.com/celebrity—lookalikes5.asp
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asap reporter Chelsea J. Carter has interviewed Bono -- twice! | Only registered users can write comments.
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