Some are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them. And some have the misfortune to go to school with Bono.
Killing Bono is the true-ish story about the 2nd best band in Dublin.
You weren’t thinking we were calling U2 the second best, were you? Their classmates, Neil & Ivan McCormick were classmates and good friends with the members of the band that became U2.
The story goes that Ivan tried out as a guitarist in the band, and remained with them for a couple of months before he was let go. Ivan and Neil then went on to form a band called Shook Up! and ended up living in the shadows of their classmates’ fame.
The movie’s story line has been adjusted from the real story as to make the movie comical and (possibly) more interesting. In the movie, Ivan isn’t let go from the band…he’s asked to join, only he’s unaware that he’s been given the gig. His brother Neil leads him to believe that U2 decided to only have one guitarist, and Ivan misses out on being the second guitarist in one of the biggest bands of all time.
The movie is funny and contains good music, and is quite enjoyable, even if you’re a fan of U2. It’s based on Neil McCormick’s memoir Killing Bono: I Was Bono’s Doppelganger.
