Particularly conservative Christians, I was very angry that they were not involved more in the AIDS emergency.

But more than anything else, for the British folks Irish people were all terrorists. So when we went to Britain, it was always a lot of resistance to U2. And that's why we came to America.

But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Religion can be the enemy of God. It's often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building.

My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ.

I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that's why they're so relatable.

You've got to watch the politics of AIDS. The politics of AIDS can work both for and against the victims of AIDS.

I'm never nervous.

Africa will thrive.

Anyone that's involved in development has discovered that all the good work that's been done in development has been undone by the AIDS emergency.

I am, as a character, at times, a little overbearing. I recognize that.

God's Spirit moves through us and the world at a pace that can never be constricted by any one religious paradigm.

So you cannot, as a Christian, walk away from Africa.

You know, God has some really weird kids, and I find it hard to be in their company most of the time.

Rock music is niche.

Selling out is doing something you don't really want to do for money. That's what selling out is.

I used to love Kurt Cobain, when he was telling people we're a pop band. People would laugh, they thought of it as good old ironic Kurt. But he wasn't being ironic.

The great moments of rock 'n' roll were never off in some corner of the music world, in a self-constructed ghetto.

U2 is sort of song writing by accident really. We don't really know what we're doing and when we do, it doesn't seem to help.

I think ABBA have a pure joy to their music and that's what makes them extraordinary.

Overcoming my dad telling me that I could never amount to anything is what has made me the megalomaniac that you see today.

Marriage is this grand madness, and I think if people knew that, they would perhaps take it more seriously.

You see, idealism detached from action is just a dream. But idealism allied with pragmatism, with rolling up your sleeves and making the world bend a bit, is very exciting. It's very real. It's very strong.

The fact is that ours is the first generation that can look disease and extreme poverty in the eye, look across the ocean to Africa, and say this, and mean it. We do not have to stand for this. A whole continent written off - we do not have to stand for this.