Bono’s ode to The King finds favour with the Beeb

NOT the sweetest thing he’s every written, a poem by Bono about Elvis is for some, unforgettably dire.

Regardless, the BBC plans to air it as part of a 15-minute broadcast, interwoven with music and footage of the King (Elvis, not Bono), on May 13 next. The 850-word poem to The Pelvis will form part of a feature which the Beeb promises will be “atmospheric and artistic”.

Bono composed the ode to Elvis in 1995, but it was only two years ago that its potential was recognised. At the end of an interview with Des Shaw for a BBC radio series about Sun Studios in Memphis where Elvis recorded, Bono produced the poem.

Having read and recorded it, he told Des Shaw to “Do whatever you want with it”.

Laura Parfitt of White Pebble Media, and an ardent U2 fan, heard the recording and fell in love with it. “It’s a very evocative poem that brings sounds into your head. I immediately hear a soundscape. I could hear the sounds of America. I could hear Elvis’s voice and the music.”

Ms Parfitt subsequently mentioned the stream-of-consciousness composition to BBC Radio Four while pitching other ideas, and she and Des Shaw had the idea for the broadcast.

Bono’s love affair with Elvis is well documented.

He chose the King as his candidate for inclusion in the Rolling Stones magazine Greatest Artists of All Time edition.

The BBC’s love affair with Bono is also well documented. The broadcaster came under fire for the amount of coverage it gave to No Line on the Horizon.

This involved a day of broadcasting across five BBC channels culminating with a surprise gig by the band on the roof of Broadcasting House.

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