Shipping to Australia Blog

As people continue moving to Australia at record setting paces the country received an additional public relations boost in the form of a poignant, emotional love letter written by Bono, the Irish lead singer of the band U2 and one of the most well known artists in the world.

The letter was written as an article for the Australian Herald Sun newspaper as U2 performed their 360 degrees World Tour in the Land Down Under and, given the singer’s vast amount of fans and influence, has the potential to send millions more people packing up and moving to Australia.

The piece opened in typical Bono-speak and set the tone for the whole letter: “Surely it’s alchemy that has turned this often-parched continent into the most fertile country on the planet. Fertile lands, fertile minds. People full of fun and mischief, up-front, no-nonsense except the nonsense we enjoy and with a point of view like no one else’s, not even us who speak, like you, some bastard version of the King’s English.”

He continued on in dramatic praise of the land and never looked back: “For me a love affair began in 1984, when U2 arrived in Sydney with some new songs: Pride (In the Name of Love), and The Unforgettable Fire. Our band – like countless Irish before us – landed here, fell over in awe. But unlike countless Irish before us, we had no calluses on our hands, unless you count the kinds that come from guitar strings and drumsticks…We got to skip the hard work and head straight for falling in love with the place.”

The singer also noted that, as in any emotional relationship, there were hard times too: “Romances have ups and downs and we have not always been our best selves here. In Sydney in 1993, the Zoo TV show was a low point in our long career: the only time one of us didn’t turn up for a concert. Adam Clayton probably hasn’t forgiven himself until this tour. Australia forgave us that and other indulgences. Among them my sanctimony.”

However, he goes on to talk about the profound effect the country had on him and his band mates and how they shared some of the most emotional times of their lives together in Australia: “Our shows in Australia in 2006 were, likewise, emotional outpourings. My father had died; Edge’s daughter, Sian, was extremely ill. The contradiction of broadcasting such intimacies on giant screens still amazes me – talk about bleeding on your audience…But the blood and guts, the rawness of emotion, the joy of release – Australians never fear these things. You relish them.”

Of course, Bono being the well know political activist that he is, also had praise in this regard for the magnificent country: “The political landscape of this vast country I cannot claim to understand, but I’m glad that in a place that loves to argue every point, there’s total agreement on the commitment to fight extreme poverty wherever it resides.”

The conclusion was equally heart felt: “This is who you are. The decency of a nation in an indecent world. It would appear a campaigning Irish rock star is the last thing you need around here.”     

While Bono is just one man and praise of Australia has been in no short supply in recent years, the impact of his adulation cannot be overstated. U2 is one of the most well known and respected bands in the world and when they applaud a country, its people and all that it stands for, we should not be surprised if the moving to Australia phenomenon is about to get yet another large boost.

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