In June of this year, U2 singer Bono revealed a long-kept secret: he has a second brother. That was new: Until then, it was only known that the artist, born Paul David Hewson in Dublin in 1960, had his brother Norman Robert, who was eight years his senior.
Bono thought so himself for a long time. It wasn’t until 2000 that he found out that his father had fathered another son. Now the musician has revealed more details about his brother. And they have it all: His father Bob had an affair with Bono’s aunt Barbara in the 1960s. She was married to his mother’s brother at the time.
The boy Bono thought was his cousin for decades turned out to be his brother. Bono’s mother Iris died of an aneurysm in 1974, apparently she knew nothing of the true origins of the boy, whose name is Scott Rankin.
He claims today that he always had a clue: “The truth is that Scott and I felt like brothers long before we knew we were,” Bono told the Irish Times. I must have known something was in the air, like kids do.”
Scott Ranking has now commented on the story himself for the first time: “I am blessed to have been welcomed into the Hewson family with open arms,” said the father of three, who works for the Irish Treasury.
Bono’s memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story will be released on November 1st. In it, the musician gives more insight into the confused family history – and also writes about the complicated relationship with his father. Brendan Robert “Bob” Hewson died of cancer in 2001.
Bono himself has been married to Alison Hewson since 1982 and the couple has four children: two daughters and two sons.
Sources used: Irish Times, Irish Times, Guardian
