12 Musicians You Didn't Realise Have Truly Bizarre Alter Egos

6. Bono Creates Excuse For Egomania With The Fly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y1YFH9A3Bw Bono's now legendary egomania evolved from a character the U2 singer came up with during the band's Zoo TV tour. Every negative trait people now associate with Bono--the narcism, the cocksure swagger, even the permanently glued-on sunglasses--came from Bono's "characterisation" of who the media claimed him to be in the 90s. He adopted a persona he called "The Fly" (likely inspired by those infamous shades), which was one of several characters he played on the tour. As The Fly, Bono could be free to explore his inner rock star fantasies under the guise of detached irony. He claimed The Fly was a response to "the rape that happens when you are in the spotlight, and you go along with it." More than two decades later it's clear Bono is still going along with it, because there's no separating the man from the character nowadays.