In May 2020, as a somewhat unorthodox way of celebrating his 60th birthday, U2 frontman Bono published 60 self-penned 'fan letters' to his musical heroes on his band's website, each saluting a song written by the artist that he cherished as a personal favourite.
Somewhat dramatically - this is Bono, after all - these outpourings of love were bracketed together by the Dublin-born singer as 60 Songs That Saved My Life.
"These are some of the songs that saved my life," Bono wrote. "The ones I couldn’t have lived without… the ones that got me from there to here, zero to 60… through all the scrapes, all manner of nuisance, from the serious to the silly… and the joy, mostly joy."
“I wanted to thank the artists and everyone who helped make them,” he explained of his undertaking. “They were doing the same for me… I am writing a fan letter to accompany each song to try and explain my fascination.”
While many of the artists saluted are musicians that Bono has regularly expressed his love and admiration for since the outset of U2's career - The Beatles, Joy Division, David Bowie, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan among them - his list also included more contemporary artists, some of whom might not be considered obvious influences or inspirations for the music he himself has written.
One such song is Lady Gaga's anthemic 2011 single Born This Way, the title track of her second album, which Bono declares "will be sung forever."
Expressing his love for the song, Bono wrote the following:
"Dear Lady Gaga,
On first hearing this I knew, like everyone, how clear the concept was and that the chorus would be one of those. It was on the second listen that I realised the lyrical power of the set up with lines like 'God makes no mistakes'.
He continued: "This is your show, this is your life… to sing for the people who feel outside of themselves, outside of song, outside of Grace, and to sing us back inside.
"A song can be too perfect but this one isn’t… Its perfection is that it loves the cracks that we all fall down. Some in high heels, some flat on our face or on our knees.
"If Cole Porter was reincarnated as a 21st century dance pop female showbiz phenomenon, she surely would have written a song like this.
My friend Simo Carmo dog #NoCoinNoBootie says all his favourite songs from the rave era have a spiritual freedom/ yearning quality, a striving for a better world.
Gaga you outdid them all with this one. This song will be sung forever."
U2 are currently working on a new record.
"It’s the sound of four men, who feel like their lives depend on it... " Bono told US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel last month. "Nobody needs a new U2 album unless it’s an extraordinary one. And I’m feeling very strong about it.”
