This piece explores how John Lennon's 1971 solo anthem "Imagine" shaped U2 frontman Bono's outlook as a young musician and, by extension, his approach to rock stardom. Bono has credited Elvis Presley with teaching him stagecraft, but it was Lennon's post-Beatles solo work, particularly "Imagine", that had a deeper, formative influence on him around the age of twelve, showing him that a musician's platform could extend beyond songwriting into political and humanitarian advocacy.

Bono told Rolling Stone that "Imagine" "set fire" to him, likening Lennon's lyrics to a whisper of "different ways of seeing the world". The article argues U2 later carried this idea into huge arena shows, with Bono frequently using pauses between songs to address political and humanitarian causes, though critics have noted moments, such as parts of Rattle and Hum, where this approach tipped into lecturing rather than the subtler, conversational persuasion Lennon achieved in "Imagine".