The New York Times - October 14, 2005
Patrick D. Healy

A close associate of Bono's took the unusual step this week of disassociating the singer and the band from a trend in the Washington-entertainment nexus: candidates using access to sold-out concerts as a means of wooing major donors.

The move came after a Web site, NewsMax.com, reported that U2 was "teaming up" with another senator, Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, for a thousand-dollar-a-seat concert in Philadelphia on Sunday. Mr. Santorum's office responded that the story was incorrect: the senator has bought only 66 seats, which supporters can repurchase for the higher price.

Yet erroneous reports continued on the Internet and cable television, prompting an advocacy group that was founded by Bono and others - Debt AIDS Trade Africa, or DATA - to release a statement distancing the performers from these fund-raising events.

"If any political fund-raising events take place at a U2 concert, it is without the involvement or knowledge of DATA, U2, or Bono," Jamie Drummond, executive director of DATA, said in the statement. "U2 concerts are categorically not fund-raisers for any politician; they are rock concerts for U2 fans."

Representatives of Mrs. Clinton's re-election campaign and of Mr. Santorum said yesterday that the fund-raisers would take place regardless of DATA's statement.

The original NewsMax article drew attention in part because Mr. Santorum is a conservative Republican facing a tough fight for re-election next year, and he and the politically progressive singer and advocate might not seem a natural fit at first glance. But Bono has worked with many conservatives, including former Senator Jesse Helms and Mr. Santorum, on efforts to prevent the global spread of H.I.V., according to a Santorum spokesman.

"The senator has a very warm and deep relationship with Bono," said the spokesman, Robert Traynham. He added that he did not know if the politician and the performer would meet privately on Sunday.

Officials with Senator Clinton's campaign declined to comment yesterday. She plans to be host to 18 people, at $2,500 a person, to benefit her political action committee Hillpac.

It was not clear yesterday if Bono was upset that politicians were raising money at his shows, or if he had spoken about it with either of the Clintons. Requests to interview him, made through intermediaries, were not granted.

A spokesman for DATA, Christopher Lagan, said he did not know if the group's statement was the performer's idea.

"At the least I'm sure he saw the statement before it went out," Mr. Lagan said.

The statement has stirred conversations in some cultural and political circles because Bono has mixed politics and celebrity himself in hopes of influencing Africa policy.

Bono has worked not only with former President Bill Clinton but also with President Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and other world leaders to increase aid to African nations and cancel more debt held by the poorest of them. His stature as U2's front man has helped him win meetings with senior officials in the Clinton and Bush administrations to press for greater AIDS financing, among other issues.

The Santorum and Clinton fund-raisers are not a new phenomenon, although it is more common for musicians to volunteer their time and talent to perform at such events or rallies on behalf of political allies. Bruce Springsteen, singing just two songs, drew tens of thousands of people to John Kerry rallies in Ohio and Wisconsin in the final days of the 2004 presidential campaign.

In August, however, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California drew some fire for using a Rolling Stones concert in Boston for a fund-raiser at a cost of $10,000 to $100,000 a person. Some public employees' unions that had been battling the governor, as well as a good government group, criticized Mr. Schwarzenegger for charging so much to attend a concert and stockpiling money to further his political interests.

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