Gonna read it in the Sunday papers

He's best known as the front man for the Irish rock masters U2, he's a singer, songwriter, producer and arranger, he's a social activist, entrepreneur, familiar with Prime Ministers, Presidents, Kings and Queens and as of today, as a columnist in the famed New York Times.

Bono moves into the printed word today, with the debut of his stint as a guest columnist with the times, providing his outlook on whatever it seems will pop into his head on occasion.

His columns won't have a set timetable and will no doubt have to fit between his many interests (including eventually we gather a new U2 recording perhaps a cover version of Joe Jackson's tune above would be timely) and then of course the massive undertaking known as a U2 tour.

It is just the latest transformation of the rock star beyond his normal station, a chance to put forward his conversations and causes to the larger audience, the band has long been a favourite of New Yorkers, with countless concert appearances in the city and of course the starting point for many of his political and social concerns.

His debut column features a look back to New Year's Eve, a Sinatra song at a celebration and the memories it stirred of his moments with the Chairman of the Board, in the midst comes a review of the year past in a worried world and what it provides as a preamble to the year to come.

The piece in the Times comes with sample readings of the essay, as well as clips from his musical interludes with Sinatra, a meshing of the word, the music and the message.