"He's like Christ, I'm telling you"

LA's Kodak Theatre was awash with A-List celebs last week as Bono was presented with an EIF 'Heart Of Entertainment' Award for his humanitarian work.

The beano was hosted by comedian Drew Carey who joked: "I'm so glad that God sent Bono down to save us from our sins. Do you want to see my wristband? It says, 'What would Bono do?' He's like Christ, I'm telling you. He's like Christ and Bob Dylan rolled into one."

A slightly more serious appraisal of Bono's politicking was offered by Mick Jagger who reflected: "I remember when you started your thing up for third-world debt, a lot of people said, 'Why don't you just leave the job to the professionals and get on with your own life?' But I suppose you've got to remember that it was the professionals that built the Titanic and the amateurs the ark."

After more bon mots from Kevin Spacey, Tom Cruise and Bill Clinton, Bono joined REM for a spirited rendition of 'One'.

"It was an incredible song with incredible singers," enthuses REM manager Bertis Downs. "Peter started it off with a sort of Neil Young electric version of the riff. They keyed it down to Michael's preferred key which was only a minor annoyance to the special unplanned guest!

"All in all, another of the great nights. We were proud to take part in it and it was especially memorable for the band to be involved with honouring Bono."