He may be a famous rock star, humanitarian and even a knight, but Bono doesn't quite cut it in North Dakota.

'When I saw the resolution, I was looking for Cher's name in there.'—Republican Representative Gil Herbel

State lawmakers defeated a resolution Thursday to honour the U2 frontman for his work to eliminate Third World debt, saying the Irish rocker has no connection to the Peace Garden State.

Bono won't be honoured by North Dakota, but still has his British knighthood to fall back on.
(Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

The vote was something of a landslide, with 58 members of the North Dakota House of Representatives voting against it and only 35 in favour.

Fargo state Representative Scot Kelsh, who sponsored the measure, said he got the idea from a magazine published by the U.S. National Conference of State Legislatures, which mentioned that no state at the time had approved a resolution to honour Bono.

"This is something that does matter to us as citizens of North Dakota, the United States and the world at large," said Kelsh, whose attempt to fete Bono came less than two months after the Dubliner became an honourary knight of the British Empire.

Representative Gil Herbel, a Republican, said he initially thought the resolution referred to Sonny Bono, the former singer, Republican congressman and husband of Cher who died in 1998.

"When I saw the resolution, I was looking for Cher's name in there," Herbel said.

With files from the Associated Press