When Bono lost his voice last month, folks wrote it off as the price of being one of music’s most well-known vocalists. However, a recent interview seems to indicate that this is just another in a long line of health scares that have befallen the U2 frontman.
For any U2 fans that picked up 2017’s Songs Of Experience, a quick glance at the liner notes would have revealed that Bono had a pretty rough time the previous year, noting he had experienced “a brush with mortality”.
“I was on the receiving end of a shock to the system,” he wrote. “A shock that left me clinging on to my own life. It was an arresting experience. I won’t dwell in it or on it. I don’t want to name it.”
Now, in an interview with The Sunday Times, the Irish rocker has revealed how he very nearly “ceased to be” following another incident.
“I’m totally through it, stronger than ever,” he explained. “It was pretty serious. I’m all right now, but I very nearly wasn’t.”
“I’ve had a lot of warnings. A fair few punches over the last years,” he noted, referring to a bike accident in 2014 that saw him sustain serious injuries.
“There were some serious whispers in the ear that maybe I should have taken notice of,” he continued. “The Edge says I look at my body as an inconvenience, and I do. I really love being alive and I’m quite good at being alive, meaning I like to get the best out of any day.”
“It was the first time I put my shoulder to the door and it didn’t open. I feel God whispered to me, ‘Next time, try knocking at the door, or just try the handle. Don’t use your shoulder because you’ll break it.’”
The rocker also noted that his health scares have left him unable to do as much during his touring cycle that he used to be able to.
“On previous tours I could meet a hundred lawmakers in between shows and now I know I can’t do that,” he explained. “This tour is particularly demanding.”
“Whether you have a face-off with your own mortality or somebody close to you does, you are going to get to a point in your life where you ask questions about where you’re going.”
While Bono’s recent vocal issues saw doctors rule out anything serious, both the iconic frontman and his fans are undoubtedly thinking it’s about time he took it a little bit easier these days.
Check out U2’s ‘Mysterious Ways’:
