Bono has compared being in U2 to being a part of a priesthood, because your only way out is “in a coffin”.
The legendary Irish rock band is made up of Bono, 56, Larry Mullen Jr, 54, The Edge, 55, and Adam Clayton, 56 – and the foursome have sold 170 million records, picked up more Grammys than any other band and had the biggest grossing live tour of all time.
While U2 have already achieved so much since forming in 1976, formerly known as The Hype, frontman Bono insists there’s plenty more to come, despite the band members edging closer to 60.
“You have to remember, being in U2 is like being in the priesthood. There’s only one way out – and that’s in a coffin,” he told the Irish Mirror.
More to come: Bono says the only way out of U2 – is in a coffin | VIPIRELAND.COM
Although U2 are seen as one of the most successful bands of all time, Bono has revealed the very moment they changed from being The Hype to U2 – and it’s all thanks to punk rock band The Clash.
“Everything changed that night. I remember sitting in my bedroom the next day, staring out the window. Everything became very clear in that moment: the world is more malleable than you think.”
“There were better bands in Dublin – bands who looked better, played better, wrote better songs. But what we got from The Ramones and The Clash was you could just pick up a mic and say something through your music,” he said.
The rock star also oddly admitted that even today he wishes U2 “were a more talented band” – and told how much he hates one of their most successful live songs.
Cringe: Bono winces every time he hears a U2 song on the radio | VIPIRELAND.COM
“Even today, I wish U2 were a better band. I wish we were a more talented band. I have to go through excruciating humility these days when I set about writing a song.
“Every time I hear a U2 song on the radio, I wince. You want to know my most humiliating U2 moment? Where The Streets Have No Name.
“When I wrote those lyrics I was in a tent in Ethiopia. I scratched down some thoughts, ‘I want to run, I want to hide, I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside’.
“I thought they were fairly inane but when we recorded the song, those words just stayed. Now I have to sing them for the rest of my life. And it’s U2’s most successful live song!” he added.
