U2's Bono admits he'd considered QUITTING the band
‘I have certainly thought about walking away’: U2’s Bono admits he’d considered QUITTING the band as he reveals he was compelled to stay to create the ultimate song
U2 front man Bono has admitted that he had considered quitting’ the band in the past.
The singer, 62 – real name Paul David Hewson – made the candid admission that he ‘certainly thought about walking away’ from the group on upcoming Disney+ documentary A Kind Of Homecoming.
However, the With Or Without You hitmaker insisted that he was compelled to stay until the band create the ultimate song, adding that he has a strong desire to pen tracks they don’t have yet.
The star also told how all the band’s members – including The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton – have thought about leaving at some point throughout their almost 50 years together -noting that it’s the ‘right instinct’ to do so.
He said: ‘I have certainly thought about walking away from U2, every member has. We have all thought about it.
Crossed his mind: U2 front man Bono has admitted that he had considered quitting’ the band in the past
Honest: The singer, 62 – real name Paul David Hewson – made the candid admission that he ‘certainly thought about walking away’ from the group on upcoming Disney+ documentary A Kind Of Homecoming (pictured in 2017)
‘It is the right instinct to question whether this should still be going and what it demands of all four members.
‘But the reason why I want to go forward is something is stirring in my voice and my singing and the desire to write songs we don’t have yet. We are chasing the dragon of the song we can’t get.’
He added: ‘The real magic of U2 is that everything we needed, the people we needed, were always right there.’
The Irish singer went on to admit that there were periods when he ‘tested the patience’ of his bandmates thanks to his activism.
He continued in the documentary: ‘Friendship is deeply part of who we are, but you could lose that along the way. We had to work on it.
‘If you are in a rock and roll band, you don’t want to be in the photograph with some people who might have polarising opposite values you hold dear, and I did that to them.
‘I am turning what we created as a band into currency that I chose to spend in these areas. By and large they support me, but I do know I test their patience.’
Meanwhile, The Edge, 61 – real name David Howell Evans – told how it was ‘remarkable’ that the group had stayed together all these years, admitting that there had been ‘a lot of tension’ at times.
Goal: The With Or Without You hitmaker insisted that he was compelled to stay until the band create the ultimate song, adding that he has strong desire to pen tracks they don’t have yet
Quit? The star also told how all the band’s members – including The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton – have thought about leaving at some point throughout their almost 50 years together [L-R Adam, Bono, The Edge, Larry in 2022]
Opening up: ‘Friendship is deeply part of who we are, but you could lose that along the way. We had to work on it’ (pictured in 2001)
The guitarist shared: ‘The fact we are still together is a remarkable thing. We kind of grew up together and learnt how to be people of the world via the band.
‘We are probably a little institutionalised by being in this thing a little too long. There are many times in the past I think we were pushing our look a little too far.
‘It was hard for us. There was a lot of tension.’
It comes days after Bono and The Edge were back on the red carpet as almost half a century of music was celebrated in a new documentary about the groundbreaking Irish band.
Band: Meanwhile, The Edge, 61, told how it was ‘remarkable’ that the group had stayed together all these years, admitting that there had been ‘a lot of tension’ at times
The way they were: The fact we are still together is a remarkable thing. We kind of grew up together and learnt how to be people of the world via the band (pictured in 1982)
The pair were in attendance as Los Angeles venue The Orpheum Theatre played host to the US premiere of forthcoming Disney+ docu-special Bono And The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming.
Not present were the band’s remaining two members, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr, despite an array of celebrity guests converging on the venue in anticipation of the special event.
Lead singer Bono, real name Paul Hewson, and guitarist The Edge, birth-name David Howell Evans, were instead joined by American chat show legend David Letterman, who narrates the new special.
Letterman travelled to the band’s native Dublin to interview the pair about their lasting friendships and 47-year journey as musicians.
The chat show host called the 22-time Grammy winners ‘decent, well-rounded nice people’ and said it was ‘a delight’ to visit their hometown for the film.
Celebration: It comes days after Bono and The Edge were back on the red carpet as almost half a century of music was celebrated in a new documentary about the groundbreaking Irish band
Three’s company: Bono and The Edge were instead joined by American chat show legend David Letterman, who narrates new special Bono And The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming
Will you stream it? Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville’s film Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman premieres March 17 on Disney+
Letterman also admitted he was stunned after discovering Bono and The Edge had written a song for him while filming their Disney+ rock-documentary.
The five-time Emmy winner – turning 76 next month – told Access Hollywood on Wednesday: ‘Still processing it, because most songs written about me begin “Hey dumba**!” So this was an unusual experience.’
U2 will next release Songs of Surrender, an album of 40 re-recorded and reinterpreted songs from the group’s back catalogue, on March 17.
In the autumn, the entire band, minus drummer Mullen, will perform a limited engagement of concerts in Las Vegas called U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at the Sphere in honor of the grand opening of MSG Sphere at The Venetian.
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