Bono explains the reason he can’t listen to U2
U2 stands as one of the most triumphantly enduring rock bands in history. Yet, their success comes with a curious twist: from their unwavering earnestness to Bono’s sometimes perceived messianic inclinations and the infamous unexpected album assault on iPhones around the world, they’ve garnered their fair share of ardent critics. But what may truly astonish many is that among the band’s detractors, there’s one unexpected member: Bono himself.
Most artists are proud of their own work, except, of course, those who are their own biggest critics. Bono has made various remarks regarding U2 and their music over the years, including expressing a distaste for the band’s name itself. “I really don’t [like it],” he admitted. But I was late into some kind of dyslexia. I didn’t realise that The Beatles was a bad pun either. In our head it was like the spy plane, U-boat, it was futuristic — as it turned out to imply this kind of acquiescence, no I don’t like that name”.
Interestingly, and perhaps somewhat unexpectedly for Bono, he also shares a common sentiment with many artists: a dislike for his own vocal performances. While he holds his bandmates’ vocal abilities in high regard, Bono candidly characterises his own voice as “Irish macho”, which, in his self-assessment, lacks the machismo he may desire. However, that doesn’t mean that he dismisses all of his songs.
“The [song] that I can listen to the most is ‘Miss Sarajevo’ with Luciano Pavarotti,” he said. “Genuine, most of the other ones make me cringe a little bit. Although ‘Vertigo’ probably is the one I’m proudest of. It’s the way it connects with the crowd.” He also added that it was only in recent times that he acquired the skill of proper singing, and he acknowledges that the lyrics on U2’s early albums, such as Boy, were not that thoroughly developed.
“I’ve been in the car when one of our songs has come on the radio and I’ve been the color of, as we say in Dublin, scarlet. I’m just so embarrassed,” he explained, adding that, on the other hand: “I do think U2 pushes out the boat on embarrassment quite a lot and maybe that’s the place to be as an artist, you know right at the edge of your level of embarrassment.”
Nonetheless, despite being well aware that an insincere show can turn an awe-inspiring feat into a daft gimmick, Bono enjoys the one song that they always know will deliver on this front. “If ever a song got to live up to a ridiculous billing, ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ is that song,” Bono writes in his memoir, Surrender. “We must have played it a thousand times, and no matter how shite a show, how off form the band or, more likely, the singer, to this day when we play ‘Streets,’ it’s as if God walks through the room.”
The track’s journey to becoming a live staple was initially far from certain. At one point, it seemed destined to remain confined to the studio, as it started as a rough sketch with Ethiopian influences. The challenge was its lack of structure, which led to an obsession for Brian Eno, consuming “40% of his time” during the album’s production. His frustration with the track grew to the point where he despised it, eventually instructing the studio assistants to erase it.
