Bono has revealed that he almost died while recording new U2 album Songs Of Experience.
The 57-year-old musician admits he finds it difficult to talk about the “extinction event” despite it having a strong impact on the record, the Irish band’s 14th studio album to date.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: ‘It’s just a thing that… people have these extinction events in their lives; it could be psychological, or it could be physical. And, yes, it was physical for me, but I think I have spared myself all that soap opera.’
Confession: Bono has revealed that he almost died while recording new U2 album Songs Of Experience
He added: ‘This political apocalypse was going on in Europe and in America, and it found a perfect rhyme with what was going on in my own life. And I have had a hail of blows over the years.
‘You get warning signs, and then you see that you are not a tank, as my wife Ali says. Edge has this thing that he says about me, that I look upon my body as an inconvenience.’
However, Bono insisted he does not want to dwell on his near-death experience because he has been luckier than other people who did not survive.
He said: ‘I am the f**king luckiest man on Earth. I didn’t think that I had a fear of a fast exit. I thought it would be inconvenient ’cause I have a few albums to make and kids to see grow up and this beautiful woman and my friends and all of that.’
The interview comes after Bono and The Edge took a trip on the Berlin subway line that shares the band’s name and played a short concert on an underground platform.
The musicians took a special train from the Olympic Stadium, near the western end of the U2 line, to the Deutsche Oper stop.
Local radio station Radioeins, which gave out tickets for the ride, said about 120 people joined them on the train.
Bono and The Edge played a few songs on the platform at Deutsche Oper to wrap up their appearance, which followed the release of their new album.
The full interview with Bono is available in the January edition of Rolling Stone.
Opening up: The full interview is in the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine