Bono Regrets Being Humble About His Voice

U2 frontman Bono recently spoke to Variety and discussed his previous statements about finding his voice ‘cringy.’ The rocker said that he regrets trying to be humble about his musical talents and has become an egotistical musician once again.

When Bono, The Edge, Dik Evans, Adam Clayton, and Ivan McCormick joined drummer Larry Mullen Jr. who was looking for members for his new band, they decided on the name The Hype. However, they later changed it to U2 after Steve Averill’s suggestion as it was the least bad sounding one. During a previous interview with the Awards Chatter podcast, Bono shared his thoughts on U2’s name and his voice.

According to the musician, he’s never liked the name ‘U2’ and his own voice, and he admitted that some of the band’s earlier songs make him cringe. Bono also revealed that he would like a more futuristic name for the band, like ‘U-Boat.’ With these remarks, Bono surprised most U2 fans as it is rather unexpected for a musician to say those things. However, in a recent interview with Variety, Bono revealed what he truly intended to say.

The frontman told the magazine that he thinks live shows are where U2 lives, and he loves the early recordings, although they reveal his voice’s fragility. Following that, Bono said that during the interview with the Awards Chatter podcast, he tried to be quite honest with people while using a little bit of humor. The musician then added he was trying to be humble, but it clearly doesn’t suit him. So, Bono said he is now back to being ‘full-on bollocks.’

During the interview with Variety, Bono stated the following:

“During the week, there was this story about me not liking the sound of my voice. And I was saying, it’s not bad at all. It’s just ‘live’ is where U2 lives… and I love the early recordings, but when I hear my voice on them, I just hear the fragility of it.

It’s OK for me to occasionally try to be f*cking straight-up honest with people. I was trying to be humorous in this interview, and a bit humble. It doesn’t suit; I am back to full-on bollocks.

While speaking to Awards Chatter, Bono had also stated that he can only listen to their ‘Miss Sarajevo,’ and noted that ‘Vertigo’ is the song he is most proud of. However, he had claimed that most of the other U2 songs make him cringe and he feels quite embarrassed to hear them.