As bandmates, The Edge and Bono had their ups and downs, which trickled into moments where the guitarist had thoughts about calling it quits and leaving U2 for good. He recently shared with The Telegraph, their rocky ‘creative’ relationship that made him question everything about the band.
It’s almost inevitable for two musicians with strong opinions not to have disagreements and moments of annoying one another. There have been times for The Edge, when the friction between him and Bono became too much to handle, and he wanted out of everything causing him stress. Bono had once revealed that their band would constantly break up and get back together without letting the world know what was happening behind the scenes.
However, The Edge also realized once he settled down that same friction also the very same feeling that got their creative juices flowing. Even if the guitarist desires to change it up, he continuously circles back to Bono and his U2 bandmates. He knows he wouldn’t want a solo career without a proper creative relationship to bounce ideas off of.
The Edge’s words about his relationship with Bono read:
“Of course, Bono gets too much for me sometimes! I’m sure I drive him mad, as well. If that wasn’t the case, I think we would be doing a disservice to each other because it’s in the realm where we push each other, challenge each other, annoy the hell out of each other, and you know something is going on. If you never get to that place, dude, you don’t have a proper creative relationship.”
He added:
“Occasionally, when I get really dejected, I say to myself, ‘OK, I’m out of here. I’m going to do something much less taxing and more fun. So, what is it?’ Then I’d think,’ Well, I love music, but do I want to be a solo artist? No. So I’ll find a really good singer. OK, so I’ll work with Bono. But we need a unique rhythm section that doesn’t sound like every other rock band. I guess that would be Adam and Larry.”
Although The Edge has been pushed to the edge of deciding to leave the band on multiple occasions amidst feuds, he and Bono don’t ever get to the point of actual disbandment as they somehow always get through the rough patches and come together for another track or album.
