by U2 frontman Bono has revealed that at some point each member “considered leaving the band”.
Irish musician – real name Paul Hewson – made the reveal in the band’s new Disney+ documentary A kind of homecoming (Out March 17) in which he shares that quitting was a very real possibility in the past.
“I’ve certainly thought about leaving U2, every member has. We’ve all thought about it,” he said per The Daily Mail.
“It’s the right instinct to question whether that should still be possible and what it requires of all four members.
“But the reason I want to continue is because there’s a stirring in my voice and singing and a desire to write songs that we don’t have yet. We hunt the dragon of the song we can’t get.”
He added, “The real magic of U2 is that whatever we needed, the people we needed were always there.”
Bono went on to say that his activism work has “tested the patience” of his bandmates.
“Friendship is deeply part of who we are, but you might lose that along the way. We had to work on that,” he explained.
“When you’re in a rock ‘n’ roll band, you don’t want to be photographed with people who have potentially polarizing opposing values that you care about, and I did that to them.
“I’m turning what we’ve created as a band into currency to spend in those areas. On the whole they support me, but I know I’m trying their patience.”
The Edge – real name David Howell Evans – also agreed that there was “a lot of tension” at times, adding it was “remarkable” that the band stayed together.
“The fact that we’re still together is a remarkable thing. We kind of grew up together and through the band we learned to be people of the world.
“We’re probably a little institutionalized because we’ve been in this thing a little too long. In the past, I’ve often felt that we’ve taken our look a little too far.”
He added: “It was tough for us. There was a lot of tension.”
Last month the trailer for Bono & The Edge: A Homecoming Of Kind, starring Dave Letterman published, in which Bono and The Edge return to their hometown of Dublin with US talk show host David Letterman to “reflect on their journey as musicians and friends”.
“Traditional storytelling is part of Dublin,” says Bono in the trailer. “It’s in our music. Our songs, they’re still growing, they’re still making.”
“The question was, what remains when everything is stripped away? Where do you take it?” The Edge adds.
The documentary will coincide with the release of the new album songs of devotiona collection of 40 landmark songs from the band’s career, reinterpreted and re-recorded.
