U2 frontman Bono reveals he almost DIED recording new album but claims he’s the ‘luckiest man on earth’
The iconic singer talked about what he learnt from a near-death experience
BONO has sensationally revealed he almost died recording U2's latest album and called himself the "luckiest man on earth".
The frontman didn't reveal too much about the mysterious incident but said he's "blessed" that he gets to see his four children grow up after a near-death experience.
for their January 2018 issue, the 57-year-old said: "People have these extinction events in their lives; it could be psychological or it could be physical. And, yes, it was physical for me."
He said the recent events had a big influence on the band's new album, Songs Of Experience.
He continued: "I want to speak about the issue in a way that lets people fill in the blanks of what they have been through, you know?"
";I have had a hail of blows over the years. You get warning signs, and then you realise that you are not a tank, as [his wife] Ali says.
Bono continued: "I am the f***ing luckiest man on Earth. I didn't think 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.
"But I was not that guy. And then suddenly you are that guy. And you think, 'I don't want to leave here. There's so much more to do.' And I'm blessed."
It's not the first time the Irish rocker has faced ill health.
In 2000, Bono - whose real name is Paul Hewson - was checked for throat cancer after a specialist wanted to take a biopsy, which thankfully came back negative.
Then in 2010 he suffered a spinal injury which required emergency neurosurgery, and was hospitalised in 2015 after a cycling accident in New York's Central Park, which he refers to as a "comic tragedy."
Talking about the biking accident, he says: "The thing that shook me was that I didn't remember it.
"That was the amnesia; I have no idea how it happened. That left me a little uneasy, but the other stuff has just finally nailed me.
"It was like, "Can you take a hint?"
He also opened up about getting an education on modern music from his four children.
The rocker has daughters Jordan, 28, Memphis Eve, 26, and sons Elijah, 18, and John, 16, with wife Ali Hewson.
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He said: "Jordan is a music snob, an indie snob. Eve is hip-hop. Elijah is in a band, and he has got very strong feelings about music...he believes that a rock & roll revolution is around the corner."
The rocker was frank about his opinions on modern music, referring to it as "girly".
He said: "I think music has gotten very girly. And there are some good things about that, but hip-hop is the only place for young male anger at the moment - and that's not good.
"When I was 16, I had a lot of anger in me. You need to find a place for it and for guitars, whether it is with a drum machine - I don't care. The moment something becomes preserved, it is f***ing over. You might as well put it in formaldehyde."
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