Bono explains why U2 loves Vancouver during radio station interview

Dec 19 2017, 11:14 pm

Bono, the lead singer of Irish band U2, had some very kind words to say about Vancouver during a pre-tour interview with Rock 101 radio host Willy Percy.

The 55-year-old gives some insight into why the band has continuously returned to Vancouver to prepare for their tours.

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“We always have had a thing with Canada in general, but Vancouver has been very welcoming of us at a time when we were fragile,” said Bono. “Because you get quite vulnerable when you are preparing to launch a tour. And I know that sounds odd, but there is a level of nausea, and… you feel ill, a pit in your stomach. It’s a very anxious time.”

“Here in this city, we feel very free. And I like to get out of the city… and I go wandering, I go cycling. I get lost around here, and I like getting lost in B.C.”


This is the band’s first major world tour since their U2 360° Tour six years ago.

The Vancouver concerts are also Bono’s first major public performances since a cycling accident at New York City in November 2014.

In that incident, he broke his arm in six locations and fractured his eye socket, hand and shoulder blade. He underwent extensive surgeries to repair the damage and install a titanium elbow.

There were initial fears he may never play guitar again, but he worked hard in his recovery and has since regained much of his mobility.

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East Vancouver’s Pacific Coliseum was booked for an entire month beginning in mid-April to allow the band to practice for their tour.

The band also used Vancouver as their pre-tour rehearsal venue for the 2005 Vertigo tour, spending a number of months at Rogers Arena. They returned to the arena in April of that year to film a music video for “City of Blinding Lights,” a song from the album How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

U2 kicked off their world tour in Vancouver on Thursday night at Rogers Arena. They will play a second concert in the city Friday night before moving the production to San Jose for the tour’s next concerts.

The six-month-long tour spans 70 dates and 20 cities in North American and Europe. Click here for Vancity Buzz’s review and photo compilation of their first Vancouver concert.

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