Ok, what really happened to Bono's vocal chords...?

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Zooropa man

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I'm really not too aware of what happened to him. I've heard somewhere that he had surgery years ago. Can someone confirm. And is that why he can't sing the falsetto's that good anymore? I just thought that I bring this subject up since someone was talking about them bringing back Lemon....:eyebrow:
 
Not sure...just know his voice isn't the same anymore. Whether it's age, cigarettes, or surgery, I don't know. I guess time just takes its toll.
 
cigarettes.

i know what it does to your singing voice first hand. luckily, even though Bono hasn't stopped smoking, it really seems that his voice is 10X better than it was 4 years ago.
 
But does anyone know if he had surgery. I could have sworn that I saw a interview back in..... 94-95 post zooropa era and they were talking about his surgery.
 
he had surgery in 1998.

that's why his voice was weak on atyclb.
 
really... so that affected his voice huh. Yeah, I've noticed that in some of the high pitched songs he can't substain those high pitch moments or falsettos. Can people recover from something like that?
 
yes it is possible to recover, unless they cause your voice to totally break. (Ok music lesson folks)

The only mens voices who truely break properly are BASSES. the majority of punk bands etc have bass singers, hence why some notes which they audibly strain to reach are to a man like bono, robbie or freddie mercury easy to get. Bono (and robbie) are both Tenors. This means they can get from about half of the bass octave up to about the a above middle c. A mans voice who doesn't break totally is called an Alto and they can get up to the D an octave and note above middle c. (all notes aproximate)

It is very easy 2 slip down a ''voice'' especially after surgery, but very rare to move up one, becuaes higher mens singing voices normally are because there voices dont' break properly.

Hope this helps - and if you have anymore questions dont hesitate to ask :) dave
 
A combination of things.

After the Lovetown Tour, his voice took a major beating. His difficulties were most noticeable during Popmart, as they are on Elevation. I would also think that cigarrettes contributed to it in a way, as does aging. Also as suggested, he had surgery in 1998.
 
LOL, ok. Thanks for the info. I'll be honest. I might sound ignarant but you've lost me a bit. Let me see if I got this straight, so you are saying that punk band singers(Chester Bennington type-Linkin Park) they can really do damage to their chords because of so much strain and they are not considered good voices. But Bono's and Robbies for instance, they can control their voices much better then yelling stuff out. Which is why they have tenor voices. Yes?
 
I think Bono still has some of his voice left. All I Want Is You on Slane is amazing. So is Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own. I guess as long as the song is in his voice range, he doesn't have too much trouble pulling it off. It seems like the band has played Bono-friendly songs that aren't hard to sing to relieve him a little bit, like Zoo Station and Elevation, which is fine by me.
 
If his voice was that much more terrible for atyclb, how do you explain the whoo hoos on Elevation?
 
Bono sounds great now and pretty decent during the Elevation tour, but on the ATYCLB studio album he sounds pretty weak. I think thats his weakest vocal performance on any album. Pop really didn't have any tracks that required loud vocals from Bono.
 
In an interview a while back, Bono mentioned his doctored to him to cut out the wine or else. He attributes his improved vocals to his decreased consumption of wine. Now if he would only give up the cigarettes!
 
While Bono's voice isn't quite as good as it was in '89 or so, I do think the whole "Bono's losing his voice" thing is really overstated. I just saw the show on 4/24 and he sounded pretty damn good to me.
 
I think he sounds good no question about it. But if you go back and listen to some old stuff that are high pitch he doesn't register those notes like he use to. It might be that he is holding back. But was was the reason for having the surgery in the first place?
 
Have ya listened to recent bootlegs? His voice truly sounds better then it has since ZooTV ended. I'm sure he's definitely cut down on drinking and smoking, and it's having a big impact. Hopefully he'll completely quit one of these days (primarily for his own health). In the mean time though, there's no reason to worry about his voice. Night after night, he's hitting the high notes, using his falsetto, and his voice is always strong and 'there' (it doesn't sound hoarse like it did at times during the Elevation tour). In fact, isn't he singing Streets in a higher key than he has in a few tours?

Anyhow, at the moment, I don't think there's reason to criticize his vocal chords or singing ability :)
 
Im not critizing his singing or vocal chords. Im just brought up that I've notice that he dosen't sing some of the old songs like he use to. But I still think he has the best voice out there.
 
From what I remember reading somewhere, Bono discovered he was allergic/had become allergic to wine sometime between Passengers and Pop. I don't know if it's an actual allergy or whether it's just some adverse reaction to it. In any case it directly affected his voice, which is why he had to have surgery.

This is why his voice sounds significantly hoarser and weaker on Pop, ATYCLB (in particular) and even HTDAAB. "In A Little While" is probably the most clear indication.

Apart from the wine, cigarettes and extensive touring, Bono hasn't/doesn't always use the "correct" technique---especially to reach the higher notes---which, in my opinion, is the main reason his voice has deteriorated over the years.

For a good example, watch Bono's throat (his left side in particular) when he's singing the really high parts. You can tell he's really straining to hit those notes. :yikes:

It's too bad really. I'd hate to think that he's screwing his voice so that we, the fans, can have the amazing songs they come up with... :uhoh:

Thank you, Bono! :bow:
 
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Well it is significantly better than 2001 so I am feeling very happy right now!! whewwww!! It could have been worst.
 
MarcusOneTree said:

This is why his voice sounds significantly hoarser and weaker on Pop, ATYCLB (in particular) and even HTDAAB. "In A Little While" is probably the most clear indication.


It is well documented that Bono recorded his part of IALW after a long night out drinking, hence the sound of his voice - he was hungover.

Please don't make stuff up.
 
Tip Top Prince said:


It is well documented that Bono recorded his part of IALW after a long night out drinking, hence the sound of his voice - he was hungover.

Please don't make stuff up.


That being said, I'm simply listing the reasons why Bono's voice has deteriorated over time and how it's more evident from Pop onward. "In A Little While" may have been recorded while hungover, but it still shows how his voice is somewhat raspier now. He wouldn't have sounded that raw after a night of drinking back in '87, for example. :wink:
 
Now that you mention it, his voice does sound different. On the rock hall of fame awards, when he sang I still havn't found what i'm looking for" it sounded different, but i just assumed it was becuase it was live, and live always sounds different when recording in studio. But most of the songs on HTDAAB are lower in range. But after sugery, your voice would prolly change, and over the years time does take effect, but he still sings wonderful. Although he is singing elevation on this tour(and there are high parts in the song)...anyone who went to previouse concerts in the past month, did his voice sound extremely different? I guess i'll know after the M.S.G show. Anyway, Bono's voice is still great, one of the things i love about it , is when ever i hear i u2 song, you can just automatically can tell it's a U2 song, because Bono has quite a unique voice! (and plus, after listening to all their songs over the years, you should be able to know every one!)
 
The hungover aspect of "In A Little While" is what made it great.

As far as the surgery, I thought it was emergency sinus surgery, not throat surgery. (Med students: correct me if I'm wrong, but your sinuses are mainly in your head, right?)

As for the red wine, it makes him pass out. Like head-dropping-into-a-plate-of-food passing out. How would that effect singing?

Doesn't matter, I'd show up to hear him hum. Or whisper. Or stare into space.
:wink:
 
I was surprised how strong his voice sounded live on 4/24 (in person). Generally, he seems vocally stronger this tour than last, and they're not pussyfooting around with some of the tunings (I'm not a musician, but I have heard it said, and it sounds to me, like Streets is in the higher key).

I do think they still make (wise) decisions on song tunings based on what Bono can do... it may have been the VH1 special where Edge or Dallas was talking about all the work that goes into tuning all the various guitars properly during and after rehearsals once they figure out what key will suit Bono's voice best.

And now that I've thought about it, that may be why they're not playing Kite... not so much because it's thematically "redundant" when presented with "Sometimes," but because it would thrash his voice to do Kite and Sometimes in proximity (those "I'm a maaaan" choruses in Kite can kill).

The in-show, and over-the-tour cost to Bono's voice is surely one of the compelling factors in determining the setlist... he's just not going to have too many songs when he can just "go for it" in one two-hour period.

And anyone who thinks that his voice hasn't changed (and admittedly for the worse, although it's still good and interesting) should go back and listen to the Joshua Tree. What an amazing vocal performance that album is... Streets, Still Haven't Found, With or Without You, Redhill Mining Town and One Tree Hill are stunning showcases for Bono's voice at its apex.
 
Since the days of Pop(mart), Bono's voice has been improving like a fine wine.
Seriously though, his voice has not sounded this good since the Zoo days. It's time for Bono to bring WOWY back from the grave and sing the chorus properly:

WITH OR WITH-OUT YOU OH OH
 
sinus surgery

Elessarian said:
The hungover aspect of "In A Little While" is what made it great.

As far as the surgery, I thought it was emergency sinus surgery, not throat surgery. (Med students: correct me if I'm wrong, but your sinuses are mainly in your head, right?)

As for the red wine, it makes him pass out. Like head-dropping-into-a-plate-of-food passing out. How would that effect singing?

Doesn't matter, I'd show up to hear him hum. Or whisper. Or stare into space.
:wink:

speaking from experience, a sinus surgery does affect your voice quality. a few weeks after undergoing through one 4 yrs ago, a friend i talked to on the phone told me i sounded different. the pitchiness was gone and my voice is now on the lower register and a bit raspier than before. maybe because the sinuses were emptied from the stuff and there's more air passing through and more smoothly and thus voice becomes more hollow.
 
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