Bono and The Edge - exhibition in Dublin

[Bono Mot]

My dad quit smoking pipes (you know, the kind that looked very cool in the 50's if you grew up in the jazz clubs of Detroit, which he did!) when I turned 16. I told him it bothered me and voila, he quit the same day. However, he did die of complications due to lung cancer this past Christmas, so it's no guarantee.

But it's harder for some people to stop.

 

[Sue DeNym]

The smoking thing is something I will never understand about Bono. The man is so intelligent. I just wish he would be smart enough to quit this stupid habit.

I agree with you. And Bono's not the only one: according to U2 by U2, Larry and Edge smoke as well.

Adam and Paul, on the other hand, have both quit smoking!

 

[EdgeNBono]

yay for sparky^.^

 

[jano]

I miss the blues

this pic is from a video?
where I can find it?

 

[U2lunatic]

The smoking thing is something I will never understand about Bono. The man is so intelligent. I just wish he would be smart enough to quit this stupid habit. I suppose he has reduced his smoking, but he shouldn't do it at all. I know it's hard with all the stress and everything. His voice has been so great recently, I hope he does not put it in danger again, it would be such a shame if his voice gets worse again.
Apart from that, it's just cool to hear about Bono hanging out with people and have a talk. He's so accessible and communicative, I just love that about him.

He quit smoking in 1997 probably after Srajevo gig, for about 6 years he didn't smoke, so during ATYCLB era too, and his voice was shit back then, and in 2003 he began to smoke again and his voice improved. So please don't kill me for this, but I think it's better for his voice when he smokes, Bono said that smoking gives his voice masculinity.

 

[patic]

this pic is from a video?
where I can find it?

You can find here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0-OFT_9Lxc

 

[jano]

thanks!!!

 

[RavenBlue]

Great pictures Thanks for posting!

 

[BonoFox1]

Nice GG!!

 

[kafrun]

^ Shock!!!

The wine helped too

 

[last unicorn]

He quit smoking in 1997 probably after Srajevo gig, for about 6 years he didn't smoke, so during ATYCLB era too, and his voice was shit back then, and in 2003 he began to smoke again and his voice improved. So please don't kill me for this, but I think it's better for his voice when he smokes, Bono said that smoking gives his voice masculinity.

I don't think Bono quit smoking during this era.
He said that he TRIED to during the Elevation tour.
And in U2 by U2 he makes it clear several times that he DID SMOKE during these years, that's what caused him a lot of problems at the end of the 90s.
Anyway, I believe he does not smoke much now. You hardly see him smoking in public, and if he does, it's mostly cigars. But who knows.
I read in a recent article that he only smoked occasionally during the Vertigo tour, only after concerts if he did not have a show the next day. So at least he is taking care.
I don't think quitting smoking would have an immediate effect on his voice. But over a longer period, he voice may improve if he stays away from smoking. So his "new" strong voice may as well be a result of that.

 

[Galeongirl]

He quit smoking in 1997 probably after Srajevo gig, for about 6 years he didn't smoke, so during ATYCLB era too, and his voice was shit back then, and in 2003 he began to smoke again and his voice improved. So please don't kill me for this, but I think it's better for his voice when he smokes, Bono said that smoking gives his voice masculinity.

He did not quit... the doctor told him he had to quit, but he never did. He had problems with his voice in Sarajevo, a sinus infection around that time too, and he was scared of getting throat cancer, so he might've stopped for a little while, but he never completely stopped...

and yea, he claims his voice sounded like a girl in the 80s, and that smoking made his voice more masculine, and I wholeheartedly agree with him on that!

 

[Gluey]

I agree with you. And Bono's not the only one: according to U2 by U2, Larry and Edge smoke as well.

I can vouch that Larry absolutely smokes....he was about 30 metres away from me having a puff, before wandering over to chat.....

 

[silvrlvr]

No matter how it makes Bono's voice sound, he needs to stop. You can never undo all the damage by quitting, but you can stop more damage. It isn't just to his voice, it's to his lungs. He might sound growly and sexy, but he'll eventually run out of stamina because oxygen won't be able to fight its way through the chemicals that have adhered to the tissue inside his lungs.

I would rather have a less-sexy Bono around the rest of our lives than to lose him before age 60. The same for Edge and Larry. Also, imagine the damage that they all must have done to their lungs through secondhand smoke inhaled in arenas, clubs, restaurants and the like. Sorry to be such a crusader on this, but my former fiance was a smoker who dropped dead of a heart attack at age 52. That's far too young to lose someone, and it's made me kind of nuts on the subject.

 

[Jeannieco]

I think we need to take up a petition to get our boys to stop smoking. We want them around a long time don't we??
Maybe that will help motivate them to stop. ?

 

[Sue DeNym]

and yea, he claims his voice sounded like a girl in the 80s, and that smoking made his voice more masculine, and I wholeheartedly agree with him on that!

Not me. I've never heard a girl sing in his key. He's always sounded like a man to me. Personally, I think his early voice was a lot clearer than his current one, and it wasn't raspy. I mean, he still sounds good, but if he'd never smoked and took voice lessons instead, who knows how good he'd sound now?

 

[rubberducky]

I think that this whole "debate" about Bono smoking or not is a bit exaggerated. I agree with you all, that he shouldn't smoke, but we don't know his motives. I really think that his hectic lifestyle is to blame. I've heard a lot of people saying that it helps them coping with stress. He's very very intelligent so he probably knows that it damages his voice, but for some reason he can't quit. And I think we should accept this. And we can't forget, that like everything else, voice changes with age.
His voice sounds really, really great even now. Just listen to Kite from the WITS single. It's even better than the album version.

 

[last unicorn]

I think that this whole "debate" about Bono smoking or not is a bit exaggerated. I agree with you all, that he shouldn't smoke, but we don't know his motives. I really think that his hectic lifestyle is to blame. I've heard a lot of people saying that it helps them coping with stress. He's very very intelligent so he probably knows that it damages his voice, but for some reason he can't quit. And I think we should accept this. And we can't forget, that like everything else, voice changes with age.
His voice sounds really, really great even now. Just listen to Kite from the WITS single. It's even better than the album version.

I agree with what you are saying.
I doubt his voice would sound the same it did 20 years ago even without the smoking.
Noone with his lifestyle would have the same voice over such a long period of time.
There are many factors that led to the voice change, smoking is only one of them.
Even opera singes who take very good care of their voices can't avoid that their voice is changing.
It cannot be denied that Bono had huge problems at the end of the 90s. And that his voice has improved so much since then. Today, especially during the last leg of the tour, his voice was surprisingly strong and clear.
He certainly is aware of the dangers of smoking, he has said so several times, and I just hope he can keep it under control to keep the great voice he has right now.
Personally, I'd rather he quit it totally, but I understand that he is under a lot of stress, and quitting is tough.
I know a lot of otherwise very intelligent people who do smoke, and some of them are really massive smokers.

 

[bella88]

Thanks patic for posting the lovely photos

Bono and Edge is looking well

 

[JCOSTER]

WOW! gorgeous!