What happened to Bono's voice in the Pop/ATYCLB era and how did it heal?

[Infinity]

I noticed, among many others, that during Popmart Bono's voice was at a low. I've heard people say that this was because of the smoking. Is that the reason why it wasn't as good back then? And did he really get surgery to heal his voice?

I can relate to him becuase my voice used to be good relatively to how it is now. I used to be able to sing the "oooohooooo's" from "With or Without You" and in general I was able to "wooo" with ease. Now every time I try to "wooo" or make a high voice singing, it comes out as a whisper. No matter how hard I try, my voice is a hoarse whisper and I'm just really scared.

So when I heard about Bono being able to heal his voice, I became more optimistic. Does anybody know what exactly is the story behind his voice issues?

Thanks

 

[Galeongirl]

He feared he might had troat cancer, but turned out not to
he did have laryngitis(sp?) and that got treated with this little thingy a nebulizer

also in the beginning of the popmart tour he had some allergy for the desert plants or trees in Las Vegas, so that, combined with the dry desert wind, ruined his voice the first few nights...

 

[Niceman]

Well, he also damaged his voice when they toured Australia in 1989, didn't he? Some kind of throat virus that did permananet damage... He's never been able to sing the same again.

 

[phillyfan26]

Considering him in Dublin later ... that wasn't the main damage.

Overuse hurt him a little, the smoking a little, age a little. It was a mix. He's been healing from the surgery and allergies for years, and it's finally shown on leg five.

 

[U2girl]

Maybe all the talking he does as an activist isn't helping things either.

That said, I was amazed at the return of the voice on the last tour. Whatever he's doing - less smoking, surgery, pills, that weird device aboard the Elevation plane... - it's working.

It's true he'll never sound like he did between 1984-1993 again, but when he's rested - ie Japan shows on Vertigo tour - he's still good and blows away his Elevation and Popmart self.

It's interesting to listen how he evolved from the young high pitched 1980-1983, to the more throaty, rich, powerful, "post-puberty" 1984-1989 to the gravely, but still powerful and with the new falsetto 1992-1993. There was a decline after Zoo TV, up until 2003 or so, Electrical Storm shows a more seasoned, more "manly" if you like, lower tone, with the new found ability to hit notes I think no one expected at this point in his career.

I am curious how much more touring he can handle...

 

[last unicorn]

It's indeed amazing how good his voice is again now after so many years of singing and touring.

I guess the change in his voice and the problems have been caused by a combination of several factors, mostly over-use, allergies and yes, all the talking he so loves to do all the time. Stress is also a factor that needs to be considered.

If you sing like for 30 years almost permanently, like he has done, you cannot expect to be your voice the same as in the beginning. It's almost a miracle how much his voice has healed after the "bad" years around Pop.

Let's just hope he takes a little care, rests his voice and continues to sing in fine form for the new album.

 

[blm]

I am curious how much more touring he can handle...

I hate to think about that. But he definitely needs to take care of himself in every aspect.

 

[JCOSTER]

He feared he might had troat cancer, but turned out not to
he did have laryngitis(sp?) and that got treated with this little thingy a nebulizer

also in the beginning of the popmart tour he had some allergy for the desert plants or trees in Las Vegas, so that, combined with the dry desert wind, ruined his voice the first few nights...

He even had a biopsy and didn't tell anyone not even his wife. He was very afraid that it might have been cancer.

 

[FitzChivalry]

He's been healing from the surgery and allergies for years, and it's finally shown on leg five.

What surgery?

 

[LMP]

What surgery?

It's somewhere in Bono in Conversation for sure. Didn't it stem partly from his allergies to wine, too? Fucked up his throat pretty bad at one point.

 

[U2opra]

yeah apparently an enzyme in wine messes with his voice.

Poor Mr Bono

 

[Peterrrrr]

Maybe all the talking he does as an activist isn't helping things either.

Well to much talk before the show isnt good for the voice.

It's true he'll never sound like he did between 1984-1993 again, but when he's rested - ie Japan shows on Vertigo tour - he's still good and blows away his Elevation and Popmart self.

Sure he never gonna sound like he in the years 84-93? But is 84-93 better? Well 93 was a realy bad year for him, his voice was very worn out. For the moment Bono is a better singer then ever, he has learned to use his voice. He hits high notes, notes he wasnt able to hit in 87-93. He is holding the notes longer also

One of Bono's highest falsettos ever, is on the 5th leg of Vertigo, 2006-11-18 - Melbourne when he sing Highway To Hell snippet on Vertigo, he hit a E5!

AHe has hit the HIGH C in Wide Awake on this tour(something he didnt do on JT,LT and ZooTV), sang the high note on "don't you look back" on WGRYWH(didnt do that on ZooTV).

For those who havent heard this clip yet:
w w w. send space .com/file/q2krll

Its a mix I made of some voice highlights from Vertigo tour.

I am curious how much more touring he can handle...

I don't think we should be to much worried of that. With good song techniques and rest he well be fine. Just take the 5th leg for a good example. They had toured for a year(1st to 4th leg), and then he had rest for about 8 months(also this 8 months contained stuido sessions, alot of talk in politicans things).

I think we can even hope for more improvements, if he stop with smokin, less alcohol and tha the contniue to learn more voice techniques. Well then there will be more improvements.

 

[AchtungGirl219]

Hehehe, I remember some guys in the crowd going absolutely nuts when he sung the highway to hell snippet. Good times.

 

[DevilsShoes]

The theory seems to be that Bono wasn't singing correctly throughout the eighties. The band have never toured as much as they did during that first decade, 6 tours all in all compared to just 2 in the ninties, and for someone who wasn't singing correctly that puts alot of strain and wear and tear on the voice. Of course back then Bono was in his twenties and it didn't matter so much, he could sing wrong and get away with it, but eventually it caught up with him.

Smoking and drinking also had an effect, I think Bono was an occassional smoker up until about 87. In Lola Cashmans book (yes I read it, I know I should hang my head in shame) she notices that Bono began to smoke much more during the Joshua Tree tour and that he told her it helped him to deal with the pressures of fame, that it relaxed him and calmed his anxieties, he also complained alot about having a sore throat during this time. In 89 if you look at some of the Lovetown photos and videos, Bono's smoking in quite a few of them also, but this is more to do with the fact that he was growing tired and restless with the U2 do-gooder image that they had and wanted to change peoples preconceptions of the band. So Lovetown gives a good impression of where they were about to go with Zoo TV. As The Fly he could smoke and drink as much as he liked without worrying about the effect it would have on their image.

96/97 is where he realises he may have done some damage to his voice. Age, Over singing, smoking and drinking along with certain allergies which he didn't know he had all took their toll and he struggled throughout Popmart. Around 99 he had some tests to figure out what was wrong with his voice and they found a lump on a vocal chord which he had to have removed along with having his sinuses cleared. Ever since then he's been healing from the surgery. Although he sounds better on ATYCLB I think he sounded strained on Elevation, but by Vertigo his voice seems much clearer, more flexible, healthier and altogether better to listen to. Lets hope he continues in the same vein.

Sorry about the length but its a long and tangled story. :

 

[U2opra]

As always DevilsShoes you and Peterrrrr know your stuff

 

[U2girl]

Devilshoes: really ? Healing from the throat surgery takes so long ?

Peterrr: yes he is singing more correctly now, but you can't deny age is a factor in his singing. I'm not sure he can improve his current voice, I would be happy if he can keep it like this for a few years.

 

[DevilsShoes]

Devilshoes: really ? Healing from the throat surgery takes so long ?

Well I really don't know U2girl, but I think the surgery along with less smoking, taking pills, taking better care of his voice and just basically time have all helped to improve his voice. He's in his mid/late forties and the healing process takes a little longer than it would a man in his twenties. Which is why in the eighties he could scream his lungs out for 2 hours a night and bounce back quickly.

After the surgery I felt it was like he had a new voice and had to learn how to use it correctly. I think on Kite on ATYCLB he sounds brilliant, best vocal performance of the album, but on Beautiful Day, SIAM, New York and others he sounds pretty strained and shaky and I think the sames true of Elevation, his voice sounded restricted to me when going for the high notes, like he couldn't go as far as he wanted. His voice was still healing. On HTDMAAB and Vertigo it sounds far healthier and much more flexible, he's got that higher register back, he's actually hitting the high notes in Bad wheras on Elevation I felt he's trying his best but just falling short.

This is all just my opinion of course, and ideally I wish he'd have started taking better care of his voice at a younger age, took a few lessons, cut down on the smoking. You know I don't think he really ever though about protecting/preserving his voice until around Popmart. Nowadays he's far more considerate. Thank goodness.

 

[Peterrrrr]

Peterrr: yes he is singing more correctly now, but you can't deny age is a factor in his singing. I'm not sure he can improve his current voice, I would be happy if he can keep it like this for a few years.

Sure getting older is not to good for your voice. But he still got better from 44-46 so I don't think there will be any problems for him get better. Maybe in five years there will be harder...

Look at Tony Bennett, on his latest album. You can't imagnie that he is 80 Bruce Springsteen...

On HTDMAAB and Vertigo it sounds far healthier and much more flexible, he's got that higher register back, he's actually hitting the high notes in Bad wheras on Elevation I felt he's trying his best but just falling short.

His voice is so much cleaner on Vertigo tour, on Elevation tour it was like a roof of hoarseness that stop him from hitting higher notes.

Bad is a good example on Vertigo tour, he had no problems with
Wide Awake. In some versions he sang that part three times in the song. It was like he just had fun because it was so easy for him to sing that. The same thing is with Mery, it sounds like he knew that he just got a new stronger voice and just play with the notes for fun.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

I actually really loved his "sinuses" voice..... very sexy...

 

[Peterrrrr]

I actually really loved his "sinuses" voice..... very sexy...

Sinuses?

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

yeah.... the sound of his voice when he was talking or singing before his operation.... with his sinuses (nose)

 

[Peterrrrr]

yeah.... the sound of his voice when he was talking or singing before his operation.... with his sinuses (nose)

Thanks!

 

[randy5554]

I also love the sinuses voice, specifically the vocals on the album version of Beautiful Day.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

I also love the sinuses voice, specifically the vocals on the album version of Beautiful Day.

well, I don't think it's the best exemple....
check out almost anything from 86 - 95.... mostly slow songs with a big emphasize on his voice....

 

[doctorwho]

Well I really don't know U2girl, but I think the surgery along with less smoking, taking pills, taking better care of his voice and just basically time have all helped to improve his voice. He's in his mid/late forties and the healing process takes a little longer than it would a man in his twenties. Which is why in the eighties he could scream his lungs out for 2 hours a night and bounce back quickly.

After the surgery I felt it was like he had a new voice and had to learn how to use it correctly. I think on Kite on ATYCLB he sounds brilliant, best vocal performance of the album, but on Beautiful Day, SIAM, New York and others he sounds pretty strained and shaky and I think the sames true of Elevation, his voice sounded restricted to me when going for the high notes, like he couldn't go as far as he wanted. His voice was still healing. On HTDMAAB and Vertigo it sounds far healthier and much more flexible, he's got that higher register back, he's actually hitting the high notes in Bad wheras on Elevation I felt he's trying his best but just falling short.

This is all just my opinion of course, and ideally I wish he'd have started taking better care of his voice at a younger age, took a few lessons, cut down on the smoking. You know I don't think he really ever though about protecting/preserving his voice until around Popmart. Nowadays he's far more considerate. Thank goodness.

One caveat to this is that on songs like "Beautiful Day" and "In a Little While", etc., Bono *wanted* to have that scratchy sound. Remember what those songs are about - a man who's lost everything and a man singing for the love of his life. This vocal trick was first used, effectively, by Bono on "One". His scratchy vocals gave the song that added angst and desperation that would not have worked had he belted out the song ala "With or Without You" (see, for example, Mary J. Blige's version of "One", which is a great vocal performance, but the song loses importance and value because of it, IMO).

I've seen that picture of Bono with the mask way back in the PopMart days, so he has been using it for a while. It became clear to me that Bono's vocals started to fail around '93, with even weaknesses in '95. At times in the Elevation era, he really sounded weak (see the Super Bowl performance, especially of "MLK").

However, as others wrote, his voice kept getting stronger. I feel that Bono's vocals on HTDAAB and the subsequent tour are easily the strongest he's been since ZOO TV.

 

[rihannsu]

One caveat to this is that on songs like "Beautiful Day" and "In a Little While", etc., Bono *wanted* to have that scratchy sound. Remember what those songs are about - a man who's lost everything and a man singing for the love of his life. This vocal trick was first used, effectively, by Bono on "One". His scratchy vocals gave the song that added angst and desperation that would not have worked had he belted out the song ala "With or Without You" (see, for example, Mary J. Blige's version of "One", which is a great vocal performance, but the song loses importance and value because of it, IMO).

I've seen that picture of Bono with the mask way back in the PopMart days, so he has been using it for a while. It became clear to me that Bono's vocals started to fail around '93, with even weaknesses in '95. At times in the Elevation era, he really sounded weak (see the Super Bowl performance, especially of "MLK").

However, as others wrote, his voice kept getting stronger. I feel that Bono's vocals on HTDAAB and the subsequent tour are easily the strongest he's been since ZOO TV.

It was my understanding that he had the sinus surgery either before or during the recording of ATYCLB because he talked about singing better than ever on some of the songs. However it was hit or miss throughout the tour because he was doing so much campaigning for Drop the Debt that combined with the concerts he was wearing his voice out. If you listen to some of the speeches he did during that time, he was almost always hoarse. Also he was running himself into the ground doing basically two full time jobs between the tour and Drop the Debt so the initial plan to tour Australia and Japan in the spring of 2002 had to be scrapped. Bono wanted to but the band put their collective foot down and made him rest some. He has said he has an erratic heart beat that doesn't seem to cause problems but the extreme stress that he was under during Elevation with his father being ill and dying and then Sept 11 which made the rest of the tour super emotional was I'm sure not very good for his health. The superbowl performance although fantastic shows just how worn down to the bone he was. There was a stretch there where he got very thin too. Since then he seems to pace himself better and makes sure to take breaks to recharge more frequently. He handle the stress of the Vertigo tour much better and of course his voice has continued to improve. He seems to have taken a lot more relaxation time this summer away from the campaigning work.

Dana