u2utah
The Fly
Originally posted by Mulholland Drive:
I think it distresses the fans because of how the smoking affects his voice (and his health). Listening to some of the boots from the last tour (mainly the third leg), his voice has suffered some serious degradation. At 42 years of age, he should not have gone downhill as he has. Yep, I'm sure I'll get flamed for this, but this is honestly the way I feel. It's kind of sad listening to him sing sometimes now.
Bono agrees with you, but he's having trouble quitting. Here's an excerpt from a fairly recent interview.
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Matter of Life and Death
Hot Press Annual 2002, December 01, 2001
Are you still smoking?
No. Recently on a fairly big night, I found my hand wandering into somebody's bag whilst I was talking. I had no idea that my hand was going into somebody else's bag (laughs). And, with some dexterity, taking a cigarette out.
You should have taken money while you were at it.
I was amazed, and lighting the cigarette, before I knew. But you know about that old story: smoking may damage health but your children will kill you.
Are you aware that you're giving a bad example?
It's dumb to smoke, and it really changed my voice, and I lost the high register, and I lost the ability to fly as a singer. I had a lot of complications with my voice anyway. The doctor told me I couldn't smoke.