U2: Bono opens up about the band's new album
U2's upcoming album is called Songs of Experience -- and the list of experiences inside includes a life-threatening health scare for the group's singer.
Bono tells Britain's Q magazine that his woes were bad enough that some of the album's songs were written from the perspective of someone who's already dead. He says, "I don’t want to get too into the details of it, for fear of the melodramatic reality-TV kerfuffle. A lot of people have these moments. I’ve had a few. Not quite at this level." He adds that it wasn't all to do with that bike accident in New York a few years ago, either.
Edge backs up that account, saying, "It was serious enough that he genuinely had a major fright. But where that brought him to as a writer was an amazing place."
Songs of Experience, which was originally supposed to be released shortly after 2014's Songs of Innocence, is now scheduled to arrive on December 1st.
CHICAGO: Chicago founding member mystery solved
Fans have noticed in the last few years that Chicago founding member Walt Parazaider has sharply cut back his appearances without explanation. Fellow original James Pankow has finally let everyone know what's up -- the woodwind player has heart problems.
Pankow tells Florida Weekly, "Walt’s got heart issues. And it got to a point where the intensity of these shows became a health risk, just pumping the air through those horns for two-and-a-half or three hours. It just became a dangerous thing for him because of his condition."
Now 72, Walt is still a member of the band and will appear on TV and other select occasions, but his full-time days on the road are over. Chicago will again perform more than 100 shows this year.
Parazaider's frequent understudy Ray Herrmann has taken his place full time.