Bono Says He May Not Be Able To Play Guitar Again
[su_right_ad]Bono, now with a titanium elbow after a bicycling accident, says he may never play guitar again.
The 54-year-old U2 frontman suffered multiple injuries, including fractures to his left eye socket, shoulder blade and left elbow, when he crashed his bike in Central Park in November. He required hours of surgery after what doctors called a “high-energy bicycle accident.”
On the band’s website Thursday, Bono said the “recovery has been more difficult than I thought. As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again.”
He added that his bandmates – The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen – “have reminded me that neither they nor Western civilization are depending on this.”
“I personally would very much miss fingering the frets of my green Irish falcon or my … Gretsch,” Bono wrote. “Just for the pleasure, aside from writing tunes. But then does the Edge, or Jimmy Page, or any guitarist you know have a titanium elbow, as I do now?”[su_csky_ad]
burqa January 2nd, 2015 at 10:08 am
Good grief, I never heard of anyone getting that messed up on a bicycle. What’d he do, drive onto the highway and get mowed down by a tractor-trailer?
I’m wishing the man a speedy recovery – it sounds like something mighty painful, all those injuries.
rg9rts January 3rd, 2015 at 4:56 am
It happens very easily..Always wear a helmet…You realize he was going like a bat out of hell…last 5 boro bike tour I was on had a fatality
burqa January 4th, 2015 at 9:10 pm
Yeah, he must have. I rode a bike into my late teens and never had such an injury and never heard of any of the other kids getting messed up that badly (an we never wore helmets or pads or nuthin’). Sure, we got some road rash and all, but that was about it.
One time when I was 17 I was riding pretty fast down a street when I saw some friends in a car pull up ahead to stop at a street intersecting at a right angle. There I was, sailing right along and I turned to wave at my friends, like, “Hey, look at me!”
Well, I shoulda been watching where I was going. The bike veered to the right and I ran smack into the back of a parked car. I got thrown up on the trunk and you shoulda seen the front tire. It had this big indentation where it hit the bumper. It looked like the shape of a pie with one slice gone.
Then I had to walk the thing home, holding up the front end because the wheel wouldn’t turn.
It took a couple nasty motorcycle accidents years later to convince me I need 4 wheels under me. 2 just isn’t enough.
Lately I’ve been thinking of getting a bicycle, though and have thought of the helmet thing. I don’t like the looks of those bike helmets and have been thinking of going ridiculous, If I’m gonna wear one. I been thinking of getting a really cheap-looking football helmet………..
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 2:00 am
I’ve done 55+ downhill on my bike ..more than once..the only thought was if anything happens it will be over quick.. Don’t worry about what bike helmets style is..they are designed to meet a need. and they work.. Do you remember learning the alphabet??? Its a lot TOUGHER the second time… most falls are low speed…stopping or turning but the others like hitting a car..you can relate…you have the stuffins knocked out of you, you fall on the hood, then fall off the hood and can’t break your fall except with your head.. I don’t kn ow where you are but look for rails to trail conversions…we have one that is 20 miles round trip. No vehicles allowed.. Start slow…get a bike that fits and don’t get a walmart special…it will sour you on the experience.. in biking the more you pay the less it weighs and after a few miles it makes a difference.. let me know how you make out….it will also drive you cardiologist nuts too
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 3:54 am
Wow! 55 downhill? That’s insane and right up my alley!
Seriously, thanks for the post. Very informative and helpful.
I’m in Virginia and we’ve got tons of trails like you described.
I get it about speed, too.
The worst motorcycle accident I had was when I was going probably 20 mph or less. I used to keep my bike in my house and ride it out the front door in the morning.
One day I went down the steps out into the street and the back tire hit a pile of leaves as I was making my turn and hitting the gas. The rear kicked around, my right leg flew up and hit a low-boy, ripping a hole to the bone about a foot long.
Went to see a Bob Dylan concert that night, all bandaged up.
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 5:12 am
Let me know how you make out… wait till spring though. but you might be able to pick up a deal at your local bike shops looking to get rid of last years models..tell them you are a newbie and they’ll help..also forget everything you know about bicycling… you will want a narrow seat for instance not the platform of your old schwinn . Also decide if you are going to be on road…many rails to trails are paved or want to be off road…I would suggest a road bike or hybrid .. keep me posted I do several thousand a year.and look forward to 50+ temps
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 5:43 am
Thanks a lot, man! I know there’s a lot to catch up on. I intend to keep it on paved trail surfaces and not ride through the woods or down concrete staircases like I did when I was a kid. Heh heh heh- get this – my first bike was a green English racer. I wanted a spider bike but my parents wouldn’t go for it.
I just want to go out when it’s nice and ride an hour for exercise – something like that. Guess I’ll get one of those helmets but I still like the idea of a silly-looking cheap football helmet but that’ll probably not get beyond the idea stage.
Rather than buy a new one, I’ll probably trade a painting or a piece of carpentry work for one that’s used but well-maintained by someone I know. I’m in no hurry and will wait for a decent deal to fall into my lap. Things like that work out pretty good for me….
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 5:54 am
I ride with a partner..retired NAVY, and we do 20 miles a day …dawdling all the way.. it takes us a little less that 2 hours…10mph average…and we gossip with other regulars …it is a good easy way to do for you.. Like I said keep me posted. PS in the spring 10 miles is plenty and your legs won’t hurt…your butt will.. I never remember that from being a kid.
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 6:18 am
Har!
I’d forgotten all about the butt pain till you mentioned it.
I got a twinge, I swear!
It’ll be a while. Ain’t no way I’m going out in the cold.
But, yeah, I’ll try to remember and let you know. I’m sure I’ll do something ridiculous we can laugh at…..
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 6:30 am
Come visit http://www.marliesplace.com/?page_id=2476…
we can talk and no trolls I promise
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 9:05 am
Ok, yeah, I saved the link and took a look around, but I’m in the middle of a conversation with a former girlfriend that’s kinda heavy right now. I’m about trolled out these days….I like to just kick back and have a visit at times. The Chat Room here used to be really good for that. Technically it wasn’t so hot, but there used to be some really good times there and you can go there to exchange private messages. Just make sure to go to that feature because the main window is public
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 9:11 am
Come visit…chime in if you like we are disqus.. and your comments won’t be front page..We are international from Macedonia to Brazil to Alaska??? About a solid dozen posters . Peek at it.
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 9:20 am
Oh that sounds good. I liked the forums I saw. It looked like I might have some things to chime in on. It was funny when we had the Chat Room going because Alan was on there during the show but he’d stay stuck on his Twitter feed. But he’d invite people on the air to come and talk about topics he was covering when really, we used to, well I described it as sitting back with our bunny slippers on. I used to make these ridiculous entries when I showed up.
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 9:24 am
We can talk bikes with our resident German Macedonian female rider. She is good too!
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 9:32 am
WHOA! German Macedfemale bike rider – – – I’m hooked! Gimme a day to catch up on things. I’ll cruise on by there
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 9:35 am
Blonde too also a bunch of animal lovers
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 9:42 am
I have fond memories of a German blonde I met in Paris one time doing the “easel weasel”
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 9:48 am
You’ll fit we have two other women easel weasels as you put it
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 10:10 am
The “easel weasel” is a move to score chicks. You sit out doing a picture and here they come. Best line, especially if you can’t paint or draw is to just slap down a mish-mash and say, “I don’t paint what I see, I paint what I feel.” – while looking all sincere and sensitive and all….
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 10:12 am
Glad I got my boots on…I figured as much…I love the name…
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 10:29 am
I’m awful.
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 10:34 am
Like I said…a like minded group …you’ll like them spanning half the globe
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 10:41 am
I like a international crowd. Sounds like fun and I like that it’s Disqus because I’m already on there; even though I’m not fond of “Disqus is taking longer than usual. Reload?”
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 10:50 am
Not too bad.. usually after 10,000 or so comments we open a new room..working on 8 and we have been around since March… chatty cathies …LOL
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 11:31 am
Oh, ok. The link was to room 7, I didn’t know you were in the others, too. “Chatty Cathy – once I saw a columnist hang that nickname on Joe Theisman. It was funny, then.
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 11:41 am
Disqus gets wonky at about 10,000 so open a new room.. we are a hair over 10,000 now so we may change it soon. The new site would be in the header and we have everything archived..also lots of other subsites too though not too often used. Lots of music and advice is shared …Listen with one other guy battling all these womenI need the support LOL Oh I mod too
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 11:53 am
10,000 posts? Before Disqus, they had Viafoura here and it was a mess. Before Viafoura I don’t know, guess it was just WordPress. Back then things were more primitive-looking, but there were nearly no ads and discussions were on a much higher plane. Trolls were told “We don’t do it that way here” and as often as not, they were relieved and settled in nicely.
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
We have wordpress..no ads although marlie has been pressured.. this is a place to decompress and and kick back with friends . You’ll see
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 3:11 pm
I like the sound of that. Sometimes I like to just sit in one forum and just shoot the breeze. ………I used to think it’s better with things completely wide open, but have changed my mind. ….It goes to the Age of Reason where they looked philosophically at 2 states of man. 1) is the natural state, basically savages and then there’s 2) civilized man. Civilized man is marked or distinguished by the degree in which he has regulated his world. Regulation was seen as the mark of civilization.
rg9rts January 6th, 2015 at 1:45 am
Or someone with a bigger club
rg9rts January 5th, 2015 at 12:03 pm
Sometimes we do 500 a day! LOL
uzza January 2nd, 2015 at 11:01 am
Two words: Django Reinhardt
tiredoftea January 2nd, 2015 at 12:22 pm
YES!!
arc99 January 2nd, 2015 at 11:19 am
Hendrix was a once in a generation, perhaps even once in a century talent. By your measure it would be no loss at all if every guitar player in the world were no longer able to play.
No Bono is not Hendrix and neither is anyone else who ever picked up a 6 string. He is the front man and creative force behind one of the best rock bands ever put together in my lifetime (I am 62 years old) in terms of creativity and artistry.
As far as I am concerned, any disability which detracts from Bono’s ability to provide us with his wonderful music is a loss to us all.
arc99 January 2nd, 2015 at 11:25 am
I happen to think Bono’s guitar playing did in fact get U2 to where they are. At least that is my assumption as I doubt he composed Streets With No Name or Beautiful Day et al on an accordion.
tiredoftea January 2nd, 2015 at 12:22 pm
Too bad no one talked him out of that, too!
burqa January 5th, 2015 at 5:47 am
Of course I have no idea what was in the deleted posts, above, but presume they contained something unsavory and don’t care to know.
It’s great having moderators around cleaning things up. Y’all deserve more appreciations of thanks.
[burqa gives a round of polite golf applause for the moderators]
rg9rts January 3rd, 2015 at 4:55 am
A good reason to wear a helmet…