Bono Reveals He’s 'Embarrassed' By U2 Songs And The Band's Name
The Irish singer says he 'cringes a little' when he hears his own voice.
Bono has revealed he's 'embarrassed' by his band's name and its back catalog.
The legendary Irish singer spoke to The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast about how even hearing some of his classic tunes makes him 'cringe a little'.
He said: "I've been in the car when one of our songs has come on the radio and I've been the colour, as we say in Dublin, scarlet. I'm just so embarrassed.
"I don't think I filled in the details, and I look back and I go 'God'."
With 14 studio albums under their belt, some of which have more than a dozen songs on them, you're bound to make the odd track that isn't great.
Also, who could forget that questionable moment in 2004 when their album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was automatically added to everyone's iTunes and iPods.
Bono had nothing but praise for his fellow bandmates and called them 'incredible' musicians.
However, when it came to the vocals behind U2, the Irishman is his own worst critic.
"I just found the voice very strained and kind of not macho and my Irish macho was kind of strained by that," he explained on the podcast.
"A big discovery for me was listening to the Ramones and hearing the beautiful kind of sound of Joey Ramone and realising I didn't have to be that rock-and-roll singer.
"But I only became a singer recently. Maybe it hasn't happened yet for some people's ears, and I understand that."
His criticisms extend not only to his voice, but also the name that is instantly recognisable to millions of fans around the world.
Bono opened up about how they agreed on the name U2 for the band and he admits that he doesn't think it's as crash hot these days.
"In our head it was like the spy plane, U-boat, it was futuristic," he said.
"As it turned out to imply this kind of acquiescence, no I don't like that name. I still don't really like the name."
However, you don't get 22 Grammy Awards over the years for being bad at churning out game-changing music.
Bono said that while he might feel awkward about his band's name as well as their back catalog and even his own voice, he appreciates the place they've carved out in the music industry.
He told the podcast: "I do think U2 pushes out the boat on embarrassment quite a lot and maybe that's the place to be as an artist, you know right at the edge of your level of embarrassment."
Featured Image Credit: Alexandros Michailidis/Alamy Live NewsTopics: Entertainment, Music, bono, u2
Stewart Perrie