Bono and ABBA.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; David Redfern/Redferns/Getty
Bonodoesn’t feel guilty about his guilty pleasure.
The rock legend appeared alongside The Edge on BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room, where he and hisU2bandmate revealed their love for disco greatsABBA, even performing a cover of the mega-hit “S.O.S.”
“We’re big fans of this band, this Scandinavian band, and appreciators of their work in a way that grew on us over years,” The Edge, 61, told host Gary Davies about the somber cover he and Bono were about to perform. “We’re fans of lots of great songwriters who aren’t necessarily seen as very hip. And I guess, we’re just appreciators of their work, this band.”
“I didn’t have the courage to own up to [ABBA] when I was 16 and in the middle of punk rock,” Bono, 62, revealed. “There’s a bit of macho, well, I didn’t want to own up to ABBA. But I tell you what, they are just better songs. You can’t be empirical about everything in art. But sometimes just, songs are just better.”
Bono went on to recall how “Thank You for the Music,” ABBA’s 1977 song, was a tune women would often sing at closing time in pubs when he was growing up in Ireland. “I would sing it and I was very thankful for the music,” he laughed. “And I was like, ‘what is this phenomenon?’ — this was before their musicals and everything — but I was like, ‘What is going on with ABBA?”
“I did get to the Bee Gees and was ready to own up to ‘Massachusetts’ or ‘Tragedy,’ " Bono said, noting that even John Lennon gushed about his love for the British brothers, known for their three-part tight harmonies. “These are just crazy good [songs].”
“For great rock and roll, there’s always a pop song sensibility,” he explained. “Even in punk there was a ‘Don’t bore us, Get us to the chorus.’ That kind of thing. Kurt Cobain talks about ‘Smells Like Seen Spirit’ as a pop song because it’s beautifully structured. The Beatles, they have great pop songs as well as being innovators.”
The Bee Gees.Getty
ABBA — which consists of Bjorn Ulvaeus, 78, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 77, Benny Andersson, 76, and Agnetha Faltskog, 73 — were most recently together last May for the premiere of ABBA Voyage, their concert show in which they bring their greatest hits to life as holograms.
The concert series is in support of the band’s studio albumVoyage, their first release in 40 years.
"No imagination could dream up that, to release a new album after 40 years and still be the best of friends and still be enjoying each other’s company and have a total loyalty,” Ulvaeus said during alivestreamlast August. “Who has experienced that? Nobody.”
ABBA.Dave J Hogan/Getty
U2, meanwhile, is releasing a new album,Songs of Surrender— which features 40 of their songs, many performed acoustically and in some cases, with new lyrics. Reworked versions of songs like “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “With or Without You” are featured on the album.
“I rewrote some of the lyrics and changed some of the hooks,” Bono said on BBC Radio 2’s Piano Room, also adding that they “ran out of time originally, we couldn’t afford to be in the studios for long.”
U2also made a big announcement atSuper Bowl 2023.
U2.Kevin Winter/Getty
The band will open the new venue, MSG Sphere, with its first live performance in four years.
Along with the reveal, U2 had a bit of sad news: Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. will not be joining the band, as he’s needing time off to undergo and recuperate from surgery.
For the shows at the all-new space, drummer Bram van den Berg will join frontmanBono, guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton on stage.
RELATED VIDEO: ‘Music Was a Liberation for Us’: Bono on U2 ’s Rare Chance of Being a Breakout Band from Dublin
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“It’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg who is a force in his own right,” Mullen Jr.’s bandmates said in a statement.
“Bottom line, U2 hasn’t played live since December 2019 and we need to get back on stage and see the faces of our fans again,” the band added.
source: people.com
