Bono Closes Tour Saying “We’re going away now,” Speculation Ensues

U2’s Experience + Innocence tour ended last night in Berlin, and now the band is making headlines thanks to a sound bite on stage from Bono.

Per fan site U2Gigs, Bono addressed the audience and said, “We’ve been on the road for quite some time, just going on 40 years, and this last four years have been really something very special for us.  We’re going away now, and thank you for all of those who followed us from all over the world. It’s astonishing.”

Naturally, this has led to speculation that U2 are calling it quits, which even U2Gigs tweeted “seemed plausible” but then continued, “But there’ll be something for 'Boy' at 40  or AB [‘Achtung Baby’] at 30, or a new record. U2 won’t sit still and they won’t break up, and they’ve got enough years ahead of them yet to fit in more gigs!

Let’s be frank:  U2 has a history of dramatic goodbyes from the road dating back to 1989, when after the massive success and tour in support of The Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum, Bono said the following to an audience [as transcribed by fan site atU2]:

“I was explaining to people the other night, but I might've got it a bit wrong -- this is just the end of something for U2. And that's what we're playing these concerts -- and we're throwing a party for ourselves and you. It's no big deal, it's just -- we have to go away and...and dream it all up again."

You know what happened after that?  They literally reinvented themselves/dreamt it all up again and released Achtung Baby in 1991.

Long story short:  U2 is going away now because they’ve been consistently on the road for four years!  They’re going away to take a break, and it is well-deserved.  When they do eventually call it a day, we're going to definitively know.

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.