U2 hint at breakup on final tour date

Bono hinted at a breakup on the final date in Milan when he said "U2 are going away now".
Love them or hate them, they have been one of the biggest live bands of the last 30 years. It will be a sad day for me if its true and thats it.

 

Man... so now we'll get the break-up album...

 

Probably just going away meaning taking a break, no? They have just done two back-to-back tours between the Joshua Tree tour and this second part of the Innocence and Experience tour. Not to mention releasing an new album in between those

Edit: found this: U2 not calling time on music career despite Bono's Berlin comment

 

Bono, in a couple years: "U2 are back now".

 

I wonder if it's time. At least for a reassessment. I saw them in London a month or so ago and while the staging was astounding I didn't really sense that Bono's heart was in it which was quite jarring for a performer who usually seems so invested. I'm not one of these U2 fans who thinks they've done nothing of merit for 20 years (I love NLOTH and SOI) but I think the last one was a mess. For the first time I felt they really failed to grab what they were reaching for and they seemed a little lost. I think they have more to give but they need to figure out what they really want out of it. They are never going to be one of the biggest bands on the planet again.

 

Bono said something similar near the end of the Lovetown tour. Some thought that he meant a breakup then, too.

 

Hasn't he done this before?

 

Ah, now, Bono says things he doesn’t mean all the time.

 

They'll be back. I saw them a few weeks ago and thought they were amazing. While SOE didn't grab me initially, it's currently my go-go U2 album (along with SOI and NLOTH, funnily enough.)

There's no way they would go out while they are (in my opinion) at a peak. They'll definitely have a break and people will be glad to see them back after these comments... Dave Grohl does this after every Foo Fighters tour, too.

 

Bono must have gotten a new gig at the UN.

 

He still hasn't found what he's looking for.

 

Followed by the reunion album and tour.

 

There are already rumours the tour is going to Australia in 2019

 

Three very different tours and two new studio albums in the last four years, so a bit of a break makes sense. I saw all three shows and while Innocence+Experience and Joshua Tree (obviously) were quite fan-friendly, the recent Experience+Innocence Tour was a bit more daring and might have left casual fans perplexed. Nothing in the set pre-Achtung Baby, and an encore consisting of four relatively low-key numbers. They could have taken the easy way out and ended with "Pride" and "Where the Streets Have No Name", and I give them credit for going "outside the box". I thought it was a great show.

While I appreciate their desire to play their new music, I wouldn't mind if the next tour celebrated the 30th anniversary of Achtung Baby, with the entire album played ala Joshua Tree.

 

I would imagine the band is pretty worn down after going through 3 tours in a 3 year period. After a 3-4 year break they will be back (unless Live Nation cattle prods them into doing another nostalgia tour).

 

As far as I am concerned U2s heyday was 25-30 years ago.No big loss.

 

They still are one the biggest bands on the planet, just no longer the biggest.

He seemed totally into it when I saw them in NYC, they were probably wiped out by time they got to London

 

Bono will now have time to read the 30,000 threads you have started on The Beatles

 

We got a few pre-Achtung Baby. Sunday Bloody Sunday, I Will Follow, Pride, the ocean.....looks like they added Gloria at some shows....just no Joshua Tree since they had just done that tour

 

I get the impression that this is just a misinterpretation. If I go away, it doesn't mean I vanish

 

We all romanticize and envy the lives of rock stars, but it has to be an incredibly exhausting grind. Three years straight at their age? It's got to be tough. When I first started traveling for business I thought that it was fun, but after my third or fourth trip, I'd had it. It doesn't matter how nice the hotel is, how good the meals are or how carefully the staff irons your clothes, you're not at home. The traveling itself is no fun at all. You're always marking time, building-up to or coming down from a performance.

I hope they all enjoy their year or two off and recharge their creative batteries.

 

Hope they will back one day with Mr.Eno or even with Mr.Eno and Mr.Lanois and will record something as beautiful as PASSENGERS album.

 

Unh unh unh, unh unh, unh unh, unh.

 

They’ve been saying that for 3 years now...

 

You’re right, they played SBS, Pride and I Will Follow. I guess it just seemed that way, because at least at the show I saw, they seemed intent on avoiding any reliance on audience nostalgia at points in the show where it would be common to do so - opening, closing, encore. It was still reasonably well paced.