'Don't Know What Happened:' Bono Loses Voice During Show

U2 has to cancel Berlin concert after frontman loses voice 20 minutes in
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 2, 2018 6:29 AM CDT
U2 Cancels Show After Bono Loses Voice
In this Monday, July 24, 2017, file photo, founder of the non-governmental organization ONE, U2 singer Bono speaks after a meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris.   (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

For the second time since 1989, U2 has had to cancel a concert partway through after Bono's voice failed, reports E! Online. The 58-year-old made it about 20 minutes into the show in Berlin before halting to address the audience, telling the crowd that "I can promise you I have not been smoking," but that smoke machines inside the Mercedes Benz Arena were "like a giant cigar. I've lost my voice and I don't know what to do... it was singing like a bird about 10 minutes ago." He asked the machines be shut down and the AC turned up, but then struggled on the next song. He left the stage, and the band canceled the show some 40 minutes later while fans amused themselves by singing "40 (How Long)." The band later issued a statement saying "we don't know what has happened and we're taking medical advice." (More Bono stories.)

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