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Bono Fears He May Never Play Guitar Again, Following Central Park Bike Accident
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 2, 2015
Modified Jan 2, 2015
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Jan 2, 2015
Modified Jan 2, 2015
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Last November Bono took a tumble in Central Park while on his bike, and while it's still unclear exactly what happened, the U2 frontman has suffered some pretty serious injuries. He's been taking it easy at home in Ireland, unable to perform even at short, one-off shows... and now he believes he'll never play guitar again. In a statement released on U2's website, Bono wrote:
"I broke my hand, my shoulder, my elbow and my face but the real injury this year was to my Irish pride as it was discovered that under my tracksuit I was wearing yellow and black Lycra cycling shorts. Yes, LYCRA. This is not very rock 'n' roll.
"Recovery has been more difficult than I thought... As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again. The band have reminded me that neither they nor Western civilization are depending on this. I personally would very much miss fingering the frets of my green Irish falcon or my (RED) Gretsch. Just for the pleasure, aside from writing tunes. But then does the Edge, or Jimmy Page, or any guitarist you know have a titanium elbow, as I do now? I'm all elbows, I am."
He continued, giving little more insight into what happened that day:
"On the day of my 50th birthday I received an injury because I was over indulging in exercise boxing and cycling, which was itself an overcompensation for overindulging on alcohol coming up to the big birthday. I promised myself I would be more mindful of my limits, but just four years on, it happened again—a massive injury I can't blame on anyone but myself, mainly because I blanked out on impact and have no memory of how I ended up in New York Presbyterian with my humerus bone sticking through my leather jacket. Very punk rock as injuries go.
"The consequences of this freak accident are significant enough that I will have to concentrate hard to be ready for the U2 tour in fitness terms… as a result I have cancelled every public appearance and decided this missive is all the communication I can manage for the first half of 2015, beyond muttering and singing to myself of course."
The accident has been described as "high energy," and his surgeon at NY-Presbyterian had released this list of injuries:
1. Left facial fracture involving the orbit of his eye.
2. Left scapula (shoulder blade) fracture in three separate pieces.
3. Left compound distal humerus fracture where the bone of his humerus was driven though his skin and the bone was in six different pieces. He was taken emergently to the operating room for a five-hour surgery Sunday evening where the elbow was washed out and debrided, a nerve trapped in the break was moved and the bone was repaired with three metal plates and 18 screws.
4. One day later, he had surgery to his left hand to repair a fracture of his 5th metacarpal.
U2's next tour kicks off this May.
Tagged
bike accident
bono
central park
u2
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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