Whenever you see the band U2, lead singer Bono is wearing sunglasses. Charity appearances, The Tonight Show, wherever Bono is, his eyes are shielded by his signature shades. Just a rock star being a rock star, right? No different than leather pants or crazy necklaces. Well, not so fast. Turns out, Bono wears his signature sunglasses because of glaucoma, a medical condition that could result in pain and blindness if left untreated. People with glaucoma are unusually sensitive to light, hence the shades.
“This is a good place to explain to people that I’ve had glaucoma for the last 20 years,” said Bono during an appearance with U2 on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show. “I have good treatments and I am going to be fine.” Added the singer, “You’re not going to get this out of your head now and you will be saying ‘Ah, poor old blind Bono’.”
It’s amazing just how quickly I’ve turned around on Bono. Pretentious or not, the beating U2 has taken over giving away their newest album for free, the failed Spider-man musical, and now the reveal that Bono has had a medical condition explaining away his sunglasses for all these years has kind of made me sympathetic for him. Weird to think that way about a multi-millionare rock star, but I feel bad for the guy. And, let’s be honest, the new album isn’t the worst thing U2 has ever put out and as free music goes, it’s not bad.
Tags: bono, u2, bono’s sunglasses, bono wears sunglasses because of glaucoma, glaucoma, bono glaucoma, bono sunglasses explanation, bono sunglasses, graham norton, bbc one, the graham norton show, bono has glaucoma, unusual medical conditions, celebrities