Bono suffers a 'complete loss of voice,' prompting U2 to end concert

The band U2 ended a concert in Berlin on Saturday partway through its performance after its lead singer, Bono, said he had lost his voice.

The band had just finished playing the song “Beautiful Day,” with Bono visibly struggling to belt out the lyrics, when he halted the concert, apologized to the audience and said the band “cannot go on.”

In a statement released after the show, which was part of the band’s European Experience + Innocence tour that is set to run through November, the band apologized.

“Bono was in great form and great voice prior to the show and we were all looking forward to the second night in Berlin, but after a few songs, he suffered a complete loss of voice,” the statement said.

In a statement released Sunday, Bono said he had seen “a great doctor and with his care I’ll be back to full voice for the rest of the tour.”

U2 is scheduled to perform Tuesday in Cologne, Germany.

Before trying to perform “Beautiful Day,” videos recorded at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin showed Bono struggling to sing another song, “Red Flag Day,” as his voice cracked and he shook his head. At times, the audience and other band members filled in the gaps when he apparently could not sing.

Between songs, Bono told the audience that he thought the smoke machines were interfering with his ability to sing.

“I’ve lost my voice and I don’t know what to do,” Bono said before the show was halted. “I was singing like a bird 10 minutes ago. I’m sure it will pass.”

Pop stars are regularly stymied by medical issues. In 2016, Beyoncé postponed a concert in New Jersey because she was on “strict doctor’s orders for vocal rest,” she said at the time. A year later, Lady Gaga postponed the start of the European leg of a tour by three days because of “trauma and chronic pain.” The singer has said she has fibromyalgia.

Dr. Jordan S. Josephson, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said the most likely explanation for Bono’s loss of voice was laryngitis caused by a viral infection. He said that if that were the case, Bono could, after resting his voice and taking medicine, recover in 24 to 72 hours.

He said singers are no more at risk for laryngitis caused by a viral infection than the general public, and that he sees such cases regularly.

“It usually doesn’t last for very long,” Josephson said. “By Tuesday, he may be able to be back.”