For years, it’s been widely assumed that Bono wears sunglasses all the time as an affectation, adopted to differentiate him from all the non-rock star people with their visible eyeballs. Eyeballs are really more of a Paul David Hewson thing; Bono needs his shades like Jesus needed Mary, yeah yeahhhhh, like we need each other, need each other, yeah yeah, etc. But in an interview with Graham Norton, Bono explained that his sunglasses are only an “affectation” if you consider attempting to ameliorate the pain of glaucoma to be a “pose.” Perhaps you also consider caring about the suffering of children in Africa to be some sort of “put-on.” Maybe the real dark glasses are the ones on your heart.
“This is a good place to explain to people that I’ve had glaucoma for the last 20 years,” Bono said, as an “….Oh” rang out in the Memphis sky. Still, don’t weep for Bono, who already has prescription artificial tears he can use for that. “I have good treatments and I am going to be fine,” he says. And besides, he has an endless supply of sunglasses in all the colors of the grandmother-hitting-the-Reno-slots rainbow to protect him from the increased sensitivity to light caused by his condition, and exacerbated by his band’s use of lots and lots of lights.
Still, he allows, “You’re not going to get this out of your head now and you will be saying ’Ah, poor old blind Bono,’” once more astutely assessing the way the public will always respond with nothing but sympathy and goodwill toward Bono.
In related news, the Edge revealed that he always wears a knit cap because his head is sad and just wants to be left alone.