U2 lead singer Bono denied the reports that he had been taken to hospital after complaining of chest pain while on holiday in the south of France. Singer’s spokeswoman claims he is in “good health” and his hospital visit was just a routine checkup.

Various websites published a story that Bono had been rushed to a hospital by his wife Ali Hewson, after she became concerned about him suffering from palpitations and chest pains. The 51-year old did go to the Princess Grace Memorial hospital in Monacoon Wednesday August 17, and the Irish Independent claimed he was examined by a leading heart specialist and ordered to get some rest.

Irish Central website claimed that he had undergone a battery of tests before being discharged, quoting an insider saying, “as I understand it he was seen by a doctor. He is okay now but he got a fright.” Bono’s health scare was first reported by the broadsheet newspaper, Irish Independent.

It’s clear now that the reports are false and it’s also confirmed that the only health problems Bono had were in the form of a back injury, which he obtained while he was on a record-breaking world tour in 2010. “Despite press stories to the contrary, Bono has not suffered a recent health scare.

Reports of his being rushed to hospital for emergency treatment are untrue. Bono is in good health and enjoying a family holiday in the south of France,” the spokeswoman for Bono said in a statement to Reuters. Bono was later spotted relaxing in Monaco’s nightspot, Saas Café, with his wife, Julian Lennon and Irish designer John Rocha on Friday, August 19.

The group was forced to cancel several gigs in 2010 and pulled out of the Glastonbury music festival in England when Bono injured his back while rehearsing in Germany for the tour. He recovered in time to resume the gruelling schedule and the band returned to perform on the main stage at Glastonbury this summer.

U2 recently wrapped up their mammoth 360° world tour in Canada. The jaunt grossed a record-breaking $736,137,344 (£448 million). The success of the 360° Tour, which began in Barcelona on June 30, 2009, has been attributed to the band’s ground-breaking 360-degree production, which can increase the capacity of stadiums by as much as 25 percent.

Meanwhile, U2 are donating $7.2m to support the education system in their native Ireland following the hardship measures introduced in the aftermath to the world banking crisis. The cash will be provided over the course of the next four years and will mainly be used to buy music equipment and pay music teachers wages.

The head of Music Generation, a U2- affiliated charity, Rosaleen Molloy, says: “While we have a very rich musical culture and heritage, access to music tuition is like a geographic lottery. There is an assumption that music is being provided in mainstream schools- while the reality is it’s not.

The band had been looking for a way to invest and support music education in Ireland; they want to give something back.”
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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About the author

Maria Kalligianni
I studied Communication and Mass Media at the National University of Athens . Since i was a kid I wanted to be a journalist. I live in Athens the last five years but I grew up in a very beautiful island, Crete. I love writing about everything and travelling to many countries in order to learn about many different cultures. I also love movies, books and sports.