U2 frontman Bono’s eyesight is deteriorating, according to friend Julian Lennon.
Julian, the son of Beatles legend John Lennon, told the Irish Daily Star that Bono has long had an eye condition, which is degenerative in nature. “Bono actually has a condition with his eyes. I don’t know the exact issue but the brightness of the sun hurts them and it’s a deteriorating issue,” he said.
Fans of U2 and Bono know well that his trademark sunglasses are a bit more than a trendy fashion statement on the part of the Irish musician. Bono has admitted in the past that he wears his stylish shades primarily because of an eye condition which makes him over-sensitive to light.
“[I have] very sensitive eyes to light,” Bono said in an interview with Rolling Stone . “If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up.”
“It’s part vanity, it’s part privacy and part sensitivity,” Bono confessed.
Bono and Julian Lennon are close friends, and the latter confirmed in his interview that the U2 frontman’s eye condition is indeed worsening. However, Lennon did opine that Bono was smart to have turned his degenerative eye condition into his own trademark style, reports NME .
“It’s part of his image,” he said. “In some senses it was lucky but not really of course. Maybe it’s part of his process now and without the image he can’t be Bono.”