Music star refusing life-long friend's sweet request ended what they had for good

Rock legend Bono has opened up about the tragic reason his friendship with Michael Hutchence came to a close.

Four letters, one name: Bono. Paul David Hewson is better known by that nickname, also beloved far and wide as the lead vocalist of the Irish rock band U2. He’s one of the most iconic frontmen in music history, adored for such songs as With Or Without You, One, Beautiful Day, and Vertigo. The 64-year-old’s life has been one of many soaring highs, but in recent years, he’s also opened up about one of the crushing lows…

Bono’s friendship with Michael Hutchence ended after family request

During the early 1990s, a massive period for U2’s popularity, Bono and his wife Ali Hewson were close friends with INXS singer Michael Hutchence and his girlfriend Paula Yates.

Unfortunately, Bono fell out with the Never Tear Us Apart singer, detailing the reasons why in his tell-all 2022 book Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

Bono recalls how Michael and Paula had “spiraled down the vortex of a recreational drug use that had become hard work for everyone, especially their family, especially the younger ones.” Being around the pair while in the grip of addiction made both Bono and his wife “uncomfortable”.

After Michael and Paula’s daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof was born in July 1996, they reached out to Bono and Ali to be her godparents. However, the rift between them opened wider than ever when the pair refused to take on the responsibility.

Their friendship ended, and tragically, Michael died at the age of 37 in 1997, discovered in a Sydney hotel room. The death was ruled a suicide, and Paula died at 41 of a heroin overdose in 2000.

Paula was actually married to Bob Geldof when she first met Michael, whom she interviewed on The Big Breakfast in 1994. She had three children with The Boomtown Rats musician, but ultimately a relationship between her and Michael ensued.

Bono still ‘can’t believe’ Michael Hutchence’s death

Writing in his book, it’s crystal clear just how shaken up Bono is about what happened to his two former friends.

“… Their behavior changed,” he reflected. Even so, “Neither of us dreamed they’d both end up dead so soon. Even now, I can’t believe I’ve just written that.”

The U2 icon also spoke about Michael in a 2019 documentary that documented the life of the best-selling Australian musician.

“It really bothers me that he didn’t really understand how great a voice he had,” Bono revealed. “It had this fragility underneath the bravado. I remember asking Michael what his definition of rock’n’roll was, he said ‘liberation’.”

Those well versed in U2’s extensive back catalog will know the song Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of, taken from their 2000 studio album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. It was written as a tribute to honor Michael, its lyrics running through a fictionalized conversation between the pair about the heavy topic of taking one’s life.

“I am still enchanted,” Bono sings, “by the light you brought to me.”

The post Music star refusing life-long friend's sweet request ended what they had for good appeared first on Celebrity Tidbit.