Healthly Bono Ready for Next Challenge

BONO has thanked his family for putting up with him on his sickbed by taking them on a pilgrimage of the world’s holiest regions.

After spending nearly two years recovering from emergency back surgery in 2010 the U2 frontman celebrated by whisking his wife and nippers off on holiday.

He said: “I’ve possibly had the best year personally because I’ve spent most of it with my family. “Having been away on tour for so long, then taking so long to recover from my back injury, it was time for a trip. “I decided to take the family on tour as a little thank you to the kids for being so patient with me. “Because I wasn’t busy with the band we kind of went wandering. Once-in-a-lifetime sort of stuff, places like Africa and Central America. “We also went to Jordan and Palestine, Israel and Peru. “It was really great to have time off.”

Hello Seattle !

When U2 climbs onstage tonightl at Qwest Field, many in the crowd will have waited almost two years for the show. The U2 “360 Degree” Qwest date was originally scheduled for May 2010 and tickets first went on sale in November 2009. But when Bono injured his back and needed emergency surgery, the Seattle date was postponed for a year. Memphis Mullen is expected to be in the GA line early and will have some U2 swag for some fans.

Bono is back to leaping and jumping again, and the delay in the end might prove lucky. During the past year, U2 has honed its show, added a few songs and integrated video of the Arab spring revolt into a moving “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” Reviews of this leg — the seventh of the tour — are stellar. “Fresh and edgy as ever,” proclaimed The Salt Lake Tribune. “Lives up to image, hype,” raved The Denver Post.

The staging for “360 Degree” includes a 164-foot-high steel support rig, nicknamed “The Claw.” If that sounds like an expensive stage prop to haul around — it requires 120 trucks to transport — U2 can afford it: Even with a break for Bono’s rehabilitation, the “360 Degree” show has become the highest-grossing tour in concert history, surpassing the Rolling Stones’ “Bigger Bang