Saturday wasn’t such a “Beautiful Day” for U2.
The Irish rockers are “taking medical advice” following the sudden voice-loss of lead singer Bono during the band’s show in Berlin, Germany, according to a statement shared on the band’s website Saturday.
“Bono was in great form and great voice prior to the show and we were all looking forward to the second night in Berlin, but after a few songs, he suffered a complete loss of voice. We don’t know what happened,” the statement said.
The Berlin show was part of U2’s Experience + Innocence Tour, which comes hot on the heels of last year’s blockbuster 30th-anniversary tribute to The Joshua Tree.
The band is scheduled to play on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at the Lanxess Arena in nearby Cologne.
“The Berlin show started with nothing unusual happening. I was there the day before as well and it was the same energy during the start of the second night,” U2 fan Stephanie Kaeppler, 32 from Hamburg, tells PEOPLE.
“Then, during the fourth song – ‘Red Flag Day’ – I noticed that Bono was struggling with something. At first, I thought he might have forgotten the lyrics or that there was a technical problem with the microphone. It was unusual because he didn’t even sing during the chorus, but the audience helped him out and sang instead,” Kaeppler adds.
Bono then asked for the smoke machines to be switched off and the air conditioning to be increased, in the hope that it would clear his throat.
“He seemed quite distressed to me, probably not knowing what to do and not wanting to let anybody down,” Kaeppler recalls. “He said, he thought it’s probably just something passing.”
Hollywood actress Ashley Judd, who was also in the Berlin audience, posted on Instagram: “One moment the voice was clear and pure and then… no sound came out.”
Judd added, “I thought, given it was so abrupt, that the microphone had had a technical glitch. #bono struggled on, spoke with a raspy voice the words of ‘Beautiful Day,’ then made a physical gesture of complete surrender and humility in the obvious, public moment of total powerlessness.”
After apologizing several times to the audience, Bono said it would not be fair to continue if he couldn’t give his best. Together with the rest of the band he went backstage, while the audience waited patiently to see if they would return.
“After about 40 minutes somebody from the tour organization announced that they couldn’t continue,” Kaeppler says. “The audience was very understanding and everybody clapped in support. Most people I spoke to were sad it had to stop this way, but ultimately Bono’s health is more important than a concert.”
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