Bono has admitted Christy Dignam could "out-sing" him as he paid an emotional tribute to the Aslan frontman.
Dignam died on Tuesday after a decade-long battle with cancer. Thousands of fans lined the streets of Finglas this morning to pay tribute to the singer as his cortege travelled through the north Dublin suburb before a private funeral.
Bono couldn't make the procession this morning but said he had been listening to Aslan regularly since news of Christy's death broke. The U2 star heaped praise on the band and their "extraordinary" singer, joking: "He kind of had everything, which is really annoying. He was so beautiful, this beautiful man with his devilish laugh and smile and then he sang like an angel and wrote these lyrics. These incredible lyrics."
The 'With Or Without You' star grew up a stone's throw from the members of Aslan and admitted that Christy was a better singer than him. And he added he had been "overwhelmed" listening to Christy sing in recent days.
Read more: Christy Dignam funeral updates as star to make last trip before private service
"A singer always knows when you're in a room with someone who can out-sing you and the operatics of his voice," he told Brendan O'Connor on RTE Radio One. "As well as living around the corner from Aslan, I first met Billy McGuinness on Cedarwood Road, but we were close in other ways.
"His father loved opera and my father loved opera. That's where he got this from him I think, and this ability to move through the octaves. Just as a singer I've just been overwhelmed by his voice the last few days."
Bono met the Dignam family at their home a few years ago and he extended his condolences to his condolences to Christy's wife Kathryn, his daughter Kiera and her husband Darren, describing them as "beautiful people". And he paid tribute to Christy for overcoming the addiction issues before receiving the devastating blow of his cancer diagnosis.
"They say some bands or some artists have everything but 'it'," he said. "He had everything and 'it' and that makes the tragedy all the more.
"He did transcend those problems and then that cruel blow of his health. But what songs they've left behind. I'm just listening to Goodbye Charlie Moonhead and thinking, 'Wow!'"
Read next:
- Christy Dignam gets incredible Finglas send off as thousands line streets
- Stirring mural of Christy Dignam goes up in Dublin ahead of star's funeral
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