Bono: It was nearly the end of the Line.. U2 WERE SET TO AXE NEW ALBUM DUE TO PRESSURE.

Byline: BY NAOMI McELROY

THEY'RE No1 in 31 countries and they just sold out Croke Park - but Bono admits U2 were ready to give up on their new album.

The 49-year-old singer said the boys hit a low halfway through No Line On The Horizon.

He revealed: "It took off like a rocket and it ended on real high but there was a sort of middle period where things got a little self-conscious and we lost our way a bit.

"But it's funny you know, the band were saying, and Larry in particular, 'We don't have to put out an album, let's just make music for the sake of it'.

"We ran with that for a while but as soon as we thought, 'We have to put it out', that's the point when I think the self-consciousness came in.

"We had 40 tracks, it's not like we were sitting around biting our nails, we just got lost in the music, got a lot of songs and we had to pare it down to the best songs, and also to try to make it work together as a whole."

And even now, instead of celebrating being No1 in 31 nations, the band are depressed about missing the top spot in Finland.

Speaking on Gerry Ryan's radio show, Bono added: "As my friend Gavin Friday says, 'Insecurity is your best security', that's just who we are.

"We don't take anything for granted. the album getting to No1 in 31 countries, we had a big celebration, then we found out it had not gone to No1 in Finland, and we were depressed.

"That's the kind of band we are." And the U2 frontman admitted the Dublin rockers are thrilled to have sold out Croke Park.

He added: "It's been overwhelming really. It's a very big deal for us to sell out our hometown at such speed. It's unbelievable."

Bono revealed he is already in training for the concert, planned as a 360 degree spectacle, and said: 'It's not going to be too choreographed, it's a rock and roll show, but we have a stage set up which allows us get very close to a lot of people.

"I have to get fit, I've been boxing, running, doing press-ups, chasing Larry Mullen down the road.

"There's a lot of risk in this one...but I think it's going to make that Madison Square Garden feeling, that's what we're looking for."

And he claimed it's getting easier, not harder, to tour and said: "Our wives and kids, the advantage of being in U2 now, they can come with us, it's not so traumatic as it used to be when we would go away and not see our loved ones for weeks.

And he vowed the band still rock as hard as ever.

Bono added: "When we get out on that stage, there's nobody going through the motions."

It has been overwhelming. It's a big deal for us to sell out our hometown at such speed ...unbelievable

CAPTION(S):

St Stephen's Green, Dublin Yesterday; WAIT Fans try to find what they're looking for at the ticket office Pictures: GARETH CHANEY/COLLINS; RELIEF Gabriel Moniere hits jackpot with his U2 gig tickets; IN TRAINING Bono