Bono Wore a Blonde Goatee Disguise to Secretly Perform with U2 in the Subway
Watch the legendary rock band perform "Desire" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in a New York City subway station with Jimmy Fallon.
Ten years ago, Bono's unmistakeable voice filled New York's 42nd Street stop, delighting subway riders with a surprise concert. And the U2 frontman he did it in disguise as a busker with a blonde goatee.
Joining the list of other musical artists including Miley Cyrus, Alanis Morrisette and Green Day U2 busked in disguise with Jimmy Fallon in the popular recurring Tonight Show segment in May 2015.
Donning wigs, fake facial hair and some interesting fashion accessories — such as Bono's blond goatee and blue cowboy hat — the band perform a short live set on the 42nd Street subway platform in midtown Manhattan. Also in disguise, Fallon joins them as their hype man, trying to convince commuters to stop for the concert.
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Bono, U2, and Jimmy Fallon sang "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in a NYC subway stop
The performance begins with Bono belting their 1987 classic "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," but even his recognizable vocals can't make New Yorkers slow down as they run for their train.
Finally, removing his hat and goatee, Fallon says to the small crowd, "It's not working this way, it's not working! Plan B!"
Fallon then reveals that the subway buskers are actually one of the most popular rock bands of all time. Bono and his bandmates then remove their disguises to treat the surprised audience to a live rendition of "Desire" — with guitarist The Edge joining in and singing along to the catchy chorus.
Stumbling upon a U2 concert while commuting home from the office? Only in New Yor — well, actually, the band pulled off a surprise train station concert in other cosmopolitan city in 2017. Two years after their MTA jam with Fallon, U2's Bono and The Edge played "Get Out of Your Own Way" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on Berlin's U2 subway line (synergy!).
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Bono is a 2025 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
Bono, lead singer of U2, has won Grammys, Golden Globes, and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On January 4, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Joe Biden.
"Thank you President Biden. Frontmen don’t do humble, but today I was," he wrote on Instagram after receiving the medal. "Rock n roll gave me my freedom… and with it the privilege to work alongside those who’ve had to fight so much harder for theirs. And I want to give it up for my band mates — Edge, Adam, and Larry — without whom I would never have found my voice."
