He told CNN that the erratically behaved character in the song, taken from the band's landmark 1991 album 'Achtung Baby!', was prompting such a flagrant abuse of security from the frontman in one of the biggest bands in the world.

"It is just one of those annoying things that a singer will ask of security, but for me to be able to perform like I perform I have to be able to step into the sings," he explained.

"And I try to do what they tell me and the character in that particular song is a little out of control and I think the last verse is, 'Look, I got to go. There are things that, if I could, I would like to rearrange', and then he just sort of jumps off into the crowd."

Bono concluded: "But, you know, I've escaped with limbs and minor injuries and so have (the audience), so we are OK."

The U2 world tour hits the UK in August.