Bono believes the death of his mother inspired him to become a rock star.

The U2 frontman's mother Iris died from a brain aneurysm four days after collapsing at her father's funeral in September 1974 and the singer admits losing her at the age of 14 left a ''hole'' in his heart.

The 55-year-old musician explained: ''I realised aged 14, when my mother suddenly passed away at her own father's graveside, that I had a hole in my heart.''

To deal with his grief, Bono turned to music and that turned into his life.

In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he said: ''I didn't know at the time, as I filled it with music. I became an artist through her absence and I owe her for that. I thought the rage I had was a part of rock 'n' roll but the rage was grief.''

Bono has often written about his mother's death in U2 songs, dealing with his feelings on tracks such as 'I Will Follow', 'Mofo' and 'Out of Control'.

The Irish superstar also revealed his own experiences with bereavement and grief have helped him to have empathy and to be there for his bandmates - The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. - when they have experienced deaths.

Bono - real name Paul David Hewson - said: ''These songs deal with family and here we are, having crises in our families as if brought on by the music. Your relationship with your mates and your relationship with your family are the same, as they are people you love.''

The songwriter also explained that even though there have been hard times in the band with each other, they still have each other's back when tough times do arise.

He said: ''I am lucky to still be with these men that I met when they were boys and we still kick s*** out of each other and it can be unpleasant sometimes. But if I am stuck, I still turn to them. We all turn to each other.''