Louis Walsh has raised eyebrow among Celebrity Big Brother viewers - by claiming he saved the careers of U2. The 71-year-old
music manager has been a star signing of the 2024 Celebrity Big Brother line-up - having generated countless headlines by sounding off about a string of fellow celebrities including Simon Cowell, Sir Bob Geldof,
James Corden and many, many others. In scenes that aired on Wednesday night, viewers were braced for more scandal as Louis began talking about
Irish Singer Bono and the band U2. While many were fearing Louis was about to star blasting the band and sharing scathing opinions about them, he instead took credit for saving their career. The TV judge was in the Celebrity Big Brother bedroom when he struck up conversation with Coronation Street star Colson Smith, 25. Continuing his name dropping antics, Louis said: "I was watching the Lat
Late Show one night. Bono was on." Asking for clarification, Colson asked: "The Irish one? Or the
American one?" And Louis said: "The Irish one." Louis Walsh discussed a past encounter with U2 with Colson Smith in the Celebrity Big Brother house ( Image: REX/Shutterstock for Big Brother) 'Glow-giving' moisturiser that leaves wrinkles 'less noticeable' slashed to £10 at Boots He continued: "And Bono was on. And he was talking about the
Late Late Show and he mentioned me. I had forgotten totally. It happened about 35 years ago. True story. In his book, page 95, I was in a place called Captain America's. It's a restaurant. It's a really good burger restaurant in Grafton Street in
Dublin. I loved going in there. I went in there every week. "And I went in and I saw U2. They were unknown. They were a brand-new band from Dublin. And they were at the next table. And they were chatting away about changing their manager. Out loud. And, of course, I was listening. And I knew Paul McGuinness. He is probably one of the best managers in the world. Eventually, I went over. I said, 'Guys, I heard your conversation. I know Paul McGuinness. He's good. Probably the best manager in the world. Because he believes in you guys.' That's the most important thing and manager could do, he believes in a brand-new act. And they listened." Colson then asked: "Did they stay with McGuinness?" And Louis confirmed: "Of course." Colson said: "And he managed them for..." And Louis said: "Yeah, forever. He's fantastic. He's world class." Celebrity Big Brother fans were stunned to hear Louis trying to credit himself for U2's success ( Image: AFP/Getty Images) Colson then asked: "Do you think they were doing that deliberately in front of you?" But Louis rejected this theory, saying: "No, no, I was just an agent. They had no idea. That's a true story. It's funny how things happen, isn't it? True story." Fans watching the show were stunned by Louis’s latest claims - with some not exactly believing him. One viewer commented on X: “Is Louis actually insinuating that U2 success is down to him ... He has no shame #CBBUK. BIGGEST S**T STIRRER" - along with a string of crying-with-laughter emojis. Another laughed: "Oh god, and now he discovered U2, the fucking s***e Louis comes out with #CBBUK." A further viewer ridiculed Louis' claims, writing: "U2 were unknown 35 years ago? They had 4 flipping albums out Louis! #CBBUK." While another viewer cryptically claimed: "I remember u2's old manager saying to me what he thought about Louis Walsh. It was exactly how he is coming across on the show! #CelebrityBigBrother @bbuk #CBBUK." Celebrity Big Brother’s 2024 season will reach a conclusion on Friday night. However, one of the remaining five finalists won’t make it to the last show as a contestant. Louis and Colson made the top five alongside Fern Britton , Nikita Kuzmin and Bradley Riches. However, one of the final five was booted from the house on Wednesday night in a shock last-minute eviction - the result of which is to remain a secret until Thursday night. Celebrity Big Brother airs via ITV1 and ITVX nightly at 9pm. Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat ,
Instagram ,
Twitter ,
Facebook ,
YouTube and Threads.