United Kingdom, July 16 -- Bono was so poor as a teenager that he lived off instant mashed potato and leftover airline food.

The U2 frontman was just 14 when his mother Iris died and explained that times were so tough that he had to survive on the surplus food his older brother Norman brought back from the airport where he worked.

Speaking on Ruthie's Table 4 podcast, Bono, 65, said: "After my mother died I would usually return home with a tin of meat, a tin of beans and a packet of Cadbury's Smash (instant mashed potato).

"Thinking back to being a teenager, food was just fuel."

The With or Without You rocker explained that he spent money for food on "far more important" things like records.

Bono - whose real name is Paul Hewson - sa...