Over the weekend, U2 wrapped up their residency at the MSG Sphere, where they paid a special tribute to drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
Bono Pays Tribute To Larry Mullen Jr
At their final show, U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to an emotional Larry Mullen Jr, who was in the audience on the night.
Mullen Jr had been in attendance, having been forced to miss out on the memorable residency as he recovers from neck surgery.
“Not since October 1978 have we played shows without Larry Mullen Jr., and it’s only right I start by introducing the man who saved the day when Larry Mullen could not make it”, Bono told the audience.
“His name is already legend around here to people who can pronounce it. The flying while sitting-in Dutchman, Bram van den Berg on drums”.
Bono also dismissed rumours that Larry Mullen Jr was due to return to the band for the final night of their residency.
“The rumours that Larry will be playing with us tonight are not true sadly,” he said. “But he is here with us!”, the singer stated.
While the crowd began to chant the drummer’s name, Bono added, “That is the man who pinned the note on the notice board at Mount Temple Comprehensive School all those years ago. And we are very grateful that he did and that he’s here with us tonight. We wish him a speedy, speedy, speedy recovery. We love you, Larry Mullen Jr”.
U2 Pay Tribute To ‘Beautiful’ Larry Mullen Jr
U2 finished off the night with a live performance of ‘Beautiful Day’, with Bono also telling the crowd, “We play this game every f****** night, and pretend that we’re doing an encore”.
“It’s not an encore. It’s on the setlist. There is a thing called the Internet. It’s a beautiful night Larry, and this is ‘Beautiful Day”.
Bono also changed the lyrics to “Larry Mullen, you’re beautiful!”.
Larry Mullen Jr also reacted to the tribute via social media.
“What an incredible night at the Sphere-So grateful to Bono, Edge and Adam and of course Bram for an amazing job. Very emotional night for me personally”, he wrote.
“What an incredible night at Sphere-So Grateful to Bono Edge and Adam and of course Bram for an amazing job-very emotional night for me personally”
• Larry Mullen Jr.📸: @richfury pic.twitter.com/49nOz4Mpbt
— U2 (@U2) March 2, 2024
On the final night of their record breaking run of shows, the band were also joined on stage by Daniel Lanois and a pre-recorded Neil Finn.
Lanois co-produced U2’s classic albums, The Joshua Tree, and Achtung Baby, where they performed the track One, which featured on the latter album.
On the night, U2 performed a live version of Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over, a track they had been performing at recent concerts during this residency.
For this particular live show, the band also treated the audience to a live showing of the Crowded House track with a pre-recorded Neil Finn, the song’s writer.
You can also check out these performances below.
