The Edge explained that U2 would need to reinvent itself if drummer Larry Mullen Jr. were unable to participate, speaking with The Guardian. Mullen Jr. sat out the band’s recent Las Vegas residency due to neck surgery.
The Edge was asked about the band’s ability to continue as a three-piece, and whether their plans for new music could go forward without their drummer.
Question: “U2 is the four members of the band. I think that doesn’t mean we would stop making music if somebody left, but I think it would be a very different kind of group.”
“We definitely would acknowledge that it was a U2 part two, rather than the same thing,” The Edge added. “I’m not sure we’d be sitting here if Larry wasn’t ready to play.”
The remarks came during the band’s 2023-24 residency at the Las Vegas Sphere, when Mullen Jr.’s absence raised questions about the group’s continuity.
The Edge made clear that Mullen Jr.’s participation was essential to moving forward.
Mullen Jr. faced serious health challenges that forced him to step back from performing. A congenital fusion in a facet joint, made worse by decades of drumming, left him with severe neck problems after the band’s 2019 tour. His physical therapist warned that he would not survive rehearsals for the Las Vegas residency.
U2 brought in Dutch drummer Bram van den Berg as a fill-in for their 2023 and 2024 shows at Las Vegas’ Sphere. Mullen Jr. decided to undergo risky neck surgery in 2023 to try to solve the problem. After the operation, he expressed doubt about his future as a performer, saying he was unsure if he could play live for more than an hour.
Despite these concerns, Mullen Jr. returned to U2 to complete their album “Carnaval De Luz,” which the band said would not exist without his return. The band released their first album of new songs in nine years on November 13, 2024. Mullen Jr.’s recovery allowed the group to move forward as a full four-piece.
The band has announced tour dates for 2025 and 2026 as part of The Greatest Show on Earth World Tour. The tour opens in February 2025 with shows in Mexico City, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, followed by European dates starting in Stockholm on April 26, 2025.
