Mullen It Over

U2's drum god talks about the price of fame and the joy of anonymity

Star Hits, January 01, 1988

By Brad Balfour

Talking to U2's founder and drummer extraordinaire, Larry Mullen Jr. -- he of the James Dean smoldering stare school of pop stardom -- is an easier thing to handle than it may seem. That's not only because Mullen isn't looking for ego strokes, but also because he's done so few interviews that he really seems to enjoy getting some things off his chest.

And since Larry was the guy who put up notices around his high school in Dublin, Ireland asking if anyone was interested in forming a rock band way back in 1976, it was his fault U2 got off the ground in the first place. Since then, he's let Bono or the Edge do the talking for him -- until now, when he's letting more than the drums do the talking.

What's on Larry Mullen's mind? Fame, for one thing, and the problems that come with it. "I'm not prepared to give up my humanity for rock and roll. I'd give up anything but that," he declares, "I fight for my rights. I say no to people, do not follow me, no I will not sign my autograph now; I'm going to dinner. I've very straightforward with people. Therefore, I get away with a bit more. Sometimes the only way you get away with it is being harsh. I do not sign autographs at my house no matter who comes there, I certainly will if I'm walking down the street or if I'm on the way to the office. But outside of the hotel, I'll do it a bit but then no more." Well, simple enough. "It certainly robs you of your anonymity," Larry admits of the price of the band's phenomenal fame. "When you start off it's great fun and it's cool. But when it comes to success, you've got to trade things. You trade your family, your home, and the joys of working nine to five. You trade off the fact that you can't walk down the street without being recognized. When you try to live on the road, you're living in a hotel where you can't go outside. People don't see it like that, they think they're the only person standing there."

And, when U2 became one of the biggest bands in the world, they assumed a responsibility, one sometimes misunderstood by the very fans who love the band. "I think it's a lot of things," Larry muses. "Being part of a rebellion, or any sort of rebellion is fair enough, but there's no way we'll take responsibility for people putting this 'U2 speaks for a generation' on us. That's bullshit, man. We're all asking questions. We're looking for answers and that's what people don't understand. People look to the band for answers to questions. We're telling people they have to look through themselves for answers. That might solve a lot of problems."

Mullen, like the rest of his pals in U2, have been steeped in a passion for America. This last tour and album, The Joshua Tree, reflects a serious plunge into American culture and a conquest of us Yankees with their incredible live show. "We love America, we always have," acknowledges the young drummer. "Americans are a great audience. And as soon as American people found out what Amnesty International was all about -- after the Conspiracy of Hope tour -- the membership doubled. That says a lot about the American people. They do get off their ass and do something once they know about it. Things like Live Aid and Conspiracy of Hope are great for their time. But there's got to be a new way of doing things on a local level with people getting together in small groups. Not these big broad gestures, but people just getting together."

America has made its mark on Mullen musically as well. "After being in America where all the truck stops are, you go in and discover there's only country music there. So you buy a few tapes...That's how I got into Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. Then somebody introduced me to Dwight Yokum and Steve Earle and these new country people. Plus I'm a big fan of Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dolly Parton -- they're great singers."

"I like to go to bargain basements and look for old records. I missed a whole generation of music," 24-year-old Larry admits. "I missed out on the '60s and the early '70s -- Creedence Clearwater [Revival], the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan. What I'd like to do when this rock and roll thing cools out -- in about two years or something -- is just take a trip to America and drop into a place like Cincinnati, wander through all the thrift stores and country record shops. That's what I'll have to do."

But he and his comrades still have their roots firmly planted in their homeland. With their fans there, however, they have another set of problems. "The band has become so big in everybody's eyes that we had become too important. People had started saying we were the first Irish band to go on to do what weve done, so everyone was wound up and excited by our appearance; it was no longer a matter of rock and roll. The audience started seeing us as more than music. So we had a different barrier to break."

Whether it was a matter of getting accepted in their early days -- even though, as they admit, they really couldn't play their instruments -- or becoming the best rock band in the world, the U2 crew have certainly broken down barriers.

But, despite it all, Larry Mullen seems content to let Bono enjoy the ballyhoo. "I know this can be seen as an inverted ego, but I prefer it. I like the idea of being able to walk around. I even find it funny when people don't know I'm with the band. I had somebody run up to me and ask me to hold their umbrella while they got Bono's autograph. I found that amusing. Sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don't."


© Star Hits, 1988. All Rights Reserved.