IT’S MAY 30TH, 1983 and U2 lead singer Bono is addressing a crowd of several hundred thousand at the US Festival in San Bernardino, California. “When we first arrived in your country, I tried to explain that we’re not just another English fashion band passing through. We’re an Irish band and we plan on being here for a long time.” U2 are not the headliners that day, but their electrifying set, which concludes with Bono’s perilous climb up the scaffolding while waving a white flag in a symbolic attempt to embrace the massive audience, proves his words are not a hollow boast.
The quartet, which also includes drummer Larry Mullen Jr., bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist Dave Evans (known professionally as The Edge), are touring in support of their third album, , and while radio is starting to embrace theirbecome one of the biggest, most recognizable bands on the planet. And while Bono’s soaring tenor voice and evangelical stage manner are the face of U2, it’s the unassuming stoic-faced guitarist to his right that’s the band’s secret weapon.
