Larry Mullen Jr. Biography

Fast Facts

• Won the Rory Gallagher Musician of the Year Award from Hot Press magazine
• Won the Grammy Awards for "Album of the Year" and "Best Rock Performance" for "The Joshua Tree" in 1987
• Began studying the piano when he was 8 years old but gave it up two years later to begin drumming
• Early rehearsals of the band, known first as Feedback and then as The Hype before becoming U2, were held in his kitchen in Dublin
• Formed the band that would become U2 in 1976 after posting a "musicians wanted" ad on the notice board at the Temple Mount School in Dublin
• Quote: "People say, 'Why don't you do interviews?'․․․My job in the band is to play drums, to get up on stage and hold the band together․ That's what I do․ At the end of the day that's all that's important․ Everything else is irrelevant․"
• Best known as the drummer and founding member of the rock band U2
• During the band's early days, he sometimes had to miss photo shoots because of his job at Seiscom Delta and would get a friend named Derek Rowen, who resembled him, to stand in for him
• Worked with band mate Adam Clayton on the theme song for "Mission: Impossible" in 1996
• Formed the group Automatic Baby with Adam Clayton, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe to play at MTV's Inaugural Ball for the 1993 Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton