Lawrence Mullen, Jr. is and always has been the drummer for the world-famous band,
U2. He was born in the part of
Dublin known as
Artane on
October 31,
1961 to parents Lawrence, Sr. and Maureen, at 60 Rosemont Avenue.
Larry first became interested in music by following the influence of his sister,
Cecilia, who played the
piano. At the age of nine, Larry decided that he too would take up the piano. This, however, did not work out for the
aspiring young musician, and he was ready to abandon his musical career altogether when Larry found his calling:
drums.
Larry took lessons in
1971, under a man named
Joe Bonnie, and soon, his sister bought him his first drum kit in
1973 for 17
Pounds (about 30
United States Dollars). Once Larry learned the basics, he joined the
Artane Boys' Band, but this was not for him. As the story goes, Larry was asked to cut his hair several times, and no one tells Larry what to do. After leaving the Artane Boys' Band, Larry entered the
Post Office Workers' Union Band, which he much more enjoyed and with whom he was able to march in a
St. Patrick's Day Parade. Many of the skills Larry developed in the Post Office Workers' Union Band can be clearly heard in such songs as "
Sunday Bloody Sunday" and much of the
War album.
He placed a notice at the infamous
Mount Temple Comprehensive School in the fall of
1976, and the resulting group was
The Hype, then
Feedback, and finally,
U2 (all with the same members, just different names). Although everyone knows the band as U2, Larry claims that the band's name is really "
The Larry Mullen Band."
Though Larry officially started the band,
Paul Hewson would emerge as the leader. As later told by Larry, "I spent all my pocket money on drum kits, and suddenly you get to the stage after playing in your bedroom for 6 months, so you wonder where to go, y'know. I had heard of this fellow called Paul Hewson, he was very
notorious. And there was
Adam Clayton, cos Adam was the new boy in town. And he used to wear this fantastic afghan coat, that's how I knew Adam."
His
award-winning career has been plagued with a battle with
tendonitis, which has been curbed by specially designed
drumsticks.
Known for his love of
Harley Davidson motorcycles, he has been known to drive his Harley from
gig to gig, clocking over
10,000 miles on the
Zoo TV tour alone. He is also known for his fandom for
Elvis Presley.
Although Larry takes a
no-bull attitude, he does have quite a sense of humor, as does all of
U2. He is known to play
pranks on people, as well as stealing the spotlight with a
karaoke machine.
He has a
partner, Anne Acheson, his high school sweetheart, and 3 children. Incidentally,
Bono also married his
high school sweetheart,
Ali, and they have always been together as well. How
hollywood relationship! He has also been a dog owner,
thanking his dogs JJ and Missy on past albums.
One of Larry's best musical characteristics is that, much like
The Edge, his style is very unique. Whether he is banging away
militaristically, as heard on "
Seconds" and "
Sunday Bloody Sunday" (from 1983's "
War") or pounding out the maniacal rhythms heard on "
Acrobat" (from 1991's "
Achtung Baby") Larry's sound is
innovative,
definitive, and
fresh. Some have claimed his playing is simplistic, but in more than two decades he's never repeated a
drum pattern for two different songs, and continues to perform on an international level today.
Sources: http://u2intotheheart.tripod.com/biolarry.html
http://www.atu2.com/band/larry/