Speaking about returning to their former school for a special 50th anniversary, U2 have said it was a "great experience".
Last Friday, the band, including Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton performed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, celebrating 50 years since they gathered at the home of Larry Mullen Jr on Dublin's northside, having placed a handwritten note 'Drummer Seeks Musicians To Form Band' on the noticeboard of the Northside Dublin School in September 1976.
In an interview with RTÉ Radio, The Edge admitted that he was "quiet nervous" ahead of this live performance.
He said: "I was actually quite nervous which I wasn’t expecting because as I said to the lads before we went on, since no one has paid in, they can’t ask for their money back so we’ve actually nothing to worry about, we can go out there and just have a good time. But I was actually really nervous and midway through I Will Follow I just went 'this is amazing!’".
Elsewhere, Larry Mullen Jr insisted that he was not nervous, saying that returning to Mount Temple School was "a great experience".
He said: "I wasn’t nervous, I was really happy to be there. It was just a great experience. We’ve been trying for 50 years to get the band to downsize so we could do something like that, so we measured the stage about 50 years ago and said ‘we have to get back to that’".
Adam Clayton also joked that leaving private school for Mount Temple, felt like a promotion.
"I came in from private school and went to Mount Temple as a form of punishment. But before I’d gone to Mount Temple I’d always decided I wanted to have a career in music, and Mount Temple had a great history of choirs and musical stuff, so when I arrived at the school I couldn’t believe that you could wear your own clothes, that the teachers treated you respectfully, and that when we said we wanted to start a band they said ‘well, you can use one of the classrooms to rehearse in!", he said.
"So, for me, even though it appeared to be a demotion, it was a promotion".
Reflecting on the last 50 years, lead singer Bono spoke about the band's enduring relationship with the fans is like "winning the World Cup" for U2.
"We're not the band you'd expect to come out of Ireland, let alone the north side of Dublin, just on the accents, the backgrounds, the mixed up religiousosity of it all. Yet, I think we were a clue to an Ireland that was coming which wasn't just defined by the old ways", he said.
Larry Mullen Jr also said that putting the message on that noticeboard in 1976 has given him plenty of food for thought.
He said: "I’ve had to reflect a lot over the last few days on some of the decisions that were made, and there were times were I had deep regret for sticking that notice on the noticeboard, and I have that feeling that I could of been a nobody". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
Last week, the Central Bank of Ireland launched a new €2 commemorative coin, celebrating the band's 50th anniversary. The coin, featured an image of U2’s four members – Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr, designed by Shaughin McGrath. More on this here.
