LARRY QUOTES

The more press we get, the more difficult it becomes to be a human being in [America]. It's the price you pay, unfortunately. - 1987

Three guys are sittin' down having a rap and the first guy says, 'I'm a nuclear scientist and I have an IQ of 170.' The next guy says, 'I have an IQ of 140 - I'm a neurosurgeon.' The next guy says, 'I have an IQ of seventy.' The other two guys say... ['You're a drummer!']. - 1985

I only feel comfortable sitting at my kit hitting stuff. - 1997

I'm not prepared to give up my humanity for rock and roll. I'd give up anything but that. - 1988

I fight for my rights. I say no to people, do not follow me; no I will not sign your autograph now; I'm going to dinner. I'm 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. - 1988

It certainly robs you of your anonymity. 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 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. - 1988, about the price of his fame

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. - 1988

We love America, we always have. 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 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. - 1988

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 someone introduced me to Dwight Yoakam and Steve Earle and all these new country people. Plus I'm a big fan of Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dolly Parton - they're great singers. - 1988

I like to go to bargain basements and look for old records. I missed a whole generation of music. I missed out on the 60's and the early 70's-Creedence Clearwater, the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan. What I'd like to do when this rock and roll things 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. - 1988

The band has becomes 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 we've 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. - 1988

I enjoy not being recognized immmensely. I know this can be seen as a 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 someone 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. - 1988

The perception is that if you say 'hold on a minute', it means no. It's not about that. I suppose I think differently from the other three guys in the band. I don't like to make decisions quickly. In the excitement of a moment people agree to do things that are not good for the band and not good for them and I try to protect the band as much as I can. - 2001, about his reputation as a 'spoilsport'

I think it's still an issue. I admire him for doing it, but it creates serious, serious difficulties. He's running around trying to do everything and keep everybody happy. The reality is it's probably the most important thing he's going to do in his life, so my attitude would be, take a year out and do it properly. - 2001, about Bono's time-consuming political activities

It's a world within a world and when you stop and try to get off it's weird. Sometimes I find myself at home and someone says, 'Would you mind moving that?' and I say, 'Surely somebody else should be doing this?' 'No, it's your house.' It's a mad thing we do. There's nothing natural about it. I mean, I hit things for a living. I hit things and people clap! - 2001

No, it gets more weird. You have to work harder because the goalposts have changed. It's about your integrity, you want your family to be proud of you. I have nightmares of my kids saying, 'Did you really look like that? Did you really make that shit?' I want to make good enough records for them to be able to say I'm OK. - 2001, when asked whether things get less weird as years go by

It's a bit like joining the priesthood or the Mob. The only way you get out is when you die or when somebody whacks you. And there's a selfish side to it. This has been my life since I was a kid. I don't want it to go pear-shaped. - 2001, about being in a famous band

People say, 'Why don't you do interviews? What do you think about this? What do you think about that?' 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 important. Everything else is irrelevant. (U2 At the End of the World 15)

What's made U2 has always been the relationship. The relationship has not only been a personal one, it's also been a musical one. It's been an understanding. It's a cliché, but U2's biggest influences have always been each other...When we came to Berlin we were suddenly, musically, on different levels and that affected everything. The musical differences affected the personal differences. It's a very, very strange world that we live in. I was very young when the band started. I ended up doing it because of tragedy, in some ways. My mother died and I went straight into the band, that was the kick. On the road I was surrounded by people who were older than me and more experienced than I was. I was seventeen. I was a virgin. I had difficulty as any normal teenager would...I feel that I'm less affected now than maybe some of the other guys are because I have fallen in love with this. I loved it when I was a kid, then when I went on the road, it was so difficult I just didn't know what was going on, it was very hard. Then, after a whole lot of different things happening with the band being successful, I made a very clear decision in my own mind that this is really what I want to do and I want to make a serious go of it. I don't just want to be the drummer in U2 anymore. I want to actually contribute on a different basis and do more. (U2 At the End of the World 16)

We fight and argue all the time! But I have to say that through it all Bono has always been there...When I was in deep shit, he made himself available for me, he was around. Even on the road when I was going through a rough time I used to share a room with him...It was a bit like baby-sitting, y'know what I mean? (U2 At the End of the World 17)

What disturbs me most is that people figure, 'Hey, look, a hundred quid to me is two weeks wages. It's nothing to you!' I find that incredibly offensive...I find there are two very distinctly different reactions. There's those people who say, 'I don't give a damn what you do, I buy my round, you buy your round. We're friends. I expect nothing from you.' And there's the other ones. It's hard because the people you grow up with are generally people who don't have money. They work in banks or they're electricians and they don't make as much. I think they should be responsible for themselves and not take advantage. I think it's lack of respect for themselves. I certainly don't respect them. (U2 At the End of the World 18)

I invented cool and you're on a boat with me. [To author Bill Flanagan] (U2 At the End of the World 74)

I'm a cynic about all that lovey-dovey stuff. A marriage is a partnership and you better look at it that way or you're in trouble! All that lovey-dovey business gets in the way. How's she gonna feel about him in a couple years when he's pickin' his nose? Or when he's pickin' her nose? (U2 At the End of the World 402-403)

Gay clubs are the best for us to come to. Nobody hassles us, and there's not the asshole you find in other clubs who just has to get up and try to start something. They respect us and they're glad to have us. The gay community is always on the cutting edge in music. I'm proud that they like U2 and come to our concerts. They don't see in U2 that macho shit that's beneath so much rock. I have a lot of time for the gay community. (U2 At the End of the World 419)

I think we've discovered how to marry electronics to what U2 do. There's nothing different; it's using the technology to help you do better what you do. The idea of the four of us going into a room and playing together doesn't interest me anymore. I'd much prefer to have some electronic drum machines, something I can play off. 'Cause I play better like that! I never though I'd think so, but I play better playing against stuff and being inspired by things like that. After ten years, four people in a room is not as inspiring as it was. You've got to break new ground. That's what we're trying to do and I think that's really healthy. I've come through my own learning process. It was very difficult during Achtung Baby. When we got that out of the way I found a real sense of peace within myself. I'm very sure about what I'm doing, very sure about what I want. I've reached a stage in my life where I'm happy to do this! I want it more than anything else and I'm prepared to do whatever's necessary to make it happen. I recommitted myself to the band. (U2 At the End of the World 487)

On a personal level, I haven't lost my faith at all. I don't practice it in the same way I did when I was younger, but I haven't lost sight of the fundamentals of it. There are many people out there who would disagree and say, 'Well, how can you do this and how can you consider yourself that?' There have never been any rules applied to my faith. My faith is a personal thing. I'm sure there are things that you can get away with like in anything else, and there's no doubt that we push it to the edge, to the very edge. And occasionally we fall off the other end. But I never felt that my job as a musician was to sing gospel or proselytize. I've always felt that I'm a musician in a band and I've been given a gift. And I believe that gift is from God. I don't believe it's from anywhere else. And if at any stage I abuse that, I think I'll know. That will be time to stop. I do think it's important. (U2 At the End of the World 488)

Nobody in U2 understands it. None of us understands where this music comes from. If one of us wrote a book about the band he wouldn't be able to explain it. We don't know...I have to believe that [God] is where it comes from. And we do dance right along the edge of how far we can go away from that. And sometimes we go too far. (U2 At the End of the World 490)

I look cool, I am cool - 1997

There's a thin line between interesting music and self-indulgence. We crossed it on the Passengers record. - 1997

It doesn't matter what songs we sing. I'm a drummer. Chicks dig me.

It's too male-female. The other day at the gig there were these two gay guys holding a big banner with the word 'One.' It's a pity not to have the gay community represented, it seemed to mean so much to them." - after viewing a preliminary screening of the 'One' video.

People say "How you gonna top Zoo-TV?" We are not gonna top Zoo-TV. Zoo-TV is part of a multimedia thing for us, it wasn't just a moment in time, it's a much bigger thing. Our next tour will incorporate some of the bits from Zoo-TV. But I would never say that we will not go back to be four guys on a stage with acoustic guitars. I mean, I don't know we could do that. We often talked about doing an Irish record, a traditional Irish record and that wouldn't really work together with Zoo-TV. That's not out of the question. - 1997

People are jaded by benefit things and it's so tragic because it's worse now than it ever was. And people need that sort of support and it's not possible to do it, not in the same way. Talking about Amnesty International and Greenpeace, it just doesn't really make any sense anymore to a lot of people because there are so many things going on and everybody is trying to help everybody. Whose responsibility is this? Is it rock-stars or pop-stars responsibility? I think Amnesty International and Greenpeace there is a responsibility, there is something that we can do. - 1997

A very solid man, Larry. Very solid man. I remember talking to Larry in the foyer of a hotel in Paris. There was a crowd outside. Paul was with me and couldn't get away. I said to Larry, 'Aren't you the cute man now!' He says, 'Why?' I said, 'You never have to do interviews!' 'Listen, pal' he said to me, 'I did one interview for the band and it was the last interview I've ever done!' I said, 'You're a wise man.' Larry's a practical guy. Very likable guy too. (U2 At the End of the World 313) - BOBBY HEWSON, BONO'S FATHER