Profile: Adam Clayton, bass player

"I always wanted to be a rock star.When I got my first bass guitar at the age of 15, that was it for me. I didn´t have a whole lot else going on in my life." Adam Clayton

Born to Brian and Jo in Oxfordshire, England on 13th March 1960. At the age of 5 the family moved to Yellow Walls Road in Malahide near Dublin, where sister Sarah and brother Sebastian were born. Adam was sent to St. Columba's boarding school due to the nature of his father's job (RAF pilot) which meant that the family could be called away at very short notice. Adam hated it, and left at age 16 having probably been expelled, at which time he began attending Mount Temple Comprehensive which was located nearby in Malahide (Ireland's first non-denominational, co-educational comprehensive school).
Always a rebellious character, Adam had no interest in schoolwork, much to his parents' dismay. He was known for frequently wearing outrageous clothes or sometimes no clothes at all , and knew from an early age that he wanted to be on stage. Before U2 met Paul McGuinness, he took up the role of temporary manager as well as bassist, booking shows and representing the band in early negotiations with CBS Ireland. Bono credited Adam with being the driving force that got the band off the ground in the early days, as his dedication and determination to succeed spurred them all on to make a success of it.

He has had several brushes with the law, most notably for drink-driving and drug offences, and once missed a concert in Sydney in 1993 because of extreme drunkenness. Fortunately this served as a wake-up call and made him realise that he had to take control of himself. He has been back on track ever since then, thanks in part to the steadying influence of Larry, who spent a year in New York with him working on 'Mission Impossible' among other things.

"I am one of those characters that has an addictive personality. And it's an emotional problem as much as it is a physical problem and I had to start dealing with that. And that's the hard road, figuring out the psychology of it. The avoiding substances of any kind is hard but, okay, it's not that hard. It's facing the devil inside you, that's the tricky bit."

Bono describes Adam as the "jazz man" of the band in an interview with 60 minutes (Nov 2005). Bono proceeds to cite the band's hit song, "Bullet the Blue Sky", as a song with a weird sounding bassline. The reason? Adam is playing in a different key from the rest of the band!

Often refered by Bono (I agree!!)as the poshest member of the band, Clayton is well known for his bass playing on songs like "Where the Streets Have No Name", "New Year's Day", and "With or Without You".

Clayton’s role within the band is to provide a grounding on which the rest of the band can expand on – in many ways this could be considered restrictive and U2’s bass maestro doesn’t tend to elaborate in the same way as Flea does with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. What they do achieve however – is an incredible emotional resonance with their songs.
Clayton’s technique varies according to the song that is being performed - On some he’ll goes for simple support of Edge’s arpeggio approach – for example “With or Without You” the song structure is relatively simple and the bass part opts for a repeating root note progression supporting the songs chord structure. The repeating nature of this style is often found with U2 tracks, outwardly simple yet – the way they build in emotional intensity before the fade is difficult to master.

Clayton's stage style was a major, positive surprise during the Vertigo tour (2004-2006). The bassist would walk along the catwalk during at least one song per concert, generally "Where The Streets Have No Name," and his excursions away from the stage would be warmly cheered by the crowd. Female fans also have reported receiving smiles and winks and even talking to the bassist during the show. As noted by many a U2 concert-goer, this is a 180 degree turnabout from the Adam Clayton of the Elevation tour era (2000-2001). Fellow band member and guitar genius The Edge observes: Adam's coming into his own as a performer on this tour," he notes. "It's great to see him out there on the ramps!"

With an audience like U2’s Clayton cannot fail to have influenced a huge number of bassists and while it’s true that there are more innovative or “flashy” players out there – Adam Clayton has shown that bass players succeed where they understand the song well enough to create a mood which can evoke passion and emotion whether the fan is listening to a CD on their own or are part of a 40,000 rock stadium crowd!!!!!!

For some, Adam isn't one of the greatest bassists of our times. However, he is THE greatest bassist for U2!!!!

Always a gentleman, kind with fans and offering an alluring smile, I only know Mr Clayton´s bass gets under your skin!He certainly knows how to get to the audience and makes U2´s sound unique! Thanks , Adam, for years of pleasure listening to your distinctive sound and making the band´s songs memorable to our hearts and souls!

source: http://u2-atomic-adam.tripod.com/ ;http://bass-soup.com; www.atu2.com