Frank Kearns talks about being in school with U2 and how the band formed

FRANK Kearns can claim to be U2’s very first fan.

He saw their first rehearsal at Mount Temple school as best pal of drummer Larry Mullen.

Inspired by Edge, he took up the guitar himself, supported U2, and later signed to U2’s own Mother Records, and shared a stage with them at Self Aid.

His band Cactus World News were once hailed as the future of music by Lou Reed.

But now Frank, quietly releases records, the latest 2016’s acclaimed album Speed of The Stars with Steve Kilbey of The Church, and runs Rockschool.ie in Dublin.

It was 40 years ago that Frank found himself watching the very first rehearsal of U2 as a schoolmate in Mount Temple .

Frank said:”I remember sitting on a table with my legs swinging underneath watching the new group jamming. I had no doubt they would make it. I thought they were absolutely brilliant. I wasn’t a musician at that stage, and he said to come along and watch. I remember hearing Adam always having rows with Edge about what key they were in, and Edge arguing back, the usual banter within a band.

The rehearsal came after Larry Mullen places his famous note on the noticeboard at the school.

So after Bono, Larry, Adam, Edge and his brother Dik. joined forces at their first meeting, the next thing was to ask at school if there was somewhere they could rehearse.

Frank recalled: That’s how U2 ended up playing in Mr McKenzie’s famous music room at Mount Temple. Walking past you would heard a loud drone then bursts of feedback from the vocal mic.