Adam Clayton talks about his experiences in lock down and the importance of looking after your mental health.

"Sixty for a musician, as indeed the Rolling Stones have showed, you're actually only half way through your career," Adam says of Bono's big birthday tomorrow

Adam Clayton Zoomed in to talk to Ryan Tubridy last night on the Late Late, just twelve hours or so after Tubs had been joined on his Radio 1 programme by the soon to be 60 Bono.
Sporting an impressive lockdown beard, Adam was appearing in support of Pieta House, the suicide prevention and bereavement organisation who've been forced to lay off many of their frontline counsellors due to the COVID-19 related postponement of their key Darkness Into Light fundraiser, which would have taken place this weekend.
First, though, he talked about what Ryan called his "rather roundy birthday."
"Well, he laughed, "it was 60. I feel very lucky to be here at 60. From the way I lived my life it might not have happened! At the time I was planning to have lunch with a few friends but it was the beginning of March and we started to hear all the information coming in from Italy and we just thought time to start isolating so we cancelled it and hopefully at some point in the future we can celebrate."
Asked about deciding to self-isolate in Ireland, Adam said: "I feel very, very safe here. I think the restrictions came in at exactly the right time. Our neighbours maybe didn't do it quite so well. I'm very glad we have a health care professional running our country. So I think we've done all the right stuff and everyone's working really hard and that's why we're very happy to be part of the community."
Moving on to the ten million U2 have donated to medical workers, Adam reflected: "First and foremost, if I can take you back to eight weeks ago when all this was happening first, everyone was trying to get a handle on it and understand what was going on and there was tremendous competition for PPE out there. We, and Bono in particular through his contacts at RED and One and his circle of philanthropic people, were able to get us to the top of the list and make sure we were getting access to quality PPE. And then for us to be able to make that donation and use our money it was an absolute honour, anyone would do that."
Moving on to Pieta House, Adam reflected: "It's hugely stressful for people to be inside in small spaces maybe with children, maybe having to work from home if people still have their jobs. Maybe having access to a computer maybe not. That sort of stress and anxiety about what's happening to your job, the fact you have no personal space to even make a phone call on your own, this causes anxiety and for anyone who's under that sort of pressure - and Pieta's what we're all here for - there is help out there. It's hugely difficult to manage and in an isolated state when you're just stuck with your own head and the thoughts going on inside it, that is extremely stressful."
Returning to his own milestone of hitting 60, and the battles it took to get there, Adam resumed: "I guess it was honesty and admitting that I needed to be part of a community, I needed some sort of fellowship. Some sort of relationship with other human beings to talk about what was going on for me. Also, for me as somebody doing very well in my career, when I looked around at my contemporaries it was hard for to face that I was so unhappy within myself because everything around me was telling me that I should be on top of the world, that this was the greatest thing that could happen to me. But there was a sense of emptiness. That's what addiction brings; where you start to have a desire to get away from feelings. You have a very low sense of self-worth. I was lucky. I was able to take the time and I could afford to go into rehab and I really learned how to think and be a human being in that situation. It gave me my life back. I have an amazing life. I can enjoy having a wife and a child and my bandmates and I can also accept that I need a community to keep me well. I can stay in touch with people on the phone, I'm able to use Zoom now even though we're in this lockdown situation. I got my life back, that was twenty odd years ago now."
Asked whether U2 might have ended if he hadn't overcome his demons, Adam replied: "To be fair to everyone including myself, I don't think any of us understood what was going on back then. We'd all grown up on the mythology of rock 'n' roll and as a young man you feel invincible. I got to the point where my alcoholism, which it was primarily, was taking me away from the one thing that had given me a good life, the one opportunity I had in life was music. I was tired of not being able to reach my full potential and I suppose eventually I had matured enough to realise that alcohol was holding me back."
Put to him that there's an upside to being able to take his foot off the pedal for a couple of months, Adam agreed that: "I have to say that I'm very much enjoying it. As a jobbing musician you spend all your time on the bus, you're travelling all the time and even if we're not touring I might be going somewhere. So to be in the same place for eight weeks and to be in Dublin this time of year is a real blessing. I'm up in the wilds of Rathfarnham, I'd love to say we're growing our own vegetables and I was chopping wood and doing other manly things, truth is I'm watching too much television!"
Ryan ended by asking if he'd be Zooming Bono on Sunday to wish him a happy 60th.
"Absolutely, I'll be celebrating. The thing about these 60th birthdays is that it's very important to the person going through it, and also an opportunity to look back and assess where things have gone and I would have to say for us it's been pretty good to us, we're in pretty good shape. Sixty for a musician, as indeed the Rolling Stones have showed, you're actually only half way through your career.
"I'm very happy. I got to it late in life. I got out of my own ways, they say. I got married late in life and had children late in life and I'm really enjoying having a three-year-old who can say the word 'magnolia' which is very impressive!"

Please donate at https://www.darknessintolight.ie/sunrise-appeal or Lo-Call 0818 767300 (Ireland Only)

Watch the interview here:





https://www.hotpress.com//https://www.rte.ie/

Larry Mullen Jr. giving a keynote speech at ISHA2019 in Madrid

Larry delivering a keynote speech in Madrid, to advocate for health equity in orthopaedics.

 “I’m one of the privileged... It’s not about me it’s about everybody else.", on how everyone should be able to access the level of care he had for his surgeries.





ISHA has been the creation of many individuals, each united by a common interest in the expanding arena of hip arthroscopic surgery. Officially formed in Paris (France) in May 2008, ISHA’s Founding Members represent but a few of the many individuals around the world who are interested in this evolving area of hip surgery.

ADAM CLAYTON TO RECEIVE MUSICARES ADDICTION RECOVERY AWARD

U2 bassist will be honored at the MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in New York on June 26 in support of MusiCares' addiction recovery programs

MusiCares has announced that the 13th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert will honor 22-time GRAMMY winner Adam Clayton of U2 at PlayStation Theater in New York on June 26. Clayton will receive the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award in recognition of his dedication and support of the MusiCares MAP Fund as well as his commitment to helping others with the addiction recovery process. Performers will be announced shortly. 

MusiCares offers a variety of addiction recovery services, including their signature MusiCares MAP Fund. Developed as a pool of resources to address addiction and recovery needs, the fund provides addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community, regardless of their financial condition. The MusiCares MAP Fund acknowledges that a vital part of recovery consists of ongoing support aftercare services.

With 22 GRAMMYs, U2 are among the top GRAMMY winners of all time. The quartet — comprising frontman Bono, bassist Clayton, guitarist The Edge, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. — are the only group in GRAMMY history to earn Album Of The Year twice, winning for The Joshua Tree for 1987 and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb for 2005.

"We are extremely pleased that our annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert is returning to New York City, and paying tribute to such a genuinely talented and influential artist as Adam Clayton," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares. "Adam is a hero to fans and music creators around the world, and he is also a hero in the world of recovery for his fearless determination to give voice to the issues of addiction that affect — and all too often devastate — our music community."

"MusiCares does such vital work in helping vulnerable people across our industry," said Clayton. "I know from experience the importance of an accessible, supportive environment in times of need and I'm always happy to do what I can to benefit this important organization. I'm very much looking forward to the event in June."

www.grammy.com

The Edge has a message for all of us

"Disease prevention has become a crucial new strategy to explore. It is also becoming achievable for the first time in history."




To learn more about cancer prevention, refer to https://www.eattobeat.org
To support the campaign, please consider a donation at https://www.angio.org/donate

Bono Treated With Metal Plates, 'Intensive Therapy' After Bike Injury

Three days after U2 revealed that lead singer Bono injured his arm in a "cycling spill" requiring surgery, the grim details of the singer's accident and prognosis have been disclosed to Rolling Stone. 

 While riding his bike through New York's Central Park on Sunday, the singer attempted to avoid another rider and was involved in what doctors have called a "high energy bicycle accident." 
Bono was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Emergency Department and underwent "multiple X-rays and CAT scans" followed by five hours of surgery. The singer suffered numerous serious injuries, including a "facial fracture involving the orbit of his eye," three separate fractures of his left shoulder blade and a fracture of his left humerus bone in his upper arm. The latter injury was particularly damaging, with the bone shattering in six different places and tearing through his skin. 
 According to orthopedic trauma surgeon Dean Lorich, MD, "[Bono] was taken emergently to the operating room...where the elbow was washed out and debrided, a nerve trapped in the break was moved and the bone was repaired with three metal plates and 18 screws." 
On Monday, Bono underwent a second surgery to repair a fractured left pinky finger. While it's still unclear how long the singer will be recuperating, Lorich tells Rolling Stone that Bono will "require intensive and progressive therapy," but "a full recovery is expected." 
 It remains unknown if Bono's injury will affect the band's upcoming tour, details of which have yet to be revealed. When guitarist the Edge spoke to Rolling Stone in September, he outlined the group's plan for heading back on the road. "The tour is still in the planning stage so it's too early to describe what it will be like," said the guitarist. "I think we will start small. We certainly can't get any bigger than the last tour." 
 The injury forced the group to postpone a planned weeklong residency on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week. "It looks like we will have to do our Tonight Show residency another time — we're one man down," the band wrote on their website the day of the crash. 
"Bono has injured his arm in a cycling spill in Central Park and requires some surgery to repair it. We're sure he'll make a full recovery soon, so we'll be back! Much thanks to Jimmy Fallon and everyone at the show for their understanding." 
 After working on Innocence for two years, the group surprised fans in September by releasing Songs of Innocence for free to anyone with an iTunes account. "We wanted to make a very personal album," Bono told Rolling Stone. "Let's try to figure out why we wanted to be in a band, the relationships around the band, our friendships, our lovers, our family. The whole album is first journeys — first journeys geographically, spiritually, sexually.And that's hard. But we went there." 


 Full Statement From Dean Lorich, MD on Bono's Condition: 

 On November 16th, Bono was involved in a high energy bicycle accident when he attempted to avoid another rider. Presented as a Trauma Alert to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell's Emergency Department, his Trauma Work-up at that time included multiple X-rays and CAT scans showed injuries that include: 

1. Left facial fracture involving the orbit of his eye. 
 2. Left scapula (shoulder blade) fracture in three separate pieces. 
 3. Left compound distal humerus fracture where the bone of his humerus was driven though his skin and the bone was in six different pieces. 

He was taken emergently to the operating room for a five-hour surgery Sunday evening where the elbow was washed out and debrided, a nerve trapped in the break was moved and the bone was repaired with three metal plates and 18 screws. 

 4. One day later, he had surgery to his left hand to repair a fracture of his 5th metacarpal. He will require intensive and progressive therapy, however a full recovery is expected. 

 Dean Lorich, MD Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Hospital For Special Surgery 

http://www.rollingstone.com

Adam urges schools to back mental health campaign

U2 BASSIST Adam Clayton has written to secondary school principals asking them to support a mental health initiative.

He got married just over a month ago, but he still took time out of his busy schedule for the 'Walk in My Shoes' campaign, for which he is the ambassador.

It's a nationwide awareness and fundraising initiative of St Patrick's Mental Health Foundation which aims to change the lives of vulnerable young adults in Ireland by providing them with mental health services and support.

In his letter to school principal's, Adam asked them to help him highlight the importance of mental health to young people in Ireland today.

He said: "I think we all have to care about anyone who is young and troubled; we have to be able to recognise the warning signs and try to respond to them not only with sympathy but with seriousness.

"This is one of the most important challenges facing us now."

He added: "The idea behind 'Walk In My Shoes' came from a 16-year-old boy attending St Patrick's Mental Health Services in Dublin who said he wished his friends could put themselves in his shoes and understand what he was going through.

He invited principals to get behind the initiative by asking staff and students to organise a Walk in My Shoes day, and to donate just €2 each.

The star said that the funds raised would provide mental health services to vulnerable young adults who otherwise could not afford them, and would provide a support and information telephone helpline manned by mental health professionals.

http://www.independent.ie
http://www.walkinmyshoes.ie/

Bono`s Interview in the World Economic Forum

Watch live streaming video from worldeconomicforum02 at livestream.com

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