hanging around the corridors of school with albums under his arm.I remember there was a group called Taste.
Oh yes, of course. They were Rory Gallagherâs first band.
And then I remember Edge picking the guitar, sitting down in a corridor, once. He was playing Neil Youngâs âThe Needle and the Damage Done.â I was trying to play it as well. I was envious because I could tell that he could play a little better than I could. [laughs] What I didnât realize at that time is that he could play a lot better than I could. He always had that thing about him, that he wouldnât nominate himself to run in the race. But if he was put in the race, he would want to win it. Itâs a strange thing, and I donât know where it comes from. He has a healthy disrespectâand respectâfor his own ego.
What do you mean?
He knows what heâs capable of, and he would not push himself forward. He would rather hang back in the shadows and be discovered.
So what youâre implying . . .
[laughs, interrupting] What Iâm implying is Iâm his manager. Whereas Larry was different. Larry, who started the band, would tell you that he has no interest in being a rock star. But heâs the one who started the rock band. So thatâs a little disingenuous, because heâs the guy that loved T. Rex, Bowie, and the great pop stars. Itâs a strange thing. So he, in a way, though he didnât hang around in the shadows like Edge, once he was discovered certainly made attempts to run back there. But âMe thinks he doth protest too much,â because I think Larryâs really great at being in a rock ânâ roll band, but he doesnât think he is. Has all the instincts, but the way it appears is that myself and Adam were the showmen of the group.
Adam was already the âcool guyâ in your school, right? He was more of a hip dresser than the three of you, which maybe was not such an outstanding achievement.
Yes, but he, like myself, has got it wrong.
You mean more wrong than you?
No, it was both. In terms of sartorial elegance and expertise, as the two showmen of the group we have proved ourselves inept over the years. Whereas the two supposed shy men of rock ânâ roll are very good at it. They always look good, they never put a foot wrong, and they never want to lose their cool. My only excuse is I never wanted to be cool, I always wanted to be . . . hot. [laughs]
You probably were more impressed by Adam than he was by you. Wouldnât you say?
Yeah, I think that might have been true. I was fascinated by him. Iâd never met anyone quite like him.
What do you mean? What was he like?
Well, he had been expelled from an upper-class public school in Ireland, and arrived at this free school with a posh accent, wearing a caftan that he had picked up on his holidays at age sixteen, hitching through Afghanistan. Heâd had âAfghanistan â76â written on his T-shirt, and his hair was corkscrew blond hair, but in an Afro. He looked like a negative of Michael Jackson.
Maybe he wanted to look like Jimi Hendrix, the way Eric Clapton did when he was in Cream.
Thatâs right, Hendrix was a big hero in Ireland. And he has a lot in common, in a certain sense. Adam has a very unique sense of where the one is, in terms of where the beat is in the bar. His timing is very unique. Most rock ânâ roll is made by people who love 4/4, but his timing is much more 5/8, much more of a jazzman. I heard somebody saying, when Jimi Hendrix was taught guitar, he couldnât keep 4/4 time, the simplest time. Now Adam can, but itâs not really where he wants to be. [laughs] I think itâs probably because he listened to a lot of jazz, to Jimi Hendrix. Thatâs where he was coming from.
Ever since I met you, Iâve always heard you address Edge as âEdge,â but do you remember a time when you called him Dave?
Yeah, I
Oh yes, of course. They were Rory Gallagherâs first band.
And then I remember Edge picking the guitar, sitting down in a corridor, once. He was playing Neil Youngâs âThe Needle and the Damage Done.â I was trying to play it as well. I was envious because I could tell that he could play a little better than I could. [laughs] What I didnât realize at that time is that he could play a lot better than I could. He always had that thing about him, that he wouldnât nominate himself to run in the race. But if he was put in the race, he would want to win it. Itâs a strange thing, and I donât know where it comes from. He has a healthy disrespectâand respectâfor his own ego.
What do you mean?
He knows what heâs capable of, and he would not push himself forward. He would rather hang back in the shadows and be discovered.
So what youâre implying . . .
[laughs, interrupting] What Iâm implying is Iâm his manager. Whereas Larry was different. Larry, who started the band, would tell you that he has no interest in being a rock star. But heâs the one who started the rock band. So thatâs a little disingenuous, because heâs the guy that loved T. Rex, Bowie, and the great pop stars. Itâs a strange thing. So he, in a way, though he didnât hang around in the shadows like Edge, once he was discovered certainly made attempts to run back there. But âMe thinks he doth protest too much,â because I think Larryâs really great at being in a rock ânâ roll band, but he doesnât think he is. Has all the instincts, but the way it appears is that myself and Adam were the showmen of the group.
Adam was already the âcool guyâ in your school, right? He was more of a hip dresser than the three of you, which maybe was not such an outstanding achievement.
Yes, but he, like myself, has got it wrong.
You mean more wrong than you?
No, it was both. In terms of sartorial elegance and expertise, as the two showmen of the group we have proved ourselves inept over the years. Whereas the two supposed shy men of rock ânâ roll are very good at it. They always look good, they never put a foot wrong, and they never want to lose their cool. My only excuse is I never wanted to be cool, I always wanted to be . . . hot. [laughs]
You probably were more impressed by Adam than he was by you. Wouldnât you say?
Yeah, I think that might have been true. I was fascinated by him. Iâd never met anyone quite like him.
What do you mean? What was he like?
Well, he had been expelled from an upper-class public school in Ireland, and arrived at this free school with a posh accent, wearing a caftan that he had picked up on his holidays at age sixteen, hitching through Afghanistan. Heâd had âAfghanistan â76â written on his T-shirt, and his hair was corkscrew blond hair, but in an Afro. He looked like a negative of Michael Jackson.
Maybe he wanted to look like Jimi Hendrix, the way Eric Clapton did when he was in Cream.
Thatâs right, Hendrix was a big hero in Ireland. And he has a lot in common, in a certain sense. Adam has a very unique sense of where the one is, in terms of where the beat is in the bar. His timing is very unique. Most rock ânâ roll is made by people who love 4/4, but his timing is much more 5/8, much more of a jazzman. I heard somebody saying, when Jimi Hendrix was taught guitar, he couldnât keep 4/4 time, the simplest time. Now Adam can, but itâs not really where he wants to be. [laughs] I think itâs probably because he listened to a lot of jazz, to Jimi Hendrix. Thatâs where he was coming from.
Ever since I met you, Iâve always heard you address Edge as âEdge,â but do you remember a time when you called him Dave?
Yeah, I
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