U2 wrapped up its “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere” residency in Las Vegas with concerts on Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2. The next-to-last show was attended by a guy whose presence certainly was missed onstage throughout the band’s 40-date engagement—drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
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Mullen, of course, was forced to sit out U2’s residency as he recovers from neck surgery, but he was on hand Friday to watch the band he founded rip it up and the state-of-the-art venue. Frontman Bono acknowledged Mullen at the end of the concert, declaring before the band kicked into its finale performance of “Beautiful Day,” “We love you, Larry Mullen Jr. Larry Mullen Sr. would be very proud, and we thank you.”
[RELATED: Watch U2’s Bono Pay Tribute to Alexei Navalny Following Russian Activist’s Death]
Bono then addressed the crowd, commenting, “So many rumors that we wouldn’t get here, but we did! Also rumors that Larry—our Larry—would be playing with us are not true, sadly, but he is here with us.”
The singer then scanned the audience to find Mullen and asked for a spotlight to be shone on the drummer, as the crowd began to chant, “Larry! Larry! Larry!”
Bono continued, “There you are! Larry Mullen Jr.! Woo! That is the man who pinned the note on the notice board at Mount Temple Comprehensive [school] all those years ago and we are very grateful that he did and that he’s with us here tonight. And we wish him a speedy, speedy, speedy recovery.”
Then, just before U2 kicked into the final song, Bono said, “It’s a beautiful night, Larry. This is a ‘Beautiful Day.’”
Mullen’s Post-Show Message
After the show, Mullen posted a note on U2’s socials that read, “What an incredible night at Sphere … So Grateful to Bono Edge and Adam and of course Bram for an amazing job … very emotional night for me personally.” Throughout the residency, drummer Bram van den Berg of the Dutch alternative-rock band Krezip has filled in for Mullen.
Daniel Lanois Performed with U2 at Final Residency Show
Meanwhile, U2’s final concert at Sphere on March 2 also featured some special surprises. One of the biggest highlights, as reported by Rolling Stone, was Daniel Lanois, who co-produced five U2 albums, including Achtung Baby, joining the band for a rendition of its 1992 hit “One.”
Virtual Duet with Crowded House’s Neil Finn
Later in the show, U2 played a special version of Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” featuring a virtual duet with Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.
As seen in fan-shot video, Bono noted before the performance that the band had been playing the song at the Sphere shows as a tribute to late Russian activist Alexei Navalny.
He then explained, “The other day we got a beautiful e-mail from Neil Finn, who wrote this bewilderingly beautiful song. Attached to the email was a version of the song he said we could play on or whatever we wanted.”
Bono then told the crowd that U2 wanted to record a special version of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and dedicate it to Navalny’s widow, and asked the audience if they’d like to be on the session as part of the show. After practicing the chorus with the audience, the singer remarked, “OK, let’s try and record this.”
Before kicking into the virtual duet, Bono said, “Neither party has spoken to our record labels, so this might be the only recording that ever exists. So, please take out your phones and send it to whoever loves freedom that you know. Maybe send it to some people who don’t. There’s a few of them around.”
Final Show Ended with a Performance of “40”
As the final encore of the residency, U2 dusted off “40,” a song from the 1983 album War that the band hadn’t played live since 2016.
“It’s been 40 days and 40 nights in the desert,” Bono said before launching into the tune. “What’s a fellow with a messianic complex gonna do? Here’s a song we wrote in 40 minutes. … I opened up the sacred text of the Psalm of David, just kind of read it out. That was the lyric.”
