“Very emotional night for me personally,” the recuperating Mullen shared via the Irish group’s Twitter account.
Although U2 had to walk on with or without original drummer Larry Mullen Jr. when their Las Vegas residency launched in September, all 4 Irish rockers were present on Friday for the penultimate performance of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.
Mullen underwent neck surgery prior to U2’s run of Las Vegas shows, preventing him from performing with his bandmates night after night. On Friday, Mullen finally made it to the Sphere — not onstage but watching from a box seat in the crowd.
“The rumors that Larry will be playing with us tonight are not true sadly,” Bono told the crowd in footage captured on social media. “But he is here with us!”
The musician and activist then pointed toward Mullen in the crowd and asked for a spotlight, pausing the performance to allow the crowd to cheer for their longtime bandmate and chant his name.
Bono, Mullen, guitarist The Edge, and bassist Adam Clayton founded U2 in 1976 and experienced no lineup changes until Mullen’s health issues last year. U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere is the group’s first live show since The Joshua Tree Tour 2019.
“Not since October 1978 have we played shows without Larry Mullen Jr.,” Bono told the crowd, per Variety. “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 here with us tonight. We wish him a speedy, speedy, speedy recovery. We love you, Larry Mullen Jr.”
U2 then performed their final song of the show, “Beautiful Day,” with Bono adding the lyric “Larry Mullen, you’re beautiful.”
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Bram van den Berg, the drummer for the Dutch band Krezip, assumed Mullen’s percussion duties for the duration of the Vegas residency, which ended on Saturday after the original run of 25 shows was extended to 40.
Bono said van den Berg saved the day when Mullen had to bow out of the Vegas shows. “His name is already legend around here to people who can pronounce it.”
The U2 Twitter account shared a statement from Mullen early on Saturday morning: “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.”
The next group scheduled to perform at the Sphere is Phish, which will kick off its run in April.
