Bono has spoken about the death of U2 tour manager Dennis Sheehan.
Sheehan died earlier this week (May 27) of a suspected heart attack in his LA hotel room, hours before the band took the stage for the eighth date of their ‘Innocence And Experience’ tour.
Speaking to The Sun, Bono said: “Death is nothing we ever get used to. It never gets easier to lose someone great. Being in U2 is not just about the four of us in the band – there’s a huge team we’ve worked with for a long time.”
Addressing the death of drummer Larry Mullen Jr’s father just before the tour, Bono continued: “When Larry returned home for his dad’s funeral, we stayed getting ready for the first night. But Larry had a peace about him; he had made peace with his father.”
Former civil servant Larry Mullen Sr died at Bons Secours Hospital in Dublin aged 92. At the funeral, at Our Lady Of Mercy Church, Mullen joked about his father’s death: “Nice timing, dad.” He added: “My father was truly ready to go. He wasn’t sick very long, and he decided to exit this mortal coil on Sunday. To my dad, I just want to acknowledge that there are no regrets between us. I love you, and you know that.”
Tour manager Sheehan was found dead on Wednesday morning (May 27), having thought to have passed overnight at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles. Local authorities have stated that Sheehan appeared to die of natural causes.
Sheehan had worked with U2 for more than 30 years and was on tour with the band at the time of his death. Born in Wolverhampton in 1947, Sheehan first linked up with the Irish band prior to the release of their 1983 album ‘War’. He also worked with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Siouxsie & The Banshees and more over the course of his career.
“We’ve lost a family member, we’re still taking it in,” Bono said in a statement on the band’s website. “He wasn’t just a legend in the music business, he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable.”
The band also paid respect to Sheehan at their show at The Forum in LA on Wednesday night (May 27), with Bono dedicating ‘Iris (Hold My Close)’ from their recent album ‘Songs of Innocence’ to the late friend and telling the crowd: “Last night we lost a member of our family. Dennis Sheehan was his name. He was U2’s tour manager for 33 years. He loved, as we all do, the city of Los Angeles and he called the Sunset Marquis his ‘home away from home’. He came to this city as a young man in the ’70s, working for Led Zeppelin. He always thought maybe U2 could be the next Led Zeppelin, which of course is impossible.”
Bono continued: “We did try once, at his last big birthday. We turned up at his birthday dressed as Led Zeppelin. Adam [Clayton, bassist] was quite something because he had kind of professorial John Paul Jones look. The biggest problem was I couldn’t quite fill Robert Plant’s pants.”
Watch U2’s dedication to Sheehan below.