U2 brought a Bono impersonator onstage to perform ‘Sweetest Thing’ at their LA Forum concert last night (May 27).
Bono joked around and duetted with the iPhone-wielding impostor, named Joe Hier, who sings in tribute band Hollywood U2. Watch the clip below.
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Hier spent most of the track filming proceedings on a flashy pink iPhone, which was broadcasting footage to a big screen. Midway in, Bono gives him the microphone to sing the chorus.
Earlier today (May 28), U2 issued a statement following the death of their tour manager Dennis Sheehan.
Sheehan, 68, 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 over 30 years and was on tour with the band at the time of his passing. 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 and 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 Los Angeles Wednesday night (May 27), with Bono dedicating ‘Iris’ 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 Jon Paul Jones look. The biggest problem was I couldn’t quite fill Robert Plant’s pants.”
Watch U2’s dedication to Sheehan below.
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