by Kevin Byrne

Bono

PERFORMANCE NAME: Bono (BAH'-noh)

ORIGIN OF NAME: Paul was originally nicknamed "Bono Vox" by his friend, Guggi, a high school cohort who stole it from a hearing aid store on O'Connell Street in Dublin. Fittingly enough, the original moniker meant "good voice" in cockeyed Latin. Paul later shortened it to Bono, which remains his name to this day.

MARITAL STATUS: Alison Stewart (August, 1982)

CHILDREN: Two girls and one boy (Jordan, Memphis Eve, and Elijah Bob Patricus Guggi Q Hewson)

NICKNAMES/ALTER-EGOS: The Antichrist * (see below), Alton Dalton, The Mother Teresa of Abandoned Songs, The Sonic Leprechaun, The Fly, Mirrorball Man, Mister MacPhisto

BAND ROLE: lead singer/songwriter, sometime guitarist

OTHER OCCUPATIONS/INTERESTS: Activist. Screenwriter. Orator. Amateur thespian.

There are too much to say about Bono... but still we wouldn't cover even half of his life.

The Edge

Dave 'The Edge' Evans was born in Barking, Essex, in East London, to parents Gwenda and Garvin Evans. When he was one year old, the family - which included younger sister Gill and older brother Dick - moved to Dublin, where he has lived ever since.

Early in the band's career, Dave Evans was re-baptized by Bono - then Bono Vox - as 'The Edge'. The nickname was inspired in the beginning by the sharp features of his face, but it also applied to his sharp mind and the way he always observes things from the edge.

The Edge's guitar sound is part of U2's trademark, the characteristic and mesmerizing sounds he plays and the emotions he puts through them are what make him one of the most unique guitarists in rock and roll. He has often been called an "anti-guitar hero" because of his aversion to the indulgent, solo style of many contemporaries.

His voice, proving to be able to be monotone yet interesting as in "Numb," and mellow yet lead-worthy as in "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from the PopMart Tour, is just one more proof that there are no limits to this man's talents.

Adam Clayton

Adam's defiant acts and attitudes in his schoolboy days are legendary, and serve preparatory notice of his extreme sense of bluff -- if you can talk the talk, you can arrange to walk the walk at the first available opportunity.

Adam found himself the band's outsider in the early eighties, while the other members contemplated the fate of the band from a spiritually troubled perspective. However, Adam's position was never seriously in jeopardy, as illustrated by his attendance as best man at Bono's 1982 wedding.

In August 1989, Adam's name made the headlines when he was arrested in Dublin and charged with possession of a small amount of cannabis, with the intent to supply the drug to others. He avoided a conviction (which would have had serious repurcussions on his international touring schedule with U2) by making a sizable donation to charity. His regret, even years later, was not of the nature of the crime, but the fact that it was a crime: "It was my own fault. And I'm sure I was out of my head -- emotionally apart from anything else. But it is serious because it is illegal."

It was in the Zoo TV years that Adam really seemed to finally gain a public persona along with the others. The 'ultimate rock star' phase that the band explored was entirely suited to his playboy lifestyle, and Adam soaked it all up.However, towards the end of the tour, the unthinkable happened -- Adam missed a gig. For the first time ever, U2 went on stage without one of their own.

Adam joined U2 to fulfill his dream of being in a band, of playing bass for a living. In his 1995 book "U2 At the End of the World", Bill Flanagan wrote:

"Bono says that Larry really wishes he were the singer, Bono wants to be the guitarist, and Edge is a frustrated drummer. 'Adam only wants to play the bass.'"

Larry Mullen

Larry was born and raised in Artane, located the north side of Dublin, at 60 Rosemont Avenue.

Larry began drumming in 1971, taking classes with Ireland's best-known drummer, Joe Bonnie. However, Larry has said that his drumming style is "unteachable" and that spirit and instinct are what guides his drumming style. His sister, Cecilia, bought him his first drum-kit in 1973 for £17. He placed a notice at the infamous Mount Temple Comprehensive School in the fall of 1976, and his life has not been the same since. Although everyone knows the band as U2, Larry claims that the band's name is really "The Larry Mullen Band." His award-winning career has been plagued with a battle with tendonitis, which has been curbed by specially designed drumsticks.

Although Larry takes a no-bull attitude, he does have quite a sense of humor. He is known to play pranks on people, as well as stealing the spotlight with a karaoke machine.

He has a partner, Anne, and 2 children. He has also been a dog owner, thanking his dogs JJ and Missy on past albums.