“Bono said, Everyone is blowing smoke up our arse, will you come watch a few shows and help us make it better?" Bono's best friend Gavin Friday on how he became U2’s Creative Director

U2's Bono and Gavin Friday in 2003.

U2 have always surrounded themselves with a loyal, tightly-knit crew, a team of production and stage managers, set designers and visual dynamos who Bono & co. trust implicitly. Once they bring you in, it seems, you’re in for life.

One man who can attest to that is Gavin Friday. A former member of The Virgin Prunes and then a successful solo artist and collaborator for artists such as Sinead O’Connor, Friday has been friends with U2 since they were teenagers, growing up together in the Northside of Dublin. Friday has been on U2’s books as their official Creative Director since the mid-80s and speaking to the music Substack publication The New Cue, he explained exactly what being U2’s Creative Director entails.