“Larry started playing that beat, while Edge was playing something else entirely. Bono said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop!’ So we kept playing and he improvised that melody”: How a spontaneous studio jam sparked an unexpected moment of U2 magic

English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist for U2, Adam Clayton performs during "The Joshua Tree Tour" on April 30, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan.

2026 marks four decades since U2 entered the bona fide rock-star club. But while other top-drawer rockers learned their craft in bedrooms and bars – playing for friends and forgiving fans – Adam Clayton’s evolution as a bassist took place on the world’s biggest stages.

“Even up through our first few records we got by on very little, at least musically,” he told Bass Player back in December 2000. “But we were always able to make something of it, just in the way we played together.”