U2 fans are always anxiously awaiting tour news, but they just got some that may not make them happy. In a Washington Post piece celebrating the band’s upcoming lifetime achievement award from the Kennedy Center, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. revealed that any tour U2 may do next year will be without him.
Although not directly quoted, writer Geoff Edgers says Mullen shared that “if the band plays live in 2023 it will probably be without him, as he needs surgery to continue playing.” What type of surgery he needs wasn’t revealed, but on Twitter, Edgers writes he “has issues with his neck and elbows,” sharing that Larry said, “I have lots of bits falling off, elbows, knees, necks, and so during Covid, when we weren’t playing, I got a chance to have a look at some of these things. So there’s some damage along the way.”
On a happier note, U2 does reveal they have two albums described as either completed or almost completed. They include Songs of Ascent, which is said to be “nearly finished.” The article notes, “Bono and the Edge aren’t sure when to release it.” There’s also Surrender, featuring stripped-down versions of the 40 songs Bono writes about in his recent memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.
The 2022 Kennedy Center Honors goes down Sunday in the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. and airs December 28 on CBS.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
