September 19, 2024

U2 brought the curtain down on their Las Vegas residency over the weekend, paying an emotional tribute to their drummer Larry Mullen Jr.

The 62-year-old has been absent from their entire 40-show run of their sellout residency in The Sphere, as he recovers from neck surgery.

Mullen Jr hasn’t played for the band since the 2019 leg of their Joshua Tree anniversary tour, and was replaced by stand-in Bram van den Berg for the Vegas shows.

During their penultimate gig in the newly built, state-of-the-art Las Vegas auditorium, Mullen was seen in the audience as Bono paid tribute to his bandmate.

“Not since October 1978 have we played shows without Larry Mullen Jr., and it’s only right I start by introducing the man who saved the day when Larry Mullen could not make it,” Bono said, while introducing his bandmatesU2 say progress on their new album is "somewhat tied" to recovery of  drummer Larry Mullen Jr

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“His name is already legend around here to people who can pronounce it. The flying while sitting-in Dutchman, Bram van den Berg on drums.”

Rumours circulated last week that Mullen was making his way to Vegas, with a potential surprise return on the cards for their final two shows.

However, Mullen was in attendance, but did not take the stage.

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