Name: Lawrence Mullen, Jr. (Larry) Birthplace: Artane, Dublin, Ireland Birth Date: October 31, 1961 Zodiac Sign: Scorpio His Family: *Parents: Maureen (deceased) and Larry Mullen, Sr. *Sisters: Cecilia and Mary (deceased) *Longtime partner: Ann Acheson *Daughter: Ava (born December 1998) *Sons: Aaron Elvis (born October 1995), a second son born in 2001 (name unknown).

Lawrence Mullen, Jr. was born in Artane, Dublin on 31st October 1961 and brought up there at number 60 Rosemount Avenue. He had a tragic childhood, losing both a sister (1973) and his mother (1977). His sister, Cecilia, bought him his first drum kit in 1973 for 17 pounds.  In the mid 1970s, he began doing military style drumming, and became a member of the Artane Boys' Band (which was later to feature in the video for the 1998 re-release of 'The Sweetest Thing'). Forced to leave for refusing to cut his long hair (it's hard to believe that Larry ever had long hair), he then learned to play jazz around the time that he formed U2, which meant that his contribution to the band was often limited to filling in and adding drum rolls.

Larry Mullen

It was at his secondary school, Mount Temple Comprehensive, that he decided that he would like to play in his own pop group just like the ones he watched on Top of The Pops on British TV.  This is when he put the famous note on the notice board at Mount Temple asking for musicians who were interesyed in formin a band to come to his house after school.    David Evans (The Edge), and his brother Dick, Adam Clayton, Paul Hewson (Bono), Peter Martin and Ivan McCormick all took up the invitation.   The last two were gradually eased out.  Although being in Feedback was enjoyable, progress was slow at first and Larry took  a job as messenger.  This led to the others having to wait around for him at practice and him almost being fired before he quit his daytime job. 

Gradually, the "Larry Mullen Band" gained more experience, gaining a following in Dublin, then London and eventually a recording contract with Island Records.  Like Bono and the Edge, Larry joined the Shalom Christian Group and was the only one of U2 who came from a conventional Catholic background. 

As the drummer in the band,  Larry has not been without his problems.  Before a show in San Francisco in March 1985, Larry was rushed to the hospital with acute pain in his left hand.  He was diagnosed as having tendonitis, which should have stopped him from playing for a few weeks.  But instead, he wore a special plaster and took pain killers for the rest of the tour.  He now uses specially designed drumsticks to counteract this problem. 

Bono, Edge, Larry

Larry is a big fan of country & western music and this influence can be seen in the Joshua Tree documentary  "Outside It's America".  He is also a big Elvis Presley and Harley Davidson's Motorcycles fan.   He once rode over 10,000 miles on his beloved Harley Davidson between dates on the Zoo TV Tour and received a special award for doing so from the road crew.  Another special award he won was the Rory Gallagher Musician Award at the Irish Rock Music Awards in Dublin in 1997. 

Larry's no-nonsense approach is well known both within and outside the U2 organization.  While he might be the most private of the four members of U2, he still enjoys a spot of karaoke and playing the odd trick on unsuspecting members of the road crew.  

In 2005, Larry took the chance of their Grammy Award win to apologize to the U2 fans for all that went wrong with their official site's handling of Vertigo Tour ticket sales. 

**Written and compiled by ZoraidaLu1 (Zory) from the entries on the book by Mark Chatterton: "U2: The Ultimate Encyclopedia", Fire Fly Publishing: London, 2004 (Revised Edition).