CLOSE TO THE EDGE

IT’S NOT so much an unwritten rule as carved into stone that no matter what stunt gets pulled, no one ever upstages U2. They prove that in 30 seconds flat at the Smithwick’s/Hot Press shindig with an acceptance speech for the Best Band Award which finds Bono hiding under the winner’s lectern with a microphone and The Edge lip-synching Section 31-style to his uncannily accurate Gerry Adams impersonation.

Here’s what Gerr, er, The Edg, er, Bono had to say:

“I would just like to thank the readers and the critics of Hot Press. It’s been a great year for the Irish. It was a great world tour, particularly the American leg. We went to New York – fancy hotels, riding around in limos, police escorts... I’d just like to say one thing to the young people – the success of the trip has not gone to our heads. Go raibh mile maith agat. Peace!”

Afterwards, I manage to crawl through the scrum of journalists in the hospitality area and grab The Edge by the oysters. No, I’m not referring to my method of gaining the wooly-hatted one’s attention but the bucket of shellfish that Aslan, in particular, keep diving into. As for the molluscs’ alleged libido-enhancing qualities, I neck down at least a dozen and the only thing I feel later in the night is extremely ill.

Edge – we’ve met before, so I can drop the ‘The’ – how long were you working on the Gerry Goes To New York bit?

“Oh, we just threw it together in the car on the way over.”

Mmm, must have been an awfully long journey. And was there a particular point you were trying to get across?

“I’ll remain evasive on that,” he replies with a sly grin, “and say ‘make of it what you will.’ Explain things in too much detail and they tend to loose their impact.”

How do you feel about The Cranberries becoming the first band to genuinely crack America since yourselves?

“Well, I like the records and I think it’s good that – as far as I’m aware – they’ve achieved that success on their own terms. It’s also healthy, in a way, that they come from outside Dublin because it proves you can live in Limerick or Waterford or Kilkenny or some small village in Kerry and as long as you’re making good music, people are eventually going to take notice. The knock-on effect takes a while to filter through but I’d imagine there are young bands who’ve already formed or are trying that bit harder because of The Cranberries.”

dance culture

Do you reckon that Dolores and the lads have perhaps had an easier ride to the top than U2?

“It’s a different time and a different set of circumstances, so who’s to say whether they’ve had it easier or not? What I do know, though, is that you don’t get anywhere without putting in the prerequisite amount of effort and once you’ve got yourselves sorted out creatively and artistically, it’s down to work ratio.

“If you look at things historically, it was a damn site harder for Thin Lizzy and The Boomtown Rats to break out of Ireland than it was for ourselves or Sinéad. Getting an overseas deal then was a major hurdle – Lizzy and the Rats removed barriers for us and hopefully our success has made it that little bit easier again for the current generation of bands to gain a foothold.

“If you got an A&R man at a Dublin gig 15 years ago,” he reminisces, “it’d get talked about for weeks. Now, UK and American companies check out what’s happening here as a matter of course. That doesn’t negate the need for talent but at least there’s someone around to discover you if you’ve got it!”

Would you say that U2 are aware of what’s happening locally on the musical front?

“Yeah, with Mother and just through general interest, we try and keep as up to date as possible but having spent 18 months away from home, we’re pretty out of touch. That’s one thing I’m looking forward to now we’ve got some time off – checking out gigs and buying some records.”

Seeing as your mantelpiece is probably jam-packed at this stage, do you still get a thrill out of winning something like a Smithwick’s/Hot Press Award?

“More than you probably realise, yeah. Irish awards are always special because no matter how much we’re out of the country, this is still where we’re from and what made us. Zooropa was an exercise in calculated risk-taking and it’s a nice feeling – with the dance stuff, in particular – that we can make in-roads into what is essentially an alternative musical culture and have people within that culture respect and appreciate our efforts.

“In one way,” he wraps up, “dance culture is more evolved than mainstream rock’n’roll culture because it’s destroyed the long-propagated myth that to be credible you have to be disadvantaged or some sort of underdog. They’re much more free and open-minded which, personally, I find refreshing.”