Walk on

The 45th Grammies turned out to be another landmark night for the Irish music industry with U2 and Enya leaving Los Angeles' Staples Center with five of the coveted awards.

Looking suitably pleased with himself after scooping 'Best Rock Album' (All That You Can't Leave Behind), 'Best Group Pop Performance' ('Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of'), 'Best Group Rock Performance' ('Elevation') and 'Record Of The Year' ('Walk On'), Bono joked: "Being Irish, if you get eight nominations and got no awards they wouldn't let you back in the country. So this is a public safety issue."

Describing the band as "pushing a rock up a hill in 2000", Bono reflected that All That You Can't… was "an album that we made in a desperate fashion. Desperate to be relevant rather than successful."

Irish eyes were also smiling earlier in the evening when Enya's A Day Without Rain was adjudged to be 'Best New Age' album.

"U2 and Enya's sales have been healthy enough recently, but now they're going to go supernova," says a record industry insider. "With winning a Grammy such a big deal these days, don't be surprised if both albums re-enter the American top 10 over the next few weeks."