Laurence Joseph "Larry" Mullen, Jr.[1] (born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician and the drummer for the Irish rock band U2.[2] One of the four original founders of U2, he would relate that he described the band as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge."
Some of his most famous contributions to the U2 catalog include ""40"," "Zoo Station," and "Mysterious Ways." He has worked on numerous side projects during his career, including a collaboration with Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M. to form Automatic Baby in 1993 and working with bandmate Adam Clayton on the re-recording of the theme to Mission: Impossible, in 1996.[3][4] He has been awarded, both as part of U2 and in his own right, 22 Grammy awards.[2]
Mullen's father suggested that he place a notice on the Mount Temple Comprehensive School bulletin board,[1] saying something to the effect of "drummer seeks musicians to form band."[6] U2 was founded on 25 September 1976 in Mullen's kitchen in Artane.[1]
The band, originally consisting of Mullen, Paul "Bono" Hewson, David "The Edge" Evans, his brother Dik Evans, Adam Clayton, and Mullen's friends Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, was originally known as the "Larry Mullen Band", but the name quickly changed to "Feedback", as that was one of the few musical terms they knew. Soon after the band formed, McCormick and Martin left and the band, by then known as "The Hype", was a 5-piece band.[2][4][5] Just before they won a talent contest in Limerick, Ireland, they changed their name again, for the final time, to U2 at a farewell concert for Dik Evans, becoming the 4-piece band they are today.[4][5]