'Adam Charles Clayton' (born
13 March 1960 in
Chinnor,
Oxfordshire,
England)
[1], is best known as the
bass player of the
rock band U2. He retains his
British citizenship, but has resided in County Dublin from the time his family moved there when he was five years of age, when his family moved to Malahide. However, as with the other members of U2, he owns a house in Southern
France. Sometimes jokingly referred to by lead singer
Bono as the "
poshest"
[2] member of the band, Clayton is well known for his bass playing on songs such as "
New Year's Day", "
One", "
With or Without You", "
Bullet the Blue Sky" "
Until the End of the World", "
Vertigo," and "
Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own."
[3] He has done several solo projects, including working with fellow band member
Larry Mullen Jr. on the theme of .
Biography
Clayton is the eldest child of Brian and Jo Clayton, born on March 13, 1960 in Oxfordshire, England. When Clayton was five years old, his family moved from Oxfordshire to Malahide, near Dublin, where Clayton's sister Sarah and his brother Sebastian were born. The Clayton family became friends with the Evans family, with their sons
Dick and
Dave, who were both in the original group, Feedback, that spawned U2.
[4]
Clayton attended boarding school at
St. Columba's in
Rathfarnham.
[5] He later changed school to
Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, where he met fellow bandmates Paul "
Bono" Hewson and
Larry Mullen Jr., and was reunited with this boyhood friend Dave "
The Edge" Evans. Mullen had posted an advertisement on the school bulletin board for musicians to form a band with him; Clayton showed up at the first practice, which also included Dik Evans, Dave Evans's older brother, Ivan McCormick, and Peter Martin, who were two of Mullen's friends. McCormick and Martin left the band soon after its conception. While the band was a five-piece (consisting of Bono, The Edge, Mullen, Evans, and Clayton), it was known as Feedback. The name was subsequently changed to The Hype, but changed to "U2" soon after Evans left the band. Clayton also served as the band's first manager before
Paul McGuinness, a more experienced manager, was hired, because Clayton had left school earlier.
Around the time of U2's second album,
October, a rift was created in the band between Clayton and McGuinness, and the three other band members. Bono, The Edge, and Mullen had joined a Christian group, and were questioning the compatibility of rock -and-roll with their spirituality. However, Clayton, with his more ambiguous religious views, was less concerned, and so was more of an outsider, until Bono's wedding to Alison Hewson (Neé Stewart), in which Clayton was the best man.
In August
1989, Clayton made newspapers around the world when he was arrested in Dublin carrying a small amount of
marijuana. However, he avoided conviction by making a large donation to charity, and has later been regretful, saying "It was my own fault. And I'm sure I was out of my head -- emotionally apart from anything else. But it is serious because it is illegal."
[6]Clayton has also had alcohol problems, which came to a head on November 26, 1993 when he was so hung over that he was unable to play that night's show in
Sydney. However, after that incident, he gave up alcohol.
In 1996, after the groundbreaking Zoo TV tour and
Zooropa album, Clayton headed to
New York with bandmate Mullen to receive formal training in the bass; up until then Clayton was entirely self-taught. During that period, he worked on U2's experimental album , released under the
pseudonym "Passengers", entitled
Original Soundtracks 1. It was on that album where Clayton was a vocalist; he spoke the last verse of
Your Blue Room, the album's second single. While in New York, he collaborated with Mullen to re-record the soundtrack.
For many years, Clayton was the only bachelor member of U2. First, Bono married his high school sweetheart Alison Stewart. Then, The Edge married first Aislinn O'Sullivan, going through a stressful divorce during the recording of ''
Achtung Baby'', falling in love with and subsequently marrying
Morleigh Steinberg, a choreographer and one of the dancers on the Zoo TV Tour. Mullen lives with his longtime girlfriend, Ann Acheson, and their three children. During the early
1990s, Clayton was involved in a relationship with and at one point engaged to British supermodel
Naomi Campbell. More recently, he was engaged to marry Suzanne Smith, whom he was planning to marry in the summer of
2007, but broke up in
February 2007[7].
Style
As a bass player, Adam Clayton is recognized for his deep, driving rhythms that are showcased in songs, most notably "
New Year's Day" and "
With or Without You". His style has been influenced by many different styles, such as
Motown and
reggae, and has evolved over his years in U2.
[8] In the early years of U2, his bass was generally a simple part in 4/4 time. However, as the group grew and evolved, his bass became more complicated, as is the case on
1987's
The Joshua Tree and
1988's
Rattle and Hum.
[9] He has continued to use these simple parts over the years, for example, 2000's "
Beautiful Day", with a simple 8th-note part.
Clayton rarely sings, but has been known to do so on several occasions. On the song "Endless Deep", the B-side to the single "
Two Hearts Beat As One" from
1983, he made an appearance singing. He also spoke the last verse of the song
Your Blue Room, the second single from U2's experimental album released under the pseudonym "Passengers",
Original Soundtracks 1 (1995). Clayton can be heard speaking on "Tomorrow ('96 Version)" (a rerecording of "Tomorrow" that he arranged) a song from U2's 1981 album "
October".
[10]He plays the guitar on a few occasions, most notably the song "
40", where he and guitarist
The Edge switch instruments. He also plays the introduction to "
City of Blinding Lights" on the keyboard.
Musical equipment
Clayton has used many different basses, but his most-often used basses are listed:
★
Fender Precision Bass
★ Fender Jazz Bass
★
Gibson Thunderbird Bass
★
Gibson Les Paul Triumph Bass
★ Gibson Les Paul 70's Recording Bass, unknown model
★
Lakland Joe Osborne Signature Bass
★ Lakland Darryl Jones Signature Bass
He has used Precision and Jazz Bass throughout his career, though he played
Ibanez basses in his early career. He uses Ashdown amplifiers and blue Herdim picks, as does bandmate
The Edge.
[11] Clayton's Precision bass is modified with a Fender Jazz neck; in an interview with ''
Bass Player'' magazine, he said that the Jazz bass neck was more "lady-like"
[12].
Solo projects
Clayton has worked on several solo projects throughout his career.
[13] He played on
Robbie Robertson's self-titled album from 1987
[14] , and has also performed with
Maria McKee [15]. He joined U2 producer
Daniel Lanois and bandmate
Larry Mullen Jr. on Lanois's 1989 album "
Acadie"
[16] , playing the bass on the songs "Still Water" and "Jolie Louise". In 1994, Clayton played bass along with bandmate Larry Mullen Jr. on
Nanci Griffith's album "
Flyer", playing on the songs "These Days in an Open Book", "Don't Forget About Me", "On Grafton Street" and "This Heart"
[17]. Clayton and Mullen also re-recorded the soundtrack for the 1996 movie remake, including the theme song, which was changed from the original 5/4 time signature to the simpler 4/4 signature.
[18] The "Theme from Mission: Impossible" was nominated for the "Best Pop Instrumental Performance"
Grammy in 1997, also reaching #8 on the US Billboard chart.
[19] [20] [21]
References
1. Adam Clayton biography
2. Different Class, Part 2 (from Q Magazine)
3. Adam Clayton Biography
4. Flanagan, Bill. ''U2 at the End of the World''. New York: Delacorte Press, 1995. ISBN 0-385-3II54-0.
5. U2 Limited (2006). ''U2 by U2''. London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 13. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
6. Adam Clayton Biography from @U2
7. U2’s Adam splits up with fiancee Susie (U2France)
8. Adam Clayton's Bass Sound and Technique
9. Adam Clayton Interview; Bass Player Magazine
10. Adam Clayton Biography
11. Adam Clayton Biography
12. Reluctant Rock Star: How U2's Adam Clayton Learned to Play -- and Conquer the World Onstage (Bass Player, November 11, 2000)
13. Adam Clayton solo discography
14. Robbie Robertson:Robbie Robertson
15. U2 Biography: Adam Clayton
16. Acadie Album (Daniel Lanois)
17. Flyer review from Rolling Stone
18. Mission:Impossible Soundtrack Album
19. Theme from Mission:Impossible Single
20. Theme from Mission:Impossible Promo
21. Amazon product overview and reviews of "Theme from Mission:Impossible"
See also
★
List of people on stamps of Ireland
★
List of bass guitarists
External links
★
U2.com, official U2 website
★
★
Ashdown Amplifiers Adam Clayton endorser page.
★
Lakland Bass, Adam Clayton at the Lakland Bass Factory
★
Adam Clayton's Popmart Bass
★
Adam Clayton @U2 Biography
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