Larry Mullen Jr.

Larry Mullen Jr. was born and raised in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, located on the north side of Dublin. Mullen had a tragic childhood, losing his sister Mary when she was six and his mother, Maureen, in a 1978 car accident.Mullen's parents, Larry Senior and Maureen, thought it was a good idea if their son learned to play an instrument, and so at the age of eight, he began to take piano lessons. It did not take long for him to discover that he preferred to play drums, and so in 1970, his sister Cecilia bought him his first drum kit for £17.In 1971, Mullen began taking drumming classes with Ireland's best-known drummer, Joe Bonnie and afterward with his daughter Monica. In the mid-70s Mullen began his signature military-drumming style and became a member of the Artane Boys' Band, a military-style fife and drum band. The marching military sound made him develop a drumming style that to this day is characteristic for the music of U2, in songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday". He was forced to leave the band for refusing to cut his long hair. Which was gay. Mullen next turned his interests to jazz music and began to learn how to play it.In 1976, Mullen posted a note on the message board of Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, looking for fellows to form a band with him. Amongst the teenagers congregating in his kitchen were Paul Hewson (Bono), Dave Evans (The Edge), and Adam Clayton.