The biggest bodyguard of all has got to be our manager, Paul McGuinness.... The reason why no one in this band has "slave" scrawled on their face. Paul McGuinness, thank you very much.
I won't go on, but just three Kodak moments over twenty-five years that I'd like to share with you.
One: It's 1976, Larry Mullen's kitchen. It's about the size of the drum riser he uses now. There's a big, bright red - scarlet really - Japanese kit. And he's sitting behind it in his kitchen. And he's playing, and the ground shakes, and the sky opens up like Bruce was saying earlier. And it still does. But now I know why. I know why - because Larry Mullen cannot tell a lie. And his brutal honesty is something that we need in this band.
Second Kodak moment: It's 1982, Newhaven, I believe. Things are not going very well. There's a punk rock band on stage trying to play Bach. A fight breaks out - it's between the band. It's very, very messy. Now you look at this guitar genius. You look at this zen-like master that is the Edge and you hear those brittle, icy notes and you might be forgiven for not realizing that you cannot play like that unless you have a rage inside you. And, in fact, I had forgotten that on that particular night and he tried to break my nose. And I learned a very great lesson; do not pick a fight with somebody who, for a living, lives off hand-to-eye coordination. Not a good idea. Dangerous, dangerous man, The Edge.
Third Kodak moment: 1987, somewhere in the south. We've been campaigning for Dr. King, for his birthday to be a national holiday. In Arizona, they're saying no. We've been campaigning very, very hard for Dr. King. Some people don't like it. Some people get very annoyed. Some people want to kill the singer. Some people are taken very seriously by the FBI, and they tell the singer that he shouldn't play the gig because tonight is- his life is at risk and he must not go on the stage. The singer laughs. The signer is like "Fffsh!" You know, of course we're playing the gig, of course we going on stage. And I'm sitting- standing there, singing "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and I got to the third verse. I close my eyes and I know. I'm- I'm excited about meeting my maker, but maybe not tonight. I don't really want to meet my maker tonight. I close my eyes, and when I look up I see Adam Clayton standing in front of me holding his bass like only Adam Clayton can hold his bass. And you know there are people in this room who would tell you that they would take a bullet for you, but Adam Clayton would've taken a bullet for me. And I guess that's what it's like to be in a truly great rock and roll band.