larry's arm
- Thread starter linny82
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I know he has a sun on one arm.
girlonstage522
The Fly
- Joined
- May 23, 2005
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- 136
tendonitis is when the tendon which holds your bones together gets inflamed and irritated from excess use or your bones rubbing together the wrong way. i have it in my knee...thats why i know haha. hope that helped!
VicksSs
Refugee
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- Apr 7, 2005
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Yeah, I think he had it around Pop, correct me if I'm mistaken, so the rest of the band experimented a bit woth drum machines... but Larry is always better!!! 
Meghan
Refugee
Here's an article from Propaganda (The U2 fanzine - that doesn't really exist anymore)
Completely Out Of Hand - Propaganda #4, Dec. 01 '86
If ever there was a case for not believing what you read in the papers, the story of Larry Mullen's hand is it.
Just an innocent pair of hands really. Undertaking a reasonably rigorous schedule above the U2 drum kit, as most hands of most drummers do, but committing no crimes against humanity, unlike, say, the hands of Jack Ripper, and certainly not guilty of holding to ransom the career of owner Larry.
Perhaps you haven't heard, but British tabloid newspapers, have lately taken to reporting the termination of the career of Larry because of - and here you can take your pick - huge swelling of the fingers, hospitalization in New York, a mystery injury to his hand, some other strange ailment.
HOT PRESS
Irish music paper Hot Press, alerted to the news by a tearful U2 fan, were so intrigued by the shock stories which inevitably intimated the end of U2 that they immediately tracked down Larry for the truth behind the rumors. Larry himself, so concerned at the ever-increasing trail of lies and half-truths, asked Propaganda to report his conversation with them.
To begin with, Larry does have a problem with his left hand.
"The hand had been a bit sore for a while, but the first time I became aware there was a problem was in San Francisco during our American tour. I suddenly realized I wasn't going to be able to play the gig that night - I was in too much pain. So I was whisked off to hospital immediately and the doctor there told me to take the next two weeks off."
PAIN KILLERS
Naturally, being in U2 and on a world tour, that was simply not on, Doc. The compromise reached was to put the hand in a sophisticated plaster which could be removed for the duration of gigs. A course of serious painkillers was also prescribed to take Larry to the end of the tour.
"I was so freaked out," Larry admits, "My hands are my livelihood - a serious problem with them could affect me badly."
A number of cortisone injections having failed to cure the ailment, Larry talked to Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band about it, as he'd had a similar problem.
"He'd had eight operations on each finger in his hands. He'd had a problem for years and he hadn't taken care of his hands - he was in serious pain. So he said to me, 'Don't be a martyr.' Having seen the damage that had been done in his case I was aware of the need to take care of my hands."
With the Unforgettable Fire world tour over, the search for a long-term solution was begun in earnest - and it isn't over yet.
"The problem is that nobody can identify the cause. Something causes the tendons in the hand to swell - if you're using part of your body wrongly or if you push it too hard, this kind of thing can develop. But there are a lot of different opinions as to what exactly is the root cause."
OPERATION
The one thing Larry is trying to avoid, if at all possible, is an operation.
"I've been seeing doctors in Ireland and one of them found this anti-inflammatory tablet which has helped enormously. It's not a steroid and it's not a drug. I don't know how it works but it reduces the swelling and there's less of a problem now. It's a question of knowing how far I can push my hands and then taking care of it, bathing it in cold water and resting it as much as possible."
Eventually Larry may well have to submit to some delicate surgery to fix things up properly, but in the meantime he's content to have the problem under control. He doesn't regret the need to be public about the difficulty.
"That's why Max Weinberg asked me to talk about my injury. A new hospital has opened in New York to deal with injuries to hands and he's lecturing there. He rang me to ask me to do an interview with Musician magazine to launch the campaign to make drummers aware of the need to take care of their hands. That must be where the Daily Mirror got their initial information."
LIES
U2 fans are increasingly going to have to learn to live with the misinformation and lies of the gutter press as the band ascend the heights of success. Lies about Bono's house ("gasometer-like" and lined internally with mirrors!) for example, are already legendary.
"We're a most unlikely band for that kind of attention," says Bono, "but they seem intent on pursuing us. They seem to have gotten tired of Duran Duran and so on. It's something we'll have to be careful of."
As for the hands slowing up progress of the album?
"Were recording at the moment," says Larry, "and I'm having very few problems!"
Completely Out Of Hand - Propaganda #4, Dec. 01 '86
If ever there was a case for not believing what you read in the papers, the story of Larry Mullen's hand is it.
Just an innocent pair of hands really. Undertaking a reasonably rigorous schedule above the U2 drum kit, as most hands of most drummers do, but committing no crimes against humanity, unlike, say, the hands of Jack Ripper, and certainly not guilty of holding to ransom the career of owner Larry.
Perhaps you haven't heard, but British tabloid newspapers, have lately taken to reporting the termination of the career of Larry because of - and here you can take your pick - huge swelling of the fingers, hospitalization in New York, a mystery injury to his hand, some other strange ailment.
HOT PRESS
Irish music paper Hot Press, alerted to the news by a tearful U2 fan, were so intrigued by the shock stories which inevitably intimated the end of U2 that they immediately tracked down Larry for the truth behind the rumors. Larry himself, so concerned at the ever-increasing trail of lies and half-truths, asked Propaganda to report his conversation with them.
To begin with, Larry does have a problem with his left hand.
"The hand had been a bit sore for a while, but the first time I became aware there was a problem was in San Francisco during our American tour. I suddenly realized I wasn't going to be able to play the gig that night - I was in too much pain. So I was whisked off to hospital immediately and the doctor there told me to take the next two weeks off."
PAIN KILLERS
Naturally, being in U2 and on a world tour, that was simply not on, Doc. The compromise reached was to put the hand in a sophisticated plaster which could be removed for the duration of gigs. A course of serious painkillers was also prescribed to take Larry to the end of the tour.
"I was so freaked out," Larry admits, "My hands are my livelihood - a serious problem with them could affect me badly."
A number of cortisone injections having failed to cure the ailment, Larry talked to Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band about it, as he'd had a similar problem.
"He'd had eight operations on each finger in his hands. He'd had a problem for years and he hadn't taken care of his hands - he was in serious pain. So he said to me, 'Don't be a martyr.' Having seen the damage that had been done in his case I was aware of the need to take care of my hands."
With the Unforgettable Fire world tour over, the search for a long-term solution was begun in earnest - and it isn't over yet.
"The problem is that nobody can identify the cause. Something causes the tendons in the hand to swell - if you're using part of your body wrongly or if you push it too hard, this kind of thing can develop. But there are a lot of different opinions as to what exactly is the root cause."
OPERATION
The one thing Larry is trying to avoid, if at all possible, is an operation.
"I've been seeing doctors in Ireland and one of them found this anti-inflammatory tablet which has helped enormously. It's not a steroid and it's not a drug. I don't know how it works but it reduces the swelling and there's less of a problem now. It's a question of knowing how far I can push my hands and then taking care of it, bathing it in cold water and resting it as much as possible."
Eventually Larry may well have to submit to some delicate surgery to fix things up properly, but in the meantime he's content to have the problem under control. He doesn't regret the need to be public about the difficulty.
"That's why Max Weinberg asked me to talk about my injury. A new hospital has opened in New York to deal with injuries to hands and he's lecturing there. He rang me to ask me to do an interview with Musician magazine to launch the campaign to make drummers aware of the need to take care of their hands. That must be where the Daily Mirror got their initial information."
LIES
U2 fans are increasingly going to have to learn to live with the misinformation and lies of the gutter press as the band ascend the heights of success. Lies about Bono's house ("gasometer-like" and lined internally with mirrors!) for example, are already legendary.
"We're a most unlikely band for that kind of attention," says Bono, "but they seem intent on pursuing us. They seem to have gotten tired of Duran Duran and so on. It's something we'll have to be careful of."
As for the hands slowing up progress of the album?
"Were recording at the moment," says Larry, "and I'm having very few problems!"
everyone thank you!
sraphim
War Child
great article, Meghan 
there's one thing I don't understand though... seems like Larry's hurting limb is now the RIGHT one
there's one thing I don't understand though... seems like Larry's hurting limb is now the RIGHT one
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