U2 paid tribute from the stage of the Los Angeles Forum to their tour manager, who was found dead in his West Hollywood hotel room on Wednesday 27 May. Dennis Sheehan, who died aged 68, had worked with the band for the past 33 years.
In between songs during the second of five shows at the venue, Bono spoke about Sheehan’s life and his connection to the band: “U2’s family – it’s a brotherhood, although there’s a lot of sisters in it, too,” he said. “But the extended family is very important to us and we look after each other. It takes a lot to put on a show like tonight, and last night we lost a member of our family. Dennis Sheehan was his name. He was U2’s tour manager for 33 years.”
As the crowd cheered, Bono spoke about Sheehan’s love for Los Angeles, as well as his thoughts that “maybe U2 could be the next Led Zeppelin” – though Bono jokingly said that wouldn’t be possible, even though U2 had tried. Sheehan had worked for Led Zeppelin in the 1970s before joining U2’s tour team in the early 1980s.
“A lot of U2 songs over the years have been written to fill a void, an absence, a hole in the heart left by a loved one. And this next one is one of those,” Bono said, before playing Iris, a song off 2014 album Songs of Innocence that was originally written in honour of Bono’s mother, who died when he was 14 years old.
Bono’s onstage tribute followed the band’s official statement about Sheehan’s death, published on U2’s website on Wednesday 27 May. “We’ve lost a family member, we’re still taking it in,” read Bono’s statement. “He wasn’t just a legend in the music business, he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable.”
Dennis Sheehan started working with U2 before they released their third album War in 1983. He was born in Wolverhampton in 1947.
