U2 Relies On Physical Therapy To Perform On Stage — Could This Be Their Final World Tour?

Will this be U2’s final world tour? The legendary rock ‘n’ roll band has been on tour on and off for the past three years, and the Irish rockers kicked off their current eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour back in May in support of their latest studio album, 2017’s Songs of Experience. But it seems like the rock ‘n’ roll life is taking a toll on Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, Jr. as they get older in age.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times magazine ahead of U2’s October concert dates at the Manchester Arena and The O2 Arena, the band members revealed that physiotherapy (or physical therapy) is what’s helping them keep up with the physical demands that playing music on stage takes on their bodies.

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“I work out a lot. I run and do weight training in the morning, so that tightens me up, and then in the show, carrying the bass, there are various other occupational quirks that affect the body,” Adam, 58, told The Sunday Times. “I have to make sure they don’t develop into real problems. It was a bit of a shock to learn that the things you could do in your 20s and 30s in terms of being a player when you get into your 40s and 50s, they cause repetitive strain injuries. Actually, for me, more of an issue is what it does to my hips and lower back, shoulders, and neck. You just get so tight that you can’t turn, you can’t move.”

Adam said Larry, the band’s 56-year-old drummer, also has to have physical therapy. “He has to have physio an hour before the show and an hour after. He’s in pain and his muscles need to function,” Adam said.

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In order to keep healthy on tour, the band brings their own physiotherapist on tour and they also take a chef along with them to make sure they’re getting proper nutrition. But Larry also revealed that the band hopes to take a break after they finish this current tour in November.

“We’ll finish this and then there will be time to decide what we want to do next. I’d like to take a really long holiday,” Larry said. “You never know. I assume there’ll be another album. I don’t know that anybody needs another U2 record or tour anytime soon. People could do with taking a break from us and vice versa.”