Adam Clayton usually doesn’t get much solo recognition. Most of the attention is focused on Bono, so Adam’s recent Stevie Ray Vaughan Award from MusiCares is such a welcome (and well-deserved!) tribute.

I was not prepared for how much ugly crying would be involved in his thank you speech. He was honored in part for helping out others battling addiction, so he talked about his own struggles with the disease and how he was helped by friends like Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend. We already know that Adam Clayton is such a humble and articulate man, but hearing him talk about this very personal subject (which he rarely discusses in public) made me appreciate and respect him more. And his message to his three friends Bono, Edge, and Larry?

 

I was lucky because I had three friends that could see what was going on and loved me enough to take up the slack of my failings.We have a pact with each other. In our band, no one will be a casualty. We all come home or none of us come home. No one will be left behind. Thank you for honoring that promise and letting me be in your band.

 

I swear just typing it, I’m getting goosebumps and the tears are welling up in my eyes. After Adam’s speech, the band play a three-song set, starting with “Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of”, which, because of its subject matter – hello full on crying!

 

 

 

And then Bono goes and ends the set by saying:

 

Thank you for giving us a great life, Adam.

 

Seriously. As if I needed another reason to love this band. They are the biggest rock stars on the planet, and if they were assholes, I think most people would give them a pass. But no, they choose to be humble, kind, and most of all, they still choose to be friends after all these years.

Would you like to join me in my bawling? Here’s Adam’s speech:

(Featured photo courtesy of Independent.ie)