U2 are made of strong stuff. They went ahead with their LA Forum show last night to "honour" the passing of their longterm tour manager, Dennis Sheean, who was found dead in his hotel room yesterday morning.
Before Bono sang Iris, he had the following to say of their 'family member' who was with them for 33 years:
"What a privilege to share the stage with these brothers of mine and to share this evening with you who have given us everything. U2 is kind of family. It's a brotherhood, although there's a lot of sisters too. But our extended family is very very important to us. We look after each other, and it takes a lot to put on a show like tonight... Last night, we lost a member of our family. Dennis Sheehan was his name. He was U2's tour manager for 33 years. He loved, as we all do, the city of Los Angeles, and he called the Sunset Marquis his ‘home away from home.’ He came to this city as a young man in the ‘70s, working for Led Zeppelin. He always thought maybe U2 could be the next Led Zeppelin, which of course is impossible... We did try once at his last big birthday. We turned up at his birthday dressed as Led Zeppelin. Adam [Clayton] was quite something because he had kind of professorial Jon Paul Jones look. The biggest problem was, I couldn't quite fill Robert Plant's pants."
As it happens, Bono had a lot more to say. You can hear it below, or read it via The Hollywood Reporter.