U2’s Bono and Edge play Stairway to Heaven to honor their road crew
“We said we would never ever play this,” Bono warns
Stairway to Heaven never seems to be too far from guitar players' minds (there is a reason we have the No Stairway rule, after all).
But even so, the Led Zeppelin classic seems to be having a moment as of late. From St. Vincent to Misha Mansoor to Adam Sandler, the classic-rock staple has once again become a go-to song for players of all stripes to tackle.
And now here comes U2 to lay their own twist on the tune.
In a new social media posting, Bono and the Edge honored their long time road crew with a truncated acoustic version of the song.
“Irish road crew, the best in the world,” Bono begins.
But, he continues, “There is one annoying aspect of an Irish crew that has to be said. Wherever you go in the world, whatever venue you’re playing - whether it’s the Olympia or 3 Arena or Madison Square Garden - you walk into the venue and it’s a big moment, and you’ll hear a song that we said, ‘We’ll never ever play this.’ And that’s right, Stairway to Heaven.
“These professionals believe they play this better than the band. And you know, it might be true.”
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You can judge Bono and the Edge’s performance for yourselves above.
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Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.