Clayton: I felt like a Rolling Stone when I got my first bass

U2's Adam Clayton felt like a "Rolling Stone" when he got his first proper bass guitar.

Clayton: I felt like a Rolling Stone when I got my first bass

U2's Adam Clayton felt like a "Rolling Stone" when he got his first proper bass guitar.

The 'One' rocker can vividly recall asking his father Brian Clayton to purchase his dream instrument during a business trip to New York City because they were so much cheaper there than in his native Ireland.

He said: "In 1976 I hadn't mastered the bass but I had identified that I needed a better instrument and my father - a practical man, not affected by music or art - was essential to this plan.

"He flew regularly to New York and second-hand instruments were much cheaper at Manny's on 48th Street.

"I gave him money and the magic words 'Fender Precision Bass' and waited.

"When it arrived, it had a sunburst finish and I felt like a Rolling Stone."

Despite his years of musicianship, 55-year-old Adam still feels the same sense of excitement when he gets a new guitar.

He told new book 'Sons and Fathers': "I often have this same feeling when touching a new instrument for the first time.

"I doubt my father has the same recall but I often think of what it was like for him to enter that music shop."

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