Adam Clayton: ‘Music can no longer change politics’

U2 bass guitarist Adam Clayton is sceptical musicians can still change the world through art.
The Irish band, fronted by activist rock star Bono, have often melded politics with their music and notably addressed armed conflict in Northern Ireland with their 1983 hit Sunday Bloody Sunday.
More recently guitarist The Edge, 55, said the band had delayed finishing a forthcoming album due to the divisions brought about by Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president.
However Adam, 56, feels music is less able to bring about change through carrying a political message now than it was in the band’s 1980s heyday.
“I think the world has changed,” he tells Britain’s Q magazine. “I’m not sure that within the culture that music is the best medium (to address politics) any more. There’s too much noise out there anyway, people saying this, and that and the other, that I think music is a little bit insecure as regards what its role is in these situations.”
The Edge, real name David Howell Evans, seems to disagree as he feels it’s U2’s duty as musicians to try and address the political earthquakes that took place in 2016, a year which also saw Britons vote to leave the European Union.
“It’s like the foundations have been given a shaking and it’s moments like this that I think art can come through and steady the ship,” he says. “I don’t know if we can, but we’re certainly trying to write some tunes that can connect and beyond that, who knows?”
Before finalising their new album, the group will embark on a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their 1987 record The Joshua Tree.
U2 will showcase live performances of the album at gigs across North America and Europe between May and August this year (17).