U2 drummer Larry Mullen has said that counting bars within music is like “climbing Everest” for him due to his dyscalculia.
The musician (63) revealed that he cannot count or add because of the learning difficulty, which affects his ability to use and acquire mathematical skills. Mullen, who only recently realised he had dyscalculia, has produced and written music for a new film, Left Behind, about dyslexia and the New York school system.
Dyscalculia is a specific learning disorder that affects a person’s ability to understand number-based information and maths.
Discussing his own educational challenges, he told Times Radio in London: “I’ve always known that there’s something not particularly right with the way that I deal with numbers. I’m numerically challenged. And I realised recently that I have dyscalculia ... so I can’t add, I can’t count.
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“I had to find ways of doing this, and counting bars is like climbing Everest.
“And when people watch me play sometimes, they say, ‘You look pained’. I am pained because I’m trying to count the bars.”
Mullen said the group are writing new material and doing some initial recording and he hopes they will tour at some point in 2026.
“I don’t think it will be what we normally do. I would hope it would be something different,” he said. “But I’m excited to get back in some capacity.”
U2 recently held a residency at the Sphere, a high-tech new immersive venue in Las Vegas which boasts 168,000sq ft of high-definition LEDs, 167,000 speakers and 17,000 seats. – PA
