Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960 in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, England) is an English‑Irish bass guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of U2. After moving to Malahide, County Dublin, in 1965, he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive where he met Paul Hewson, Larry Mullen Jr. and David Evans, and together they formed U2 in 1976. Adam Clayton’s bass work, characterized by harmonic syncopation, appears on every U2 studio album from Boy (1980) through Songs of Experience (2023), and on notable tracks such as "New Year's Day", "With or Without You", and "Vertigo". He also contributed to the 1996 Mission: Impossible soundtrack, reworking the title theme with Larry Mullen Jr. into a 4/4 arrangement that peaked at number 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and earned a 1997 Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Throughout his career, Clayton has received 22 Grammy Awards with U2 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. In addition to his touring and recording work, he has collaborated with artists such as Robbie Robertson, Maria McKee, and Sharon Shannon, and continues to perform as part of the band U2.
