U2 Member Reveals Disability: Larry Mullen Jr. Addresses His Condition

After decades of fans noticing his intense concentration while performing, U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. has finally explained the reason behind his focused expression – a recently diagnosed learning disability that affects his ability to process numbers.

The 63-year-old musician, who founded the iconic rock band with Bono, the Edge, and Adam Clayton during their school days in Dublin, recently disclosed his diagnosis of dyscalculia in a candid interview with Times Radio. “I’ve always known that there’s something not particularly right with the way that I deal with numbers,” he shared. “I’m numerically challenged. And I realized recently that I have dyscalculia, which is a sub-version of dyslexia. So I can’t count [and] I can’t add.”

This revelation sheds new light on Mullen’s performances that fans have scrutinized over the years. “When people watch me play sometimes, they say, ‘you look pained’. I am pained because I’m trying to count the bars,” he explained, adding that “counting bars is like climbing Everest.” He noted that he “had to find ways of doing this” to overcome these challenges.

Dyscalculia, as defined by the Cleveland Clinic, is a learning disorder affecting a person’s ability to understand “number-based information and math.” The condition affects between 3% and 7% of people worldwide, though many adults remain undiagnosed. The clinic notes that “the symptoms of this disorder usually appear in childhood, especially when children learn how to do basic math. However, many adults have dyscalculia and don’t know it. People who have dyscalculia often face mental health issues when they have to do math, such as anxiety, depression and other difficult feelings.”

The condition affects approximately 6% of the UK’s population, according to the Dyscalculia Network, whose ambassador is singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The organization suggests that millions more may be living with undiagnosed dyscalculia, with one affected individual describing numbers as appearing like “a foreign language.”

Mullen joins other prominent figures in the music industry who have spoken openly about their experiences with dyscalculia. English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams has shared his own challenges with the condition, describing how “phone numbers give me anxiety” unless they’re properly spaced. In a vulnerable Instagram post last June, Williams recounted a stressful experience trying to calculate a tip at lunch: “I started to sweat. Got the sum wrong. Scribbled it out and in the end I had to ask for help. My new friends were very cool about it. I didn’t feel embarrassed.”

The timing of Mullen’s disclosure coincides with his involvement in Left Behind, a new documentary about five mothers working to establish New York City’s first state school for children with dyslexia. The project holds personal significance for the drummer, whose son has dyslexia. “Making the music through the eyes of my dyslexic son felt personal and visceral,” he shared at the film’s Woodstock Film Festival premiere in October.