U2 Wide Awake on 'Good Morning America'

May 20, 2005 — -- Since four Dublin boys first came together 25 years ago, U2 has been on rock's leading edge, both musically and politically.

After selling some 130 million albums, the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famers are still -- as lead singer Bono put it -- "drunk on the idea" that music can change the world.

U2 kicked off the "Good Morning America" Summer Concert Series today with an exclusive interview and a concert performance from Chicago. The band began its 2005 "Vertigo" tour in San Diego and will be on the road through the end of the year, hitting arenas throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.

Each member of the band is an integral part of the whole. Bono, the charismatic and politically active lead singer, is the most visible. He calls his condition "rock star syndrome," bent on having fun while doing nothing less than saving the world.

"Music can certainly change the temperature of a room or get people, you know, excited, or leave home, leave their jobs, you know, fall in love," Bono said in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America's" Diane Sawyer.

The Edge on lead guitar is a rock icon; bass player Adam Clayton beat the occupational hazard of substance abuse; and Larry Mullen Jr., the heartthrob, keeps the beat on drums.

They've seen each other through marriages and funerals, wild highs and the deepest lows. Today, most of the members of the band are graced with children of their own.

The Edge told Sawyer his teenage daughter had some advice for him after listening to the latest album.

"I remember playing some of the early mix of the album to my daughter who's in her teens, and she said, 'Dad, you should listen to the radio more. You know, like, I'm not sure this is really, you know, gonna go over,'" he said.

"How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," which was released Nov. 23 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, and the tour have, of course, "gone over," with sold-out shows across the globe.