(Makes way for the Edge...)

Bono: He's got a BlackBerry. (Edge has his speech on a handheld.)

Edge: I am, in the end, the technology guy of U2. Which really, all it means is I can fix the printer. You turn it on. I don't tell them that.

Above all else what U2 have tried to avoid over the last twenty years is not being completely crap. But next on the list down from that was to avoid being typical and predictable and ordinary. Because it's so very hard to avoid the cliches. Everyone else's of course, but more than that your own. It's hard to keep things fresh and not become a parody of yourself. And if you've ever seen that movie Spinal Tap, you'll know how easy it is. It's a parody of what we all do. The first time I ever saw it, I didn't laugh. I wept. I wept because I recognized so much in so many of those scenes. I don't think I'm alone amongst all of us here in that.

You know, we're all guilty of taking ourselves and our work way too seriously. And we've all gone to hang out in a hotel lobby like we were doing something really important. But the reason we're all here tonight is that in spite of all the cliches which do exist, you know, rock and roll, when it is great, it's amazing. It changes your life. It changed our lives. Witness, for instance, tonight. The O'Jays, Percy Sledge, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, the Pretenders. I mean, Amazing. Really magic stuff.

People break it down. You can study it all you want but you can't just dial it up. It doesn't work like that. And as far as U2 goes, I've stopped trying to figure out how, or more importantly when our best moments are going to come along. But I think that's why we're still awake. And that's why we're still paying attention. We know in the end, see...we know that it is magic. And so we end up waiting around. Like we all do sometimes. Like actors in some Beckett play, just like they did in that movie, in the lobby, waiting around for some magic to happen. And we've done a lot of that over the years. I have to say...I've done a lot of waiting with Bono, with Adam and Larry and Paul for those moments to come along.

And we've had some great people with us during those times those times. (muffled) Brian Eno, Steve Lillywhite, Danny Lanois, Jimmy Iovine, Nellee Hooper, our great engineers, Principle Management. The team that was talked about. Flood. Our show collaborators -- Willie Williams and all his team. A crew of fantastic people. Joe O'Herlihy. Bucky, Jake, Dallas, Frasier who isn't here, Stuart. Incredible people that we couldn't have come through the last twenty-five years without. And tonight it feels like it's just about half the room has been along with us on that journey. So I just wanted to say thank you to my family for being so patient. The main guy for showing me how. The rest of the band particularly, and tonight, you know, all of you for this evening and most of all, I guess, for making space for me as we always wait together for something magic to happen. Thank you.

Larry: I promise I'll be brief. Thanks for this tonight. We really appreciate it. It's very special. I feel like we've cut the line or jumped the queue along the way, someplace along the way. And we never would have got out of my kitchen in our town in Dublin had it not been for people like the Sex Pistols, Tom Verlaine and Television, Roxy Music, Patti Smith. These people are in our rock and roll hall of fame. Thank you.

Adam: The bass player approaches the microphone. What's he gonna say? I feel bassless. Okay, yesterday, it was my 45th birthday. That's a fine age to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That means twenty-five years ago we released our first recording. That means twenty-nine years ago we all met and formed our band. Thirty years ago I got my first bass guitar, or as I thought, a guitar with only four strings. I had no idea what bass was. I had not heard of James Jameson, Doug Dunn, Jack Bruce, John Entwhistle, or Bootsy Collins. I just needed a weapon and a shield to take on the world.

When we all got together in Larry's kitchen we didn't know about the great traditions of American music. We didn't know the blues or soul or R&B or country but we did know that together we had a chance to change the world by making a noise. This was punk and it saved my ass. We needed someone to get us gigs and to pay for demos. We met Paul McGuinness and he became our manager. Next we needed a record deal. We were turned down by many people until Nick Stewart offered us a deal at Island Records. This was the start of a long relationship with Island. Many people along the way helped us develop and grow. Rob Partridge and of course Chris Blackwell. We made three records with Steve Lillywhite, came to America and Frank Barselona and Barbara Skydell were our U.S. agents. They introduced us to a network of promoters. Ellen Darst and Keryn Kaplan ran our U.S. office, and they taught us how radio and promotion worked.

As we were learning all this about the music business, we were also learning about American music and the kind of artists that are honored her by the Hall of Fame. John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Hank Williams, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan. Now our generation is being inducted and our time has come to join those we did not know 25 years ago. I hope that in 25 years when this room is full of hip-hop and pop artists that they will enjoy joining the diverse list of talents that the Hall of Fame recognizes.

It took many people to get this band here tonight and I'd like to thank some of them personally. Paul McGuinness and Kathy, Anne-Louise Kelly, Ellen Darst, Sheila Roche, Keryn Kaplan, Regine Moylette, Barbara Galvin, Susan Hunter, Trevor Bowen, Gavin Friday, Chris Blackwell, Anton Corbjin, Steve Lillywhite, Danny Lanois, Brian Eno, Jimmy Iovine, Doug Morris, Arthur Fogel and Michael Cole, Denny Sheehan, Joe O'Herlihy, Willie Williams, Dallas, Sammy, Stuart and Terry.

But in the end the people who really got me here tonight and who I must thank for everything I have, are Ali, Ann, Morleigh, Suzie, Larry, Edge and Bono. And I'd really like to thank Bruce for what he said, and I fortunately can remember the names of everybody in the band as well.

Bono: We've about 35 songs to play. Won't be long.