Stocki on Sky News - 9.2.2006

MARTIN: So why do you think U2 have lasted so long.

STOCKI: Well it is all to do with Sex and Drugs and Rock N Roll and the fact that U2 have never been really interested in the sex and drugs but always in the rock n roll. I mean it is pretty crazy that these guys are still around competing with Razorlight, The Killers and The Libertines, all twenty years younger, but their hunger for the music has never been distracted by other things and they keep on wanting to create and reinvent.

MARTIN: When and why did you get into the band yourself?

STOCKI: I came in around October and to be honest it was their Christian faith that intrigued me. Someone had told me they were Christians and, as a Christian myself, I thought I would check them out. I discovered that not only did they share my faith but they were also very good. There is a lot of Christian music that is not that good! From then on I was hooked and I have bought most of their albums as soon as they were released. In Ireland you can buy them at midnight the day they go on sale and I’ve queued up for most of them at midnight.

MARTIN: You are a fan then. Do you think it is a band or is it just Bono’s project.

STOCKI: Oh, not at all. It is very much a band. I do think though that if you are a quite introvert and want to be in a rock band then Bono is the guy to be in a band with. But don’t be fooled. Most of the music on the recent album is done by the rest of the band with Bono coming in with the lyrics. I was talking to a jazz player recently who was doing a U2 cover and had to dismantle the song to learn how to play it and, when he did that, he said that he realized how much genius Adam and Larry had. Oh no, it is very much a band.

MARTIN: Do you think their faith has been a good selling point.

STOCKI: No, I don’t think that the Christian faith is very helpful at all, when you are trying to sell albums. It is probably a hindrance to be truthful. U2 have been successful in spite of being up front about it. I mean here in Ireland our rock magazine Hot Press is usually very cynical about anything that is Christian but they have championed U2. However, I do think it has been their faith that has kept them grounded, still friends after 30 years and as I said still trying to create great rock music.

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