U2 drummer: "Bono makes me cringe"

Larry Mullen Jr hits out at his singer

Michael Leonard, Fri 2 Jan 2009, 1:45 pm UTC

U2 release new album No Line On The Horizon in March

U2 drummer Larry Mullen has criticised his own singer, Bono, for being too friendly with world leaders.

In an interview with Q magazine, Mullen launched a broadside at outgoing US President George W Bush and ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, branding them "war criminals". And he admits it makes him "cringe" when he sees Bono associating with the pair.

"Tony Blair is a war criminal and I think he should be tried as a war criminal," says Mullen. "Then I see Bono and him as pals and I'm going, 'I don't like that'.

"Do I think George Bush is a war criminal? Probably - but the difference between him and Tony Blair is that Blair is intelligent. So he has no excuse for what he did."

Although Mullen acknowledges Bono is "prepared to use his weight as a celebrity, at great cost to himself and his family, to help other people", he adds. "As an outsider looking in, I cringe."