They’re arguably the most successful band in music, the Dublin four-piece with over 145 million albums to their name. Now U2 frontman Bono and guitarist the Edge reckon their success can be largely attributed to one character trait – a big ego!

“Larry [Mullen, Jr, drummer] started the band, so Larry reckons it's his band,” the Edge joked. “But Adam [Clayton, bassist] was the first manager, so he sees it as his band. It goes without saying that Bono sees it as his band. The actual truth is, and I'm far too modest to say this, but it's my band.”

With 31 years behind them, Bono says the reason why no member has pursued a solo path was due to loyalty, and a desire for perfection.

“The thing about four egos, which I guess you must have if you want to be in a band, is that in this case the band's ego is bigger than that of the individual members,” he insists. “We share the songwriting, it's sort of a hippy communal idea and has been since we were 17 or 18, so people don't seem to care who's idea that was or who wrote that song, as long as it's the best idea.”

U2 recently embarked on their U2 360° world tour.