U2 and Reeve Carney at 'American Idol' finale

"Irony is essential. Some of it is there because that's how we can enjoy what we do. On a tour, it's inevitable. When you think about stadium situations, they deserve, on one level, to be taken seriously because they are so big and it's a major undertaking. But on another level, if you take them too seriously, you're already history. Because they are in some ways ridiculous and the sheer scale is crazy. So we were determined when planning this tour that there was humor involved, that we had a laugh." - The Edge on Popmart, 1997