U2.COM : 'Experimental'

London-based producer and DJ Howie B first started working with U2 nearly 20 years ago - and remains good friends with the band. In a feature in the UK's The Independent newspaper Edge and Howie B recall how they met.

EDGE: 'It must have been the mid-1990s. We were making an experimental record called Passengers, with Brian Eno producing, and Howie was recommended to us as a potential collaborator because we were in a phase of exploring, looking for something different to inspire us. Howie, it is safe to say, inspired us. He came from a dance-music background, from club culture, and we were fascinated by that scene. We loved what he did musically but we also loved the man himself, his attitude. He has this infectious enthusiasm...'

HOWIE B: 'I wouldn't say I was a huge fan: I didn't own their albums, but I knew all their big songs. Who didn't? So in many ways I was like a rock virgin, but the hungriest virgin you could imagine! For me, music is life, and as long as I'm making good music, with good people, it doesn't matter if it's coming from a violin or a guitar. And I knew that U2 were special, at the top of their game. I was excited....'

Read the whole story in The Independent.