Celebrities can be fickle, and I’m sure The Tonight Show has to deal with cancelations all the time. However, U2’s weeklong residency on the show was set to be a bigger deal than the average guest appearance. After Bono was injured, the band quit the gig and Jimmy Fallon and company had to get creative. Check out The Tonight Show’s big plan, below.
In the video, Fallon recounts how he wasn’t sure what he would do after he learned that U2 had canceled their gigs on the show. Then, he remembered he both has the best house band on the planet—otherwise known as The Roots—as well as Bono’s wardrobe at his disposal. Needless to say, it was a prime opportunity to cover U2, and Fallon and The Roots totally went for it, playing “Desire.”
Fallon has had a long history with U2, or at least U2 impressions. In fact, the “Desire” impression is old hat for the late night host. He performed part of the track during his Saturday Night Live audition, although the video above is certainly fleshed out with multiple instruments and plenty of pizzazz. He’s also been the culprit of plenty of U2 impressions since then. Fallon’s love for U2 extends beyond impressions, however. When he first took over NBC’s The Tonight Show, he signed on Will Smith as his first guest and U2 as the first band to appear on the show. Fallon clearly likes the band, and his impression isn’t half bad, either (although it’s no Neil Young).
It really stinks that U2 had to cancel the residency on the show; regardless, it doesn’t sound like diva antics were the culprit. Instead, U2 took to the band’s site on Sunday to explain that Bono had actually injured his arm while cycling in Central Park. There was an accident, and according to the band, Bono will actually require surgery to fix the problem. It would be pretty tough to perform competently without a lead singer.
The band also mentions they would like to return to do a residency on The Tonight Show some other time. Besides, the next time the band pops up, it won’t be dealing with Songs of Innocence, otherwise known as that album that was sold to iTunes and then released onto everyone’s phones and computers whether or not they liked it.
Now, Fallon just has to figure out what he’s going to do for the rest of the week. You can catch new episodes of NBC’s The Tonight Show on weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET.
