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I have written this article with mature singers in mind, but you singers who are just starting out may also be interested in this story about the struggle to be discovered.

This week I received notice from several older singers (in their 50′s and 60′s) who were planning to do big-scale auditions and competitions.

Three of them wrote to me with a similar theme. They were wondering why they were still pursuing the wild dream to sing so late in life. One person in particular seemed to be having quite a struggle with her need to be finally recognized for her great talent.

I think it is a common feeling among musical artists.

If you have enjoyed some singing success early in life, you understand the enormous pleasure that comes with performance: the great joy of singing with deep feeling, the thrill of filling a packed room with musical energy, the excitement that comes with the sound of spontaneous applause, the nearly unmatchable feeling when waves of love and admiration pour over you from an appreciative audience. You give your all. And it comes back to you with powerful immediacy.

You imagine that this could be your life! Here is the unique opportunity to do something you love with all your heart, while enjoying some measure of fame and fortune.

It is a powerful and seductive tug at a person’s heart. Especially if you are pretty certain that you have what it takes, – if only that big break could come in time.

Few of us ever hit the big time, and it is not necessarily due to a lack of worthy talent. Instead, it could be due to a combination of other issues that were beyond our control: bad timing, wrong location (we did not live in the right city), family pressures, lack of funding, or ill health at the wrong time.

It could also be due to early-made decisions: a reluctance to be constantly on the road, the fear of taking a major risk, the desire to be free of big-time artistic constraints, or even the fear of eventual success.

And one day, perhaps many years into the career struggle, you realize that you must get practical. You shift gears and move on. Your life changes and it may be a great life. You do well in another job, – have a wonderful family. Your life is full and deep. But somewhere inside, the dream of vocal stardom still sits and waits.

Born in 1960, Adam Clayton was the eldest son of Brian and Jo Clayton. Birthplace was Oxfordshire, England, but not for long however. Brian Clayton was a pilot, so the family moved around a bit, before finally settling down in Malahide, Ireland. Adam was now 5 years-old. He spent some time playing with neighborhood kids. Including the Evans’ kids, Dave, his brother Dick and sister Gillian. If you don’t know already or if you read the other bios, Dave Evans would later become Adam’s U2 bandmate, the Edge. The two families parted ways and the inevitable would have to wait until Adam would read Larry’s note on Mount Temple’s bulletin board.

At 8 years-old, Adam began school at Castle Park, a British-style boarding school. The main goals here were academics and sports. Adam was not that good at either. Discouraged from listening to popular music and watching television, Adam was miserable there. His only artistic outlet came twice a week at the Gramophone Society. Here, he could listen to classical music, which he enjoyed. He began piano lessons, but with no coordination and little ambition, this was short-lived. Adam turned his interest, instead to the guitar. When reaching his teens he bought a second-hand guitar for 5 pounds and began learning to play songs with new friend, John Leslie. He then, switched to bass, when he and John tried to get a band together. His parents purchased his very first bass guitar. Adam was now attending Columbia Middle School, but was kicked out because of poor grades. It was then he began attending school at Mt. Temple High School. Within a month of completing his first term, he was in Larry’s kitchen for auditions.

He showed up at the auditions wearing an Afghan coat and sunglasses. It must have been his taste in fashion, as well as owning a bass, (a bass he did not play well at all), that got him into the new group, known then as ‘Feedback’. The fledgling band practiced every Wednesday after school. They got their first gig in a talent show at the school. Adam acted as manger of the group until Paul McGuiness took over. Not only was Adam devoted to the band, but also to his instrument. It wasn’t long before he had gained his style and was able to make his presence known. Examples of this, washis bass lines in the songs, “Gloria”, from second album, ‘October’, and “New Years Day”, from the album that catapulted them to stardom, ‘War’. Adam definitely had developed an unmistakable flair.