Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician best known as the bass guitarist of the Irish rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965. Clayton is well known for his bass playing on songs such as "Gloria", "New Year's Day", "Bullet the Blue Sky", "With or Without You", "Mysterious Ways", "Get on Your Boots", and "Magnificent". His work on No Line on the Horizon has been cited as his best bass playing. He has worked on several solo projects throughout his career, such as his work with fellow band member Larry Mullen, Jr. on the theme of 1996's Mission: Impossible. Clayton, as a part of U2, has won 22 Grammy awards.
Adam Charles Clayton is the oldest child of Brian and Jo Clayton, born on 13 March 1960 in Chinnor, Oxfordshire, England. His father was a pilot with the Royal Air Force, who moved into civil aviation, and his mother was a former airline stewardess. When Clayton was 4 years old his father worked in Kenya as a pilot with East African Airways, the family being resident in Nairobi (Clayton regards this as the happiest period of his childhood). In 1965 the family moved to Malahide, County Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, where Clayton's brother Sebastian was born. The Clayton family became friends with the Evans family (including their son David Evans, who would later become a fellow band-member with Clayton in U2).
Adam Stephen Clayton (born 14 January 1989) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Middlesbrough. His professional career started at Manchester City, and while at City he went out on loan spells to Carlisle United and Leeds United and then subsequently joining Leeds on a permanent basis in 2010. Clayton then had loan spells at both Peterborough United and Milton Keynes Dons before signing for Huddersfield Town in 2012. He has also represented England U20 level playing at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. In 2014 Clayton signed a four-year contract at Huddersfield's championship rivals Middlesbrough.
Born in Manchester, Clayton joined Manchester City at the age of seven years. In May 2007, Clayton signed his first professional contract with Manchester City. He signed his first professional contract at the beginning of the 2008–09 season. Shortly after signing a new contract, Clayton was given number 31 shirt for the season.
Adam is a common masculine given name.
The personal name Adam derives from the Hebrew noun ha adamah meaning "the ground" or "earth". It is still a Hebrew given name, and its Quranic and Biblical usage has ensured that it is also a common name in all countries which draw on these traditions. It is particularly common in Christian- and Muslim-majority countries. In most languages its spelling is the same, although the pronunciation varies somewhat. Adán is the Spanish form of this name.
Adam is also a surname in many countries, although it is not as common in English as its derivative Adams (sometimes spelled Addams). In other languages there are similar surnames derived from Adam, such as Adamo, Adamov, Adamowicz, Adamski etc.
In Arabic, Adam (آدم) means "made from the earth/mud/clay".
Roger Adam was a French aircraft designer and manufacturer who produced light aircraft in kit from 1948 to 1955. He established the firm Etablissements Aeronautiques R. Adam.
Adam is a fictional character; from the Ravenloft campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.
Adam was a major character in the 1994 novel, Mordenheim, written by Chet Williamson.
Adam is the darklord of Lamordia. Known as Mordenheim's Monster or the Creature, he is an extremely intelligent and nimble dread flesh golem, based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Adam is the most successful creation of Dr. Victor Mordenheim in his research into the creation of life, albeit the one that causes him grief unmeasured. Adam reduced the doctor's wife Elise to a vegetative state and apparently murdered their adopted daughter Eva.
The two are inextricably bound together: Dr. Mordenheim has Adam's immortality, and in return Adam shares the doctor's anguish.
Usually hidden from sight, Adam is believed to spend most of his time on the Isle of Agony, part of the archipelago known as the Finger.