U2's longtime tour manager found dead

NEW YORK -- Dennis Sheehan, U2's longtime tour manager, died at a Southern California hotel a day after the band kicked off a five-night stint in the Los Angeles area.

U2 frontman Bono posted a statement Wednesday on the band's website about Sheehan's death.

"We've lost a family member, we're still taking it in," Bono wrote. "He wasn't just a legend in the music business, he was a legend in our band. He is irreplaceable."

Sheehan died at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood. He managed U2's tours for more than three decades.

Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Chris Reade said first responders were called about 5:30 a.m. to reports of a man in cardiac arrest. Sheehan was pronounced dead at the scene. Coroner's investigators were at the hotel Wednesday.

The Irish quartet brought its "Innocence & Experience" tour to the Forum in Inglewood on Tuesday, the first of five nights in the Los Angeles area.

The death in the U2 camp comes after other recent setbacks for the veteran band. Bono crashed his bike in Central Park in New York late last year, suffering fractures to his left eye socket, shoulder blade and left elbow.

Guitarist the Edge took a less-serious tumble when he fell off the stage near the end of a concert in Vancouver, where the band kicked off its tour earlier this month.

The Edge later joked about the fall.

And the band's latest album, "Songs of Innocence," was met with criticism last year when it was delivered for free on iTunes by Apple and weeks later released for sale. It was nominated for best rock album at the Grammy Awards in February.