Adam Clayton has thanked his U2 bandmates Bono, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. for their support and loyalty as he overcame alcoholism.

The 57-year-old bassist checked into rehab in the early 1990s to get help for his drink problem but has praised his group for their unwavering support and their policy that it was all of them or none of them as they moved forward with their careers.

He said: “We have a pact with each other. In our band, no one will be a casualty. We all come home, or none of us come home. No one will be left behind. Thank you for honouring that promise, and letting me be in your band.”

Adam picked up the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his support of the MusiCares MAP Fund, which offers musicians access to addiction recovery treatment, and told the audience at the Playstation Theater in New York: “I’m not used to achieving anything on my own.

“I’m an alcoholic, addict, but in some ways that devastating disease is what drove me towards this wonderful life I now have. It’s just that I couldn’t take my friend alcohol. At some point I had to leave it behind and claim my full potential.”

The ‘One’ hitmaker recalled how he was persuaded to seek help by Eric Clapton – who has battled drug and alcohol addiction himself – in a frank chat, and also thanked The Who’s Pete Townshend for his support while he was in rehab.

And Adam went on to admit he will always be “unreservedly grateful” for the constant support he received from his bandmates.

He said: “I was lucky because I had three friends who could see what was going on and who loved me enough to take up the slack of my failing. Bono, The Edge, and Larry (Mullen) truly supported me before and after I entered recovery, and I am unreservedly grateful for their friendship, understanding and support.”