the U 2 stuff

A digital archive of my U2 fandom/collection. My U2 tour history is currently 33 shows in 2 different countries (34 if you count Bono’s book tour). STANDALONECOMPLEX at U2.com.

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January 23, 1981 @ Queen's University, Belfast.

Always fun to find a full performance in the library.

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Finally got around to fixing this bootleg in my iTunes (because I’m an old fart).

Not sure how it happened, but some of the AAC files had an occasional skip at the track markers. It’s hyper-annoying to be rocking out to an amazing performance & then get pulled out by a skip between songs.

I went back to the Westwood One pre-FM source and mixed it up into a seamless file. Added the track markers & then cut it up to and then add it as Apple Lossless.

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Birthday at The Sphere.

I’m really hoping they film this for an IMAX or Blu-ray release as the visual component needs to be saved for posterity.

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How many times can we sell you the same product in a slightly different package?

This is the new business model for the record industry. Normally, I’d pick up the Japanese release for bonus tracks and superior manufacturing but this I’m not feeling it for this “re-imagined” best-of compilation.

I used my fanclub discount for the Clear Vinyl & 4CD set. I’ll probably steal a download of a high-res audio version because this amount of double-dipping should be embarrassing for the band & the record label.

An Orange vinyl Amazon exclusive & a Green cassette tape recently popped up (there's also a Purple splatter vinyl, Blue HMV/Target exclusive, and an Indie retailer variant).

In an ideal world, they would have a release bundle that contains Vinyl sized artwork with a CD or Vinyl inside, plus a high-res audio download for a single price.

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This is an interesting concept, but I fear it should have been a fan club release instead of a traditional commercial album. The original "Beautiful Day" is so powerful but this snippet feels weak and too subdued. I'm not sure what the appeal would be to non-rabid fans of the band.

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Finally made it back to Japan! It was a wonderful holiday, but so many stores relocated or closed it was hard to make my way around. Wound up at RECOfan in Shibuya and found a Japanese Lovetown tour program & couldn’t remember if I already had one.

So, for future reference, this is my collection of tour souvenir books/programs. My tour history is only 33 shows (34 if you count Bono's Book Tour), the first being nosebleed seats for ZooTV Lakeland on February 29, 1992.

UNFORGETTABLE FIRE - Europe & USA 1984 / USA 1985

LOVETOWN - Australia / Japan 1989

ZOOTV - USA 1992

OUTSIDE BROADCAST - USA 1992

ZOOMERANG, NEW ZOOLAND - 1993

POPMART - Europe & USA 1997 (R.O.W. 1998 no dates)

ELEVATION - USA 2001

VERTIGO - North America 2005

INNOCENCE+EXPERIENCE - North America 2015

I likely have the program for 360º (*edit* found my i+e program from The Forum), but I'm not sure where I've stuffed it away. I also have the VIP guitar pic & drum patch from the 2nd JT2019 show in Tokyo, but I don't recall picking up the tour program. At some point, I need to get the programs for War & the original Joshua Tree tours.

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1997 POPmart Lemon (deflated).

This was tour merch I couldn’t pass up, especially since I picked up the inflatable Trabant for Achtung Baby.

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POPmart 1997. 
My U2 collection is unorganized AF, so I’m likely to ump around as I find things to scan/photograph. 
Anyhow, the poker chip was from the Las Vegas after-party but I have no recollection how I got it. The other merch was picked up somewhere in Florida. 
The hospitality card & dressing room pics are from Miami and that’s a story that requires several pints for me to tell. Regardless, since this was a stadium tour I only hit Las Vegas, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Miami.

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2019 seating price guide for Japan.

I chose the Red Zone for night one & a SS Seat for night two.

Japan is slightly different when it comes to a GA queue. You are assigned a number when you pick up your ticket based on when it was purchased & when you arrive to claim your ticket. Based on that number, that’s how you enter the venue after waiting outside (roughly in groups of 100). Once you’re inside, you’re still beholden to that number before you can enter the floor area.

The RZ queue was on the right side of the arena closest to the Train Station. There was a little park and some food stands which was great! I ended up having a quick bite at the cafe next to the elevator before getting in the queue, having taken a bathroom break next to Gold’s Gym on a higher floor of the arena.

We entered the arena and were corralled inside a not quite open concessions stand. Probably had a 20 minute wait inside before going further into the venue. At this point, they were calling out numbers to enter the floor area. We were being held at the corridor between the S & SS on the RZ side and then walked down the SS stairs to the floor to enter the RZ.

The RZ was packed to the gills like a Yamanote Train car during rush hour. I ended up against the barricade on the right side around the middle-rear (enough room to dance and breathe). If you saw pictures of Brad Pitt with the RZ in the background, chances are you can see me. I was still jet-lagged and probably should’ve done seating first than standing, but that is hindsight. I believe capacity was set at 43,225. 

Night two was much easier since I had a seat and didn’t have to queue. My seat was roughly 5 spots to the right and 20 rows up from my first night position. Plus, that selection of seat included a special tour gift. 

Sigh. I miss visiting Japan. Hopefully, things will improve so I can visit in 2021 or 2022 at the latest.

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U2 iPod Commercial (120 seconds) 2004.

Found this on an old hard drive. Obviously, I’m still too lazy to get any pics/scans from my collection. Soon, I promise!

Anyhow, I would be remiss not mentioning this amazing piece regarding Apple’s silhouette advertising campaign. Please check it out for a detailed history: https://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/u2-ipod-ad/

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VIP night two. Night one was Red Zone near Brad Pitt.

Anyhow, I was chatting with another U2 fan and realized I only have a vague idea of what’s in my collection.

My Discogs account is somewhat current, but is missing things here and there. So, to jog this old man’s memory in 2021 I made this tumblr to catalog my U2 collection in similar fashion to my NIN tumblr.

Please enjoy.