Where are all the U2 fans?

[AtomicBono]

I'm 20. I attend a university. Of the people I hang out with,
-one likes U2 enough to go to shows with me (he's my roommate)
-three like U2 somewhat (mostly JT)

Of people I don't know very well:
-one loves U2 but hates HTDAAB and said he wouldn't even bother with NLOTH
-one likes U2 and is a part of ONE
-one likes "old U2" (what does that even mean? 80's? 90's?)
-one said "I like U2" with no elaboration


um, yeah, that's about it. It might sound like a lot buuut... The majority of people I meet loooove Radiohead but dislike or detest U2, especially Bono. I remember in my Rock History class when we talked about U2 out of a class of 300 only a few people raised their hands when he asked if people liked U2, and when he asked what people thought of Bono the response was overwhelmingly negative. I mentioned Bono in a class today and everyone scoffed and started talking about what a douche he is.

So my question is ... where the fuck are all the U2 fans? They're one of the biggest bands in the world, they sell millions of albums and sell out stadiums, yet hardly anyone I encounter even tolerates them. Is it just where I am or do you guys have this experience as well? The only remotely diehard fan I know is my roommate, and that's only because I converted him long ago.

Also, might be obvious but, why does everyone hate Bono so much? Why is it hip to dislike someone who is making a difference in the world? Why are people such morons?

Mostly I just want to know if you know very many people you know like U2, and if so where do you live so I can move there. Thx.

 

[bono_212]

Honestly, I know no one else in real life that does. Where are they? I'd like to know.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Mainland Europe.

 

[shaun vox]

all the U2 fans died when u2 died(musically) think it started during the passengers project.

 

[bonocomet]

I'm 47 and in all my life I have never known another u2 fan until I joined a forum on the internet a few years ago. It is very weird indeed.

 

[vaz02]

Im 19 and at uni, i have encountered no u2 fans yet. I have one friend from secondary school who loves u2 and we plan on going to a few shows this year. You have more of a chance of finding water in a desert than finding a u2 fan in the 21st century.

 

[AtomicBono]

but they must exist!! I don't understand it. who is buying all the tickets

 

[shaun vox]

Scalpers!

 

[MikeyJB]

I'm 19 and at university. My best mate is almost a big a fan as me and we're looking forward to treking round the UK when they come here. There was a couple of my housemates who are apathetic - they came with us to see U23D and they have said they would like to go see them live but they are only casual fans I suppose - mainly I think due to me ramming them down their throats for the last 2 years at uni!

Another of my housemate is a U2 snob (he dislikes Bono and only knows Vertigo, Beautiful Day et al) and he pissed me off when we were watched the Brits Awards by picking up on the 'I don't wanna talk about wars between nations' line in GOYB and saying it was stupid and hypocritical. I didn't have the energy to argue!

 

[BigMacPhisto]

1) The fans skew older. Mid-thirties is often the youngest you'll find waiting in the GA line or sitting next to you in the nosebleeds, often around mid-forties is the average age.

2) They're detested in the US by all but about ten million people....


I had the same experience in college where I was pretty much the only U2 fan...it changed a bit after they came by and some people caught Vertigo gigs in late '05, but otherwise, nada.

 

[bathiu]

all the U2 fans died when u2 died(musically) think it started during the passengers project.

...right... this theory, while not related to U2, luckily, would explain quite well sale figures for Chinese Mediocrity. Good Job.

but they must exist!! I don't understand it.

everyone's either a U2 fan or a closeted U2 fan, look at shaun - a GNR fan for the world, dressing like Bono privately at home and visiting a U2 fan forum

 

[OceanGirl]

I don't know any 'diehard' fans, but most people I know like U2 enough to go to their concerts. I live in Australia.

Edited to add : It might also have a lot to do with your age. I'm 27 and I'm young compared to a lot of U2 fans I know. They seem to be very popular amongst people in their late 30's - early 40's, here!

 

[Galeongirl]

Most die hard fans I know are my friend's parents.

But they're influencing their children and my friend is a big fan too. They're going to see U2 with the whole family.

 

[bonocomet]

Well it makes sense that there will be a lot of u2 fans in the 30's and 40's age bracket, so if you younger fans aren't hanging out with people that age, you won't find as many fans around you. But it doesn't make sense for someone the bands age like me to have never met another fan in all that time... that's just crazy.

 

[namkcuR]

-one loves U2 but hates HTDAAB and said he wouldn't even bother with NLOTH

If he loves U2 pre-HTDAAB, he should give NLOTH a chance. It's a very different record.

 

[Saracene]

I don't know any die-hard U2 fans but I know plenty of people who like U2. Mostly in the late 20s/early-to-mid 30s age bracket.

 

[carling]

You will find out when they release tour dates

 

[MSU2mike]

1) The fans skew older. Mid-thirties is often the youngest you'll find waiting in the GA line or sitting next to you in the nosebleeds, often around mid-forties is the average age.

Largely true.

2) They're detested in the US by all but about ten million people....

Overstated. Certainly there are plenty who detest U2, but there's a significant number of fans who like the band, they just aren't rabid fans. For most it's not really black & white.

I was in college when ATYCLB was released. I don't know if midnight releases are still popular today - I suspect not as much as they were even in 2000. I went to a big, diverse university and the crowd waiting at the midnight release was pretty huge. It also happened that Outkast's Stankonia was released the same day which obviously increased the total turnout, but there were plenty of U2 fans there. I also remember buying tickets for Elevation at the same record store and, again, a pretty big line formed that morning.

U2 hasn't been especially big with the college crowd since at least the ZooTV era. That's not shocking, they were in their early-30's at that point and now they're pushing 50. Their recent output, or lack thereof, doesn't do them any favors either. For an average 20-year-old college student U2 has released exactly one album during a time when those kids were buying their own music and beginning to really form and develop their taste.

Certainly there's an incredible back catalogue to discover. The fans on here who are in their teens or 20's typically came to U2 sometime around the Pop era or later and we immersed ourselves in all their work. But most folks aren't going to come upon the band by happenstance, and while they're still widely considered the biggest band in the world, it's pretty hard to pick up large numbers of new fans when you release an album every three or fours years. That's been the pattern after Zooropa - NLOTH is their fourth album in nearly 16 years. It's not shocking that colleges aren't littered with U2 fans.

 

[zwervers2]

Largely true.



Overstated. Certainly there are plenty who detest U2, but there's a significant number of fans who like the band, they just aren't rabid fans. For most it's not really black & white.

I was in college when ATYCLB was released. I don't know if midnight releases are still popular today - I suspect not as much as they were even in 2000. I went to a big, diverse university and the crowd waiting at the midnight release was pretty huge. It also happened that Outkast's Stankonia was released the same day which obviously increased the total turnout, but there were plenty of U2 fans there. I also remember buying tickets for Elevation at the same record store and, again, a pretty big line formed that morning.

U2 hasn't been especially big with the college crowd since at least the ZooTV era. That's not shocking, they were in their early-30's at that point and now they're pushing 50. Their recent output, or lack thereof, doesn't do them any favors either. For an average 20-year-old college student U2 has released exactly one album during a time when those kids were buying their own music and beginning to really form and develop their taste.

Certainly there's an incredible back catalogue to discover. The fans on here who are in their teens or 20's typically came to U2 sometime around the Pop era or later and we immersed ourselves in all their work. But most folks aren't going to come upon the band by happenstance, and while they're still widely considered the biggest band in the world, it's pretty hard to pick up large numbers of new fans when you release an album every three or fours years. That's been the pattern after Zooropa - NLOTH is their fourth album in nearly 16 years. It's not shocking that colleges aren't littered with U2 fans.

 

[jacez]

gee!...I am still a fan!..i think!

 

[waynetravis]

but they must exist!! I don't understand it. who is buying all the tickets

That's what I wonder.
If no one seems to like them, how are they managing to sell the ablums and tours??

 

[Aardvark747]

I'm a fan

 

[last unicorn]

Well, I'd say they are on this board.

And there are also a lot of them out there, they are just not visible.

I know a lot of music fans who like U2 and to to their concerts.

Strangely enough, I meet U2 haters mostly on the internet. Personally I don't know anyone who really hates the band.

 

[jacez]

I just bought the U2 album. love it! a
anyway,..but I was hearing this guy playing this cd called The pains of being pure at heart....

DAMN! is...really, really good!...something like my bloody Valentine!

 

[mikal]

i'm 28, and the one thing i've noticed is that with age, i find more and more people that really like U2. AtomicBono, i went through the same thing when i was 20. trust me, it gets better. it just takes a lot of growing up for some people to understand their music.

 

[65980]

I've got it!

I've got the solution to your problem -- move to western Canada, and I recommend Vancouver (where I live, on-and-off). They are huge there!

The albums all go to #1, and so do most of the singles, including 'Elevation', 'Walk On', and 'All Because Of You'. The Joshua Tree was the first Diamond-selling CD in Canada (CD sales of over 1 million -- proportionately equivalent to 10 million CD sales in the US). Their last Vancouver concert pre-Internet (on Zoo TV) was in such great demand that ticket buyers broken down the city's telephone system. The first 2005 show at GM Place sold out 20,000 tickets in about 4 minutes, at which point they added a second show which then sold out in 5 minutes. On PopMart, at a time when they struggled to sell out stadiums in the US, they sold out two stadium shows in Edmonton (population 800,000), or about 100,000 tickets, with no problem.

At the school I used to work at, at least 7 or 8 of my co-workers were U2 fans (ages 27 to 40) and had seen the band live before. At the University, you hear their music all the time. As late as last fall, the city IMax in Vancouver was still showing U2:3D, eight months after it opened. When I went to University (undergrad) in Calgary, about 90% of my friends owned U2 albums (this was in the mid-90s).

Solution: Western Canada

 

[U2FloridaFan]

When I was in college, 25 years ago, I didn't know anyone who liked U2...except me...and throughout the years I've met people who like them but are not diehard fans like me...I've turned a few people on to U2 (my husband, brother-in-law- who first saw U2 during the ZooTV Tour)...and my kids (16 and 13) claim U2 as their favorite band. I guess a lot of U2's popularity has come "by word of mouth." Let's face it, either you love Bono or you hate him (I happen to love him)...I don't think there's much middle ground. I think those that don't like him would never enjoy the band's music because really, in most cases, the lead singer is who people associate the band with. Most people only see the superficial, "Bono thinks he's God" Bono, whereas by being a diehard fan, you tend to know more about the man and the kind of person he is...most casual observers don't see this, so I can understand both sides. I know on the last tour, the shows I saw in Miami were filled with late teens-early 20's fans (in the GA line), so young fans are out there. But think about it, is it really "cool" for someone in their teens to go ga-ga over a band in their late 40's?? Come to think of it it's not really "cool" for someone in their late 40's to go ga-ga over a band in their late 40's either...but I do and so do a lot of other fans on this and other websites.

 

[Joninhas]

Well, I'm 25 and I live in Portugal. They are also huge here. In 2005, a thousand tickets to the concert in Lisbon could be bought on the ATM's machines. The entire sistem crashed for a whole day such was the demand. It's generally accepted around here that they are the biggest band in the world and they receive, by far, the biggest media coverage and attention. So, as you can see, I don't have that problem, I have many friends that are hardcore fans

 

[Zoots]

From my experience, these are a few of the reasons there aren't too many young U2 fans:

1. The band peaked in their late 80s/early 90s, so kids who were at the right age at the time are now much older.
2. This is one of the few major rock bands out there that doesn't really believe in complicated guitar solos like say, Metallica does. I think younger music fans generally prefer harder more guitar oriented rock. U2 is too soft for them.
3. Their recent songwriting, esp. on Bomb is mostly adult contemporary/ mature stuff and the kids today don't relate to it. Understandably so.

The majority of people I meet loooove Radiohead but dislike or detest U2, especially Bono. I remember in my Rock History class when we talked about U2 out of a class of 300 only a few people raised their hands when he asked if people liked U2, and when he asked what people thought of Bono the response was overwhelmingly negative. I mentioned Bono in a class today and everyone scoffed and started talking about what a douche he is.

Are you surprised??? I'm a U2 fan and more than half the time I cannot stand Bono and wish he'd shut up and stop being a walking cheesefest. I can only expect non fans to hate him even more. He brings this on to himself.

 

[nicv]

Most die hard fans I know are my friend's parents.

But they're influencing their children and my friend is a big fan too. They're going to see U2 with the whole family.

God, I hope I am not old enough to be your mother Galeongirl

I live in Southern California and I had a large group of friends in jr.high and high school in the late 80's that loved U2 with me. They were HUGE in the LA area in the late 80's and early 90's. Today, I know alot of people that like U2, but only a handful that I would call diehard fans. It was exciting for me to see all the fans come out for U23D, that really showed me that they are out there - I noticed most were in their mid to late 20's and 30's, maybe some early 40's and all were friendly and excited to see other fans. Then of course I stumbled upon Interference and found all these crazy wonderful fans here! I love it

I don't hear about too many U2 "haters" however I hear negative remarks about Bono's humanitarian concerns, which is very sad.

I believe true U2 fans are people that are searching for more than just music, the goal is soul, right??