Neither do I hold anything against U2, one poorly managed presale does not undo 25 years of brilliant music and memories.
I wonder if this point has already been made- the thing that seems to irk most people, whether they got through the websale or not, is the high prices of tickets. When you factor in U2.com membership, buying the CD, tickermaster fees and the ticket costs themselves being a fan has cost well over £100. That's not small money. But in the late 80s, even with inflation, ticket priced were lower because you had so many acts touring and competing for tickets. In 1987 alone there was U2, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, David Bowie, Queen, Whitesnake, Guns N Roses, Rolling Stones and that's just the A league. Now there are only really U2 and the Rolling Stones, who seem to tour every 4 years each alternately.
Now this is no excuse at all for charging such high prices, but the laws of supply and demand dictate that if there are 10 or more stadium-filling acts they will be forced to be competitive on price, whereas the business machines nowadays see a tour as a much more one off marketing opportunity.
I have to say, how refreshing would it be if someone, U2 for example, led the way by offering affordable ticket prices, especially to fanclub fans. You don't need big screens and big overheads. They might not overtake the RS on the biggest grossing stakes, but they would generate a huge amount of goodwill. Now that would be something
