Fast Cars

[Bibien]

JIM... Jimmmy..... jimmyboy

J I M

 

[VicksSs]

Wow, thanks for the pic!!! And yea JIM, TELL US YOUR STORYYYY!!!

 

[Jim]

JIM... Jimmmy..... jimmyboy

J I M

naughty!

OK here goes sorry I don't have long so I'll write it as i remember it..

Well a school freind and still best mate of mine and I went to Dublin from the UK on a shoestring for St Patricks day back in 93, we had a ball and of course decided to check out Windmill Lane, Dockers etc. We fell in love with the Quays area and discovered the offices of PM along the way. The day before St Pats, and in the freezing cold, Gerry the guy on the gates made us both a cup of tea (what a lovely bloke) and told us the band were recording down at the Factory and if we wanted to see them we should go down there and it would be fine. Even Cecilia popped out to say hi. The were so kind and down to earth (just like pretty much everybody else we had met in Dublin). From that point on excitement levels rocketed and we headed down to the Factory. It was soooo cold and after waiting a couple of hours we retreated to a pub and decided that we didn't go to Dublin to stand around in the cold all day. So after St Patrick's day and with raging hangovers we headed back to The Factory. Again, there was a small group of local fans hanging around outside, a few folks from the US also came for a bit. Niall who is a local guy in a wheelchair was there everyday.

After a few hours of being warmed only by the tea from the shop over the street, we were contemplating leaving but couldn't quite 'go'. There were a couple of Dublin guys saying that the band were on their way and that Bono would probably take them into the studio as he knew them but not us. It never even occured to me that the band would invite any fans into the studio.

Sooo... mid afternoon Adam pulls up, gets out of the car (well clambers really, ciggie in hand, ash everywhere!) and greets the fans. photos, autographs etc.etc. I asked him how the record was coming along and we had a little chat about that then he went in.

Still in shock we turned around and a second car comes screeching around the corner with a very familiar face sat behind the wheel, giving a little wave.

By now it was feeling very weird, how accesible the band were. no security or anything like that.

So Bono gets out, wearing a black suit and black shades. Does the photo thing, fans passing him letters etc. (I wasn't so interested in that stuff to be honest). When it calmed down I said, "So how's the record coming along Bono?". He tells us it's going well, then leans against the car rubbing his chin and says to me, "Where are you from? I recognise that accent?" So I said we had come over from Wales for St Patrick's day etc, he asked us which pubs we had been to, that kind of thing.

His next line nearly knocked me off my feet: "I don't know if you've the time but I'd love to show you guys around the studio?" He looked at the other fans and said, "These guys have come all the way over from Wales, you're local so can come in another time" or something like that. Of course we said "YES PLEASE!!".

So we walked into the entrance area and up this metal spiral staircase and I remember thinking, "Holy fuck - that's Bono's arse in front of me!"..

We got in and he stopped to ask us our names, from that point on he introduced us by name to the people that we met inside. It was all a bit of a blur from then on.. I remember that if anybody wanted his attention he would say that he was busy showing us around. Went into a small room where Adam was slurping some soup.. Bono didn't know we had already met so 'lightly' introduced us and Adam looked up from his soup and gave us a smile and a nod. I also remember seing a whiteboard with song names and seeing 'Zoo' which I though was odd as they had already released 'Zoo Station' .. clearly it was 'Zooropa' Next was the mixing room where Joe O'H and Flood were working. He introduced us to them and explained how the studio was set up, next into the big main room where the band play. My mate who plays guitar was like, "Is that THE Rickenbacker?!" and Bono laughed and said yes, that's the one!

We then talked at some length about the tour and amazingly what we thought of the show we'd seen in Earl's Court earlier that year ("It's costing us a fuckin' fortune!") and the music.. I remember clearly that his eyes came alight when he started talking about the music and creating new music.

I remember asking about the new songs, that the press at the time were stating would be an EP of 4-5 songs between legs of the tour, Bono said, "Well it looks like it's going to be a full album".. so I felt we had something of a world scoop! (remember this was before the internet had really kicked in).

So finally he said, "I'd love for you to stay and watch us play", but sensing that we needed to let them get on with their work, we said, thank you so much, it's fine we'll leave you get on with things.. it's been a pleasure etc.etc. He directed us to a small room and told us to take our time and grab a coffee. It genuinely felt like he was more pleased to meet us that we him.. everything and much more that you would expect from meeting your idol.

Once we had shaken hands and said goodbye, we looked at eachother in disbelief that this had just happened. By the time we had a coffee in our hands they were shaking too much for us to drink them! Did that just happen?! Somebody actually asked us what we were doing in there and we were like, "Bono bought us in" and realising how strange that sounded

When we got out the others where still there and Edge just arrived in his vintage Merc and Zooropa hat. We said some quick hellos at which point I don't think we could have taken much more! Later that day we left Dublin on a coach back to the port and I remember listening to Running To Stand Still on my walkman and it sounded sooo different. In 2 days the idea of Ireland, Dublin, U2 and all that had until then lived in my imagination had come to life in a way that hasn't left me since.

Cheers,
Jim

 

[siriuslydaphne]

.wow.

 

[scha]

Ohmy, ohmy ohmy....!!!

Well, first: I'm of course jealous like hell....

Then second: it was a lovely story and I'm happy about your luck! And I respect you because you had the strenght to SPEAK while THEY were around....Unbelievable in my eyes!

Then at last: your story made me love and admire the guys even more - if it is at all possible -, because it showed me that they are really what I think they might be: warm-hearted and down-to-earth, lovely people!

Every little thing they do is magic...

 

[VicksSs]

Wow Jim!!! Now that's a hell of a story, and you seem to remember lots of it!! Which is actually very cool

I totally agree with you scha, they are lovely people... although they wouldn't come down in Argentina to sign me my HTDAAB sleeve.... Whatever, we bothered so much when they were here Singing, etc The good thing is they felt well recieved, if that's well said, lol

Congrats Jim for such an amazing experience!!

 

[Galeongirl]

"Holy fuck - that's Bono's arse in front of me!"..

I kinda stopped reading here...

amazing story!!! do you have any pictures of that event?? *sigh* the guys are so nice, you just can't call them rockstars!

 

[bonocomet]

Wow that is so awesome! Thanks so much for sharing Jim!

 

[kellyahern]

Thank you Jim .

 

[bonocomet]

Hey Jim, I was curious if the Niall you mentioned is the same Niall who wrote the book U2 Into the Heart. (Niall Stokes). If you know, just thought it would be interesting. Thanks!

 

[LATwins]

What an amazing day for you!! I love hearing stories like that!

 

[Lila64]

great story

 

[GracelandHarley]

Excellent story, Jim... thank you for sharing!

 

[auchtungally]

I would love to see the pics too, if possible




Here's a zoo Adam pic with 2 cars in the background.. dunno if any of those are his?

I love this picture of Adam!

 

[u2trinity]

Thanks Jim for your story , I feel U2 is a band like no other ,
and that makes me honored to be a fan of theirs .

 

[youtooellen]

wow amazing story Jim, it's so wonderful to hear how great and welcoming the guys are

 

[kafrun]

Adam slurping his soup



Uuh, I know.. I've got it bad

 

[Bibien]

awesome story! I would never get bored hearing that
Thanks you so much for sharing! You were very lucky!

 

[Bono Mot]

Wow, Jim. Just, wow!

"...a second car comes screeching around the corner..." I can so picture that. Thanks for sharing!

 

[snowflake]

*sigh* I wish I was older... back in '93 I had no idea that there is such an amazing band as U2

hey, i was just born back in february 1993! AND only became aware of U2 around november last year!

and jim, great story

 

[Carmelu2fan]

That was amazing Jim, thank you for sharing I would have been freaking out, but I would have only been 14.
Zoobaby U2!

 

[katiebu21]

That's amazing...thank you for the story Jim.