Gina Marie
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Year They Can't Leave Behind
The Irish Independent, December 29, 2001
They may have admitted to a "mid-life crisis," but U2 still had the creative power to dominate the rock/pop stage this year. Their triumphant Elevation tour was crowned with two emotion-charged gigs at Slane. John Meagher reports.
Forget about your Britneys, Westlifes and any of the bright young things you care to mention. This was the year of the golden oldie, the old fogey, the survivor. 2001 proved that rock 'n' roll isn't just a young man's game.
A glance at the list of major acts that played Ireland this year shows that old rockers never die they just keep on touring. Bob Dylan, The Eagles, '60s luminaries Fairport Convention and Hawkwind, Nils Lofgren, Neil Young, Lee Scratch Perry and not forgetting Andy Williams, all trod the boards here in 2001.
And not all of them were re-hashing old material. Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Bob Dylan will all be eligible for a bus-pass soon, but none was prepared to sit on past glories. They all released albums of new material this year, with Dylan's Love And Theft a serious contender for record of the year.
U2 may have a while to go before they qualify for free public transport but young bands don't sing of having a "mid-life crisis," as Bono does on "New York." And each of the band even the Dorian Gray-like Larry Mullen has reached his 40s.
But the U2 of today are just as energetic now as the gaunt souls that emerged from Dublin's northside 20 years ago. And if 2001 belonged to anyone, it was U2's.
The marathon Elevation tour, which has just ended, saw the band playing electric sets in the U.S. and Europe. Then there were the two triumphant homecoming concerts at Slane Castle. The 160,000 tickets were snapped up in record time, and few were disappointed with the performances.
Slane One was particularly poignant as Bono had buried his father, Bob, just days previously. In what was an emotionally-charged concert, images of Bob Hewson were relayed to the crowd during the spine-tingling "One."
When he wasn't cavorting on stages across the globe, Bono was hanging out with world leaders thanks to his involvement with the Drop The Debt campaign. This work won him much praise, but he had his detractors. One press photograph photo showed him joking with Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair at the World Trade Talks in Genoa on the day that a protester was shot dead by the police. Some highlighted the irony of a very wealthy entertainer campaigning about poverty.
U2's impressive bank balance was fattened even further this year. Released in October 2000, their 10th studio album, the critically-acclaimed All That You Can't Leave Behind, shifted over seven million copies worldwide. In Ireland, only Dido's No Angel sold more this year. And the Elevation tour was highly lucrative, bringing in an estimated $110m unlike its predecessor, Popmart, which allegedly almost bankrupted them.
2001 did indeed belong to them. Cheers to U2!! Thanks for a great year.
The Irish Independent, December 29, 2001
They may have admitted to a "mid-life crisis," but U2 still had the creative power to dominate the rock/pop stage this year. Their triumphant Elevation tour was crowned with two emotion-charged gigs at Slane. John Meagher reports.
Forget about your Britneys, Westlifes and any of the bright young things you care to mention. This was the year of the golden oldie, the old fogey, the survivor. 2001 proved that rock 'n' roll isn't just a young man's game.
A glance at the list of major acts that played Ireland this year shows that old rockers never die they just keep on touring. Bob Dylan, The Eagles, '60s luminaries Fairport Convention and Hawkwind, Nils Lofgren, Neil Young, Lee Scratch Perry and not forgetting Andy Williams, all trod the boards here in 2001.
And not all of them were re-hashing old material. Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Bob Dylan will all be eligible for a bus-pass soon, but none was prepared to sit on past glories. They all released albums of new material this year, with Dylan's Love And Theft a serious contender for record of the year.
U2 may have a while to go before they qualify for free public transport but young bands don't sing of having a "mid-life crisis," as Bono does on "New York." And each of the band even the Dorian Gray-like Larry Mullen has reached his 40s.
But the U2 of today are just as energetic now as the gaunt souls that emerged from Dublin's northside 20 years ago. And if 2001 belonged to anyone, it was U2's.
The marathon Elevation tour, which has just ended, saw the band playing electric sets in the U.S. and Europe. Then there were the two triumphant homecoming concerts at Slane Castle. The 160,000 tickets were snapped up in record time, and few were disappointed with the performances.
Slane One was particularly poignant as Bono had buried his father, Bob, just days previously. In what was an emotionally-charged concert, images of Bob Hewson were relayed to the crowd during the spine-tingling "One."
When he wasn't cavorting on stages across the globe, Bono was hanging out with world leaders thanks to his involvement with the Drop The Debt campaign. This work won him much praise, but he had his detractors. One press photograph photo showed him joking with Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair at the World Trade Talks in Genoa on the day that a protester was shot dead by the police. Some highlighted the irony of a very wealthy entertainer campaigning about poverty.
U2's impressive bank balance was fattened even further this year. Released in October 2000, their 10th studio album, the critically-acclaimed All That You Can't Leave Behind, shifted over seven million copies worldwide. In Ireland, only Dido's No Angel sold more this year. And the Elevation tour was highly lucrative, bringing in an estimated $110m unlike its predecessor, Popmart, which allegedly almost bankrupted them.
2001 did indeed belong to them. Cheers to U2!! Thanks for a great year.
