Fan Experience: A Private ‘Vertigo’ Listening Session*

By Travis Stevenson
2004.12

My two friends and I were backpacking around Europe and stopped in Dublin for a couple of nights in June. One day in particular, we were walking around the city and stopped by a record store, talked with the owner and asked him where the U2 studio was. He was very nice, gave us a map and said we might even see U2 today because he heard the band had been there recording.

We ended up finding the studios after walking around the construction that was going on nearby. The construction workers knew where we were headed, asking, "You lads looking for U2?" and pointing us in the direction of the studio. We walked up to the door of the studio, nervous and hesitant, and rang the doorbell. Sam, the studio manager, answered and said to come back later in the afternoon because that was when the guys would be arriving. We decided to grab a bite to eat and a pint of Guinness at the Dockers Pub just around the corner from the studio. We talked to the bartender about the band and looked around at the many pictures of the band with fans.

We went back to the studio around 2:00pm and waited for an hour or so on the bench across the street when we saw a sports car drive by. My friend Paul said, "It’s Bono." He waved at us and had a smile on his face. I was in complete shock and couldn’t believe my eyes. Each member eventually drives up 10-20 minutes after the other pulling into the tiny garage door. A while late Sam came out and told us that Bono said he might not be able to make it out because the band was busy and concentrating on the album. Sam said it was up to us whether we wanted to stay or leave, he couldn’t promise us anything and said not to hold our breath.

We decided to get some food and pick up some records (a copy of "The Unforgettable Fire" each) just in case. We figured if Bono saw us sitting there when he pulled up and if we were still there when he left, there was no way that he would just drive past us. We came back around 6:00pm in the evening, this time just my friend Tim with me since Paul didn’t want to wait. The garage door opened after we’d been sitting there a few hours and Adam Clayton pulled out, came over and rolled down the window to sign our records. He was very nice. Sometime later, around 11:00pm, Clayton pulled out again and rolled down his window to say, "Thanks a lot fellas," before leaving for the night. Half an hour later the garage door opened again and we got more excited because it was Larry Mullen, Jr. We waved him down and he stopped to sign for us as well, saying, "You lads be careful, won’t you, it’s kind of a rough neighborhood," which was very nice of him.

Around midnight the time finally came—Bono pulls out of the garage and pulls right in front of us rolls down the window and says, “hop in boys.” We stand there frozen and say, "are you serious?" He says, “get in,”—we are so excited that we almost leave our stuff on the bench outside the studios. He says, "Where you headed?" We responded that we didn’t know because we were in shock, but eventually told him to drop us off near Grafton Street. Once we were in the car, he told us, "Check this out" and put on what is now known to be "Vertigo." He cranked the song at full blast and we all were rocking to it as Bono rocked back and forth in the front seat, shaking his head as if he were on stage performing. It was an absolutely surreal experience; we couldn’t believe this was happening—we were in Bono’s car. We pulled up to Trinity College and Bono signed our records and took pictures with us. As he drove away, Bono gave us a honk. Tim and I were on such a high, we ran down Grafton Street as fast as we could, jumping and yelling all the way back to our hostel.

A month later we were in Zagreb, Croatia, at the train station. The signed records were in my pack and I left it with Tim and Paul while I went to get tickets. When I returned, my pack was gone. I asked them where my pack was and they said, "I thought you brought it with you." Someone must have snagged it without my friends even realizing. The signed records were gone; Tim’s reading "Tim, get out of my car—Bono" and mine reading "My LP man Trav, save him from the fire." Luckily we had gotten our pictures developed in Paris so at least still had those since I had them on me at all times.