HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
By Gerrard Hartland
2005.07
U2 has always been regarded as having a special relationship with its audience. When the crowd reaches out, Bono reaches back. When Larry Mullen Jr. blasts the first dew drum rolls of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" with thumping intensity, the crowd will bounce in unison. When it comes to tribute bands, U2UK is the closest thing you can get to this sort of intimacy if you're one of the unlucky ones not possessing a ticket for the much sought after Vertigo Tour.
U2UK, like its idols, places emphasis on the power of the live show with a full-throttle performance that encompasses all the passion and intimacy that made the Elevation Tour so uplifting. "Elevation" acts as an explosive opener but it's some of the older tracks that should be mentioned—"Desire" is taken into the crowd and playing with a circle of onlookers just like its counterpart during the Elevation Tour while "Where the Streets Have No Name" is the perfect demonstration of U2UK's attention to detail. Perfectly embodying U2's own epic feel, U2UK created its own little tempest recently within the Royal Hotel in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, with a show worthy of the best live band on the planet.
If you want to avoid paying outrageous prices scalpers on eBay are inflicting on U2 fans, U2UK acts as the perfect substitute.
At the Royal Hotel gig, Interference.com spoke with Simon Pellecchia who assumes the role of The Edge on stage. Here's what he had to say about U2UK (which also features Paul Collyer as Bono, Adrian Aslam as Adam Clayton and Simon Jemmett as Larry Mullen Jr.).
Do you hold your breath when U2 announces a new album, new direction?
When U2 announced a new album it was fantastic and also daunting—there was so much hype and the fans were going crazy. It's great to see the album doing so well; I do think that this album has brought a whole new set of fans, too. We speak to loads of people at the gigs and get a different reaction from them all; some of them love it, some of them not so much. For me, I think its great, but am still in love with the older material, "I Will Follow,” "New Year's Day," etc. It was daunting for me because, as the guitarist, my first thought is: Am I going to be able to play it? Can I get the sounds? The Edge is a master at the old effects board so trying to recreate this is a really hard job. What I do, though, is try to recreate the live sound as I think [that's] where U2 is best.
The thing I love about U2 is the way each album has a persona all its own, together with a stage show all its own, too. We, as a band, try to recreate some of the lighting effects used and, hopefully, next year will have some visuals, too, if we can afford it.
Which songs always give you a rush playing live? Do you have any preferences for U2's different eras?
[My] most favorite era was the "Joshua Tree"/"Achtung Baby" era, the songs are so good and U2 was at its best. Playing live, the best and favorite song for me and the band at the moment is "Bullet the Blue Sky." Paul gets out the torch and it's pitch black and he starts yelling about the EU, etc. Absolutely eerie.
Do you feel like you have to get into character before a show? Is there any ritual you go through before getting on stage?
For our band, like U2, it's all about getting involved with the audience and getting the audience involved, too. We sometimes play on stages where you're too far from the crowd and it's really hard to make that connection, but we also play places where the crowd is on top of you. Those are the best gigs, Paul [Collyer] and I often go out into the middle of the crowd for "Stay." Before the show, we're usually really busy but we do take time to prepare, mainly with each other, particularly me and "Bono." We have to have that connection on stage and it has to be real.
What can a fan expect from your show? Are you confident with the majority of U2's back catalog in case of a request?
Most of the places we play usually ask for the hits but we do play some album material, too. Since the last time we were interviewed for Interference.com we've changed drummers [because] our last drummer had to return to university. Our new drummer is great but as he has only just joined we haven't quite rehearsed all of the catalog yet but in the coming weeks we're in some serious rehearsals as we're penned to play two shows in July in Amsterdam at the Heineken Concert Hall [July 15th and 16th], with around 4,000 capacity. The shows will be [when] the real U2 is in Amsterdam playing in the stadium. Hopefully we might get to meet them.
What's the best atmosphere you've ever experienced, when you simply felt like it was Edge, Bono, Adam and Larry on stage?
The best atmosphere we've had has got to be last year when we played at the Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam in front of 6,000 people. There were some other tribute band on that night, too. We took the stage and it was amazing, I felt like we were U2 on the stage and the venue was like you see on the DVDs of U2. Then to have 6,000 people singing "Pride (In the Name of Love)" back to you was out of this world. Never had a feeling like it, absolutely amazing. We must have been blessed; there were angels in the house that night.
Why U2? What is it about the band that interests you and makes you want to get up on stage?
Why U2? Well, I have played guitar for about seven years now and in all of [those] years I've played with quite a few bands but, to me, nothing has come close to the feeling you get when playing a U2 track. Each track has meaning, each note The Edge plays has its own voice. I can't imagine playing any other band's music; it doesn't have the same feel. Like the say, if you're going to cover anyone, cover the best.
We've been playing live now for about three years and I can tell you there is no better job in the world. To see the smiles on people's faces, to hear the comments, you just feel elated. The excitement is still there today as it was when we first started, and more. We're looking forward to introducing new material, bigger sets, better lighting and so on.
Are any of you going to see U2 on tour this summer?
Yeah, we're all going to see the new tour, some in Manchester and some in Cardiff and also when we're in Amsterdam we might try to see them there, too. We've all been to see them before at PopMart, Elevation, ZooTV. Wish I'd been to see them at the start, too, but I've got the DVDs, bootlegs, etc. so I can get some great ideas for our tracks.
For more information on U2UK, visit http://www.u2ukshow.com.
2005.07
U2 has always been regarded as having a special relationship with its audience. When the crowd reaches out, Bono reaches back. When Larry Mullen Jr. blasts the first dew drum rolls of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" with thumping intensity, the crowd will bounce in unison. When it comes to tribute bands, U2UK is the closest thing you can get to this sort of intimacy if you're one of the unlucky ones not possessing a ticket for the much sought after Vertigo Tour.
U2UK, like its idols, places emphasis on the power of the live show with a full-throttle performance that encompasses all the passion and intimacy that made the Elevation Tour so uplifting. "Elevation" acts as an explosive opener but it's some of the older tracks that should be mentioned—"Desire" is taken into the crowd and playing with a circle of onlookers just like its counterpart during the Elevation Tour while "Where the Streets Have No Name" is the perfect demonstration of U2UK's attention to detail. Perfectly embodying U2's own epic feel, U2UK created its own little tempest recently within the Royal Hotel in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, with a show worthy of the best live band on the planet.
If you want to avoid paying outrageous prices scalpers on eBay are inflicting on U2 fans, U2UK acts as the perfect substitute.
At the Royal Hotel gig, Interference.com spoke with Simon Pellecchia who assumes the role of The Edge on stage. Here's what he had to say about U2UK (which also features Paul Collyer as Bono, Adrian Aslam as Adam Clayton and Simon Jemmett as Larry Mullen Jr.).
Do you hold your breath when U2 announces a new album, new direction?
When U2 announced a new album it was fantastic and also daunting—there was so much hype and the fans were going crazy. It's great to see the album doing so well; I do think that this album has brought a whole new set of fans, too. We speak to loads of people at the gigs and get a different reaction from them all; some of them love it, some of them not so much. For me, I think its great, but am still in love with the older material, "I Will Follow,” "New Year's Day," etc. It was daunting for me because, as the guitarist, my first thought is: Am I going to be able to play it? Can I get the sounds? The Edge is a master at the old effects board so trying to recreate this is a really hard job. What I do, though, is try to recreate the live sound as I think [that's] where U2 is best.
The thing I love about U2 is the way each album has a persona all its own, together with a stage show all its own, too. We, as a band, try to recreate some of the lighting effects used and, hopefully, next year will have some visuals, too, if we can afford it.
Which songs always give you a rush playing live? Do you have any preferences for U2's different eras?
[My] most favorite era was the "Joshua Tree"/"Achtung Baby" era, the songs are so good and U2 was at its best. Playing live, the best and favorite song for me and the band at the moment is "Bullet the Blue Sky." Paul gets out the torch and it's pitch black and he starts yelling about the EU, etc. Absolutely eerie.
Do you feel like you have to get into character before a show? Is there any ritual you go through before getting on stage?
For our band, like U2, it's all about getting involved with the audience and getting the audience involved, too. We sometimes play on stages where you're too far from the crowd and it's really hard to make that connection, but we also play places where the crowd is on top of you. Those are the best gigs, Paul [Collyer] and I often go out into the middle of the crowd for "Stay." Before the show, we're usually really busy but we do take time to prepare, mainly with each other, particularly me and "Bono." We have to have that connection on stage and it has to be real.
What can a fan expect from your show? Are you confident with the majority of U2's back catalog in case of a request?
Most of the places we play usually ask for the hits but we do play some album material, too. Since the last time we were interviewed for Interference.com we've changed drummers [because] our last drummer had to return to university. Our new drummer is great but as he has only just joined we haven't quite rehearsed all of the catalog yet but in the coming weeks we're in some serious rehearsals as we're penned to play two shows in July in Amsterdam at the Heineken Concert Hall [July 15th and 16th], with around 4,000 capacity. The shows will be [when] the real U2 is in Amsterdam playing in the stadium. Hopefully we might get to meet them.
What's the best atmosphere you've ever experienced, when you simply felt like it was Edge, Bono, Adam and Larry on stage?
The best atmosphere we've had has got to be last year when we played at the Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam in front of 6,000 people. There were some other tribute band on that night, too. We took the stage and it was amazing, I felt like we were U2 on the stage and the venue was like you see on the DVDs of U2. Then to have 6,000 people singing "Pride (In the Name of Love)" back to you was out of this world. Never had a feeling like it, absolutely amazing. We must have been blessed; there were angels in the house that night.
Why U2? What is it about the band that interests you and makes you want to get up on stage?
Why U2? Well, I have played guitar for about seven years now and in all of [those] years I've played with quite a few bands but, to me, nothing has come close to the feeling you get when playing a U2 track. Each track has meaning, each note The Edge plays has its own voice. I can't imagine playing any other band's music; it doesn't have the same feel. Like the say, if you're going to cover anyone, cover the best.
We've been playing live now for about three years and I can tell you there is no better job in the world. To see the smiles on people's faces, to hear the comments, you just feel elated. The excitement is still there today as it was when we first started, and more. We're looking forward to introducing new material, bigger sets, better lighting and so on.
Are any of you going to see U2 on tour this summer?
Yeah, we're all going to see the new tour, some in Manchester and some in Cardiff and also when we're in Amsterdam we might try to see them there, too. We've all been to see them before at PopMart, Elevation, ZooTV. Wish I'd been to see them at the start, too, but I've got the DVDs, bootlegs, etc. so I can get some great ideas for our tracks.
For more information on U2UK, visit http://www.u2ukshow.com.
