U2 Security are a disgrace to the fans

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Leebonoman96 said:
Bonoishot thankyou for your kind words

No problems. I know how disappointing it is. I've been so close to Bono so many times ( 2 times it was my birthday) and he never seems to come to where i'm stood. :lol: You just have to try think though how lucky you are to even have the chance to try meet them/see them play. :yes::)
 
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miracledrug83 said:


Could not agree more!

The security for the lineup was great. They were some pretty cool dudes and would let us leave our pens and come back whenever. They also gave some people free water. I think Melbourne 2 was the best organised gig, and certainly the best U2 show i saw.
 
wang_chung said:


The security for the lineup was great. They were some pretty cool dudes and would let us leave our pens and come back whenever.


They put you Aussies in pig pens prior to the show?! That's CRAP! I would have protested.
 
Sorry Leebonoman96 for your dissaponitment.

Maybe next time you will have better luck. On the Palazzo Versace did you go on tuesday the day the melboune cup was on and the concert ?

Well i was there waited all day. I found john really nice to the fans . I'm glad he protects Bono It be awful to something bad happen to him like john lennon from the beatles. :(

all the boys were so kind and nice. :)

It sounds like you just had luck this don't take it heart to much.
Try and cheer up. next time i'm sure you will have a better chance next time;)
 
I was lucky enough to meet Bono and the Edge outside ANZ stadium on the first night of rehearsals. THere was only a small group of ten of us, and Bono skipped on out to us. He was so cool. He shook all our hands and we were so mesmerised by his words that we didnt notice the edge standing behind us... poor edge.... Unluckily i didnt get a photo with either of them, and just as i was about to stand next to bono for a pic, his security whisked him away. I didnt mind - i got to meet him say hello, and asked him how the rehearsals were going :)

Before they came out, the stadium security almost kicked us out but U2's Scotty number 2 came out and told the local security guy we could stay, so i only have good things to say about the security entourage
 
The other thing that folks need to realise is that stars' minders aren't only there to be security, they're there to be the 'bad guy' when needed. If the actor/singer/whoever only wants to spend X number of minutes doing autographs or chatting to fans, it's quite often the minder's job to say when that time is up so that the star doesn't look like a big meanie.

Having said that, I thought U2 were hugely generous with their time and access when they were here in Brisbane.
 
Yeah, it's nice to try and meet people you admire. And it sucks to be so close and not to get to meet them one on one. But you know what? It's not really that big of a deal to not get an autograph. It's not that big of a deal to not shake the guy's hand and say, "Big fan, big fan." At some point in their lives, everyone waits for something and doesn't get it---and they get over it.

What I really wish is that people would stop stalking them at their friggin' hotels. I wish people would stop following every single step Bono takes. I wish people wouldn't bitch about security and let them do their jobs. All we need is for Bono to become the next John Lennon and then everyone will feel quite differently.
 
u2 security was really epic up through the unforgettable fire. around joshua tree u2 security got a bit too mainstream. they totally disappeared up their own arse during pop. but i think they're about coming full circle black to classic form right about now.

seriously - i was lucky enought to meet all 4 guys in nyc outside the book signing. john sampson went above and beyond in being nice to us. i have nothing but good things to say about u2 security.
 
I wish people wouldn't camp out in front of the band's hotels either. The guys probably only tolerate it because they are afraid they will seem mean if they don't. I just feel like people are taking advantage of U2 being the nice guys they are.
 
Utoo said:
Yeah, it's nice to try and meet people you admire. And it sucks to be so close and not to get to meet them one on one. But you know what? It's not really that big of a deal to not get an autograph. It's not that big of a deal to not shake the guy's hand and say, "Big fan, big fan." At some point in their lives, everyone waits for something and doesn't get it---and they get over it.

Very well said. U2's music has really affected my life in many different times and in many different ways. I'd love to meet them, but I can't imagine I'd change their lives in any way by telling them that.

For most of us, we're grateful for what we've gotten from U2--the albums, the shows, whatever else. For some fans, too much is not enough, and that's why the band needs security to begin with.
 
There was one awful American guy out the front of the hotel in Auckland. He was so loud and obnoxious telling people how HE thought they should behave, where to stand, when to talk etc, that all he achieved was getting people riled and upset and therefore there was naturally no way the band would stop and see anyone. This guy has followed them all over the world and thought he was the be all and end all when it came to knowing the bands movements etc. Thats the sort of thing that can ruin it for everyone. John had already been over and had a talk to us and said if we all stay as cool as we were, there would be a signing, but this twit ruined it. Everyone totally respected securitys decision not to bring the band over (it was only Adam and Larry there anyway) and we certainly didn't blame them!

As for being out the front of the hotel, it's something that everyone has their own feelings and viewpoint on - all very valid and no point arguing over, however I'd just like to clarify that the ONLY reason my 2 friends and I were out the front of the hotel on and off over a few days was that Larry personally TOLD us to keep coming back and try to see Bono (I had something of interest for him), If Larry had said that it was rude of us to be there etc we absolutely would have respected that and not returned, however we assumed that Larry being Larry would not have said that if he didn't mean it. The great thing was that on 2 separate occasions during the rest of the week he was happy to see us, made a point of talking to us and wanted to know if we'd caught up with Bono!

Sorry to ramble, just had a caffeine fix!! :ohmy:
 
Liesje said:
Is this thread for real?

First of all, it's not Sampson's fault you're pissed you spent hundreds of dollars stalking the band and having nothing to show for it. I've met Bono three times and Larry once, and every time was by accident, I wasn't really even trying. Every time I've tried to meet one of them, I've come up short. The first time I met Bono, I was walking around and John Sampson came out of this hotel (I had no idea Bono was even there) and said we could meet Bono if we stood where he pointed. So we did and as Bono came out, John directed him to come over to us.

Do you really expect the band to stop and chat with EVERY single fan who waits in line to meet them or tries to get into their hotels? That would be like 1000 people each day!

John Sampson, U2 owe us nothing.

If people are upset it's because of their expectations, not anything the U2 camp did. If you need Bono's autograph that bad, buy one on eBay or something.

As you've described, situations where there's more than a dozen people are very dangerous. It's obvious it makes John nervous and it's just not worth the risk. The second time I met Bono I was there with three other people and the second he came out, there was a mob. Seriously, grown women were pushing kids to the cement. I shook Bono's hand and then I was so embarrassed to be a U2 fan the way people around me were acting, I just walked away and rolled my eyes. Immediately John pulled Bono aside and said he'd had enough.

If people would just act civilized, I'm sure the band WOULD be more likely to spend more time with fans. Case in point - Sept 20 Bono and Edge both stopped and went around a large circle of fans for about a half an hour. This was a pretty big group that had gathered throughout the day, but everyone was calm, no one was rushing or pushing, so they stopped to give everyone a few minutes.

Like some of you, I learned the hard way that it just doesn't work like we want it to. But that was also a reality check. These are real people with real lives that don't actually revolve around fans and what other people constantly demand of them.

I got half way through this post and didnt even bother reading anymore because it hits the nail on the head.

Its an autograph, get over it. The only person I've ever met was Edge and thats when he walked in my record store (with his little boy) in LA the night after the grammys in 2001. Very nice guy. Signed a copy of ATYCLB and chatted a min. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'd rather have an encounter like that rather than go through the "stalker" method just to get an autograph. People need to calm down. Contrary to popular belief, U2 are people just like us.
 
Speaking on the whole waiting outside their hotel thing, like gluey said, to each their own. They all appear to be fine with it and I don't believe they do it just to avoid appearing "mean". Larry seems more than happy to meet fans in that type of situation and Larry has never been one to compromise his principles to spare people's feelings.

We had an encounter with Bono inside his hotel and we'd only gone in because we figured they'd left already and we wanted to check the place out, cause really, it was pretty fabulous :eek: Spotting Bono was completely coincidental and we debated whether or not to approach and utlimately decided that just one of us would go up to John and ask if it would be okay to say hi. John was very pleasant and greeted my friend with "Good evening, Ma'am." He let us know that Bono was in a meeting, but would stop over to say hi if he had a chance. He ultimately didn't have time to stop on his way out, but we got a smile and wave, not to mention the chance to hang out on the same patio as the man, which we were over the moon about. We ran into John again the next day and reintroduced ourselves. We weren't expecting anything at all, but he proceeded to apologize and explain how crazy Bono's schedule had been. He then had a conversation with us and we got to know him a little better. John is a true gentleman and completely not on a power trip, which he could easily be in his position.

You may not have had the best luck that time, but try not to stress too much about it. Just relax, go to the shows, try again next time and hey, maybe it will happen, maybe it won't. Don't expect much. We weren't and it just happened. It's not John's job to ensure you get your moment, that's all up to fate I guess. Like I said, just let it happen when it's meant to :)
 
this whole story about 'security sucks', bugs no end...
sometimes you 'win', most often, you don't...i've been lucky where a lot of people haven't, but it was always a 'right spot at the right time' sort of thing.

i had my first meet & greet in los angeles in the spring. we waited and waited, and all during that time, john was the embodiment of gentlemanliness. he chatted us up big time, he even told us he wore boxer shorts!! i got HIS autograph as well, and he was smilingly shy about it. bono eventually came out, and worked the crowd, and even then not everyone got an individual moment with him, or something signed. it just turns out that way. john then takes bono away when john says so, bono waves to the unlucky ones, and that's it.

fast forward to chicago in the spring, and it's the edge on one side of a line-up, and that was it. not EVERY single person gets a moment! there is no 'contract' to get to every single person. and the last time i got to meet them, it was late, or early depending on how you call it, in the night after the first toronto show. edge came out, and spent nearly a half hour with us, had convo's, signed stuff, and was as charming as could be. BUT, there were only about 20 people, so he had the time to do it. same with adam a few minutes later.

another thing missing from this, is FAN safety. john isn't just concerned with bono, but the fans too. i caught bono entering the garage in wash. d.c. 40 or 50 people were all behind this 3 foot high concrete bulwark, and when bono got out of the car, hordes of people rushed, and some in the front fell off the ledge, and could have been hurt. back in the car bono gets, and it's done.

as for the aussie shows, remember, the guys had just been getting burned by the 'e-bay' phenomenon. people showing up at the book signing clearly NOT being fans, and the lads starting to sign 'for e-bay' on things. same goes for abbey road. people showed up with arm loads of stuff to sign, and i don't think it takes a huge leap to guess what they are all about. re-selling on e-bay seems to be a big thing with u2 stuff now more than ever. in OZ, i've read that parents showed up with their children, armed with 45's, album covers, and pushed them forward. and larry signed one thing, 'happy e-bay', and moved on.

so there is a lot that goes into this 'meet & greet' thing nowadays. security has to think about the band, the fans, and their own personal feelings about signing things. not everyone will get their moment, and to be disappointed because they SAY they'll get to everyone, and they don't, is rubbish. i understand disappointment at not actually having had your moment, but plenty of other people are in that boat with you. there is no contract. you takes your chances like everyone else.
 
NUMBER 28 is unreasonably reasonable, as usual.

The fact that any of the guys even bother to sign autographs before a show is quite rare among big rock bands... do you think the Stones or The Who or Green Day or The Pussycat Dolls go to such lengths? Hellllll no.

Mariah Carey signs for fans after each of her shows, and I know that Pearl Jam is usually pretty friendly, too, but not too many other big acts are nearly as accommodating as our lads.

Before the Tokyo 1 show, all four guys came out and signed for about 50 fans waiting at the back gate. Not everyone got an autograph, but people were thrilled nonetheless to see their heroes up close. Everyone went away happy, no frowns or looks of disappointment.

I know one woman who got pissed at U2 because "only Adam" came out to sign for fans before the Portland show last year. She thought that all four of them should have come out to sign because we had been waiting all night and day in such terrible weather. After the Portland gig finished, she vowed never to see them again because they "don't care about their fans anymore".

It's easy to get greedy with U2, since they have been so giving to their fans since the very beginning of their careers. No more hanging out with Adam at the local pub after the show, though.

I think those that get mad at U2 for not signing their stuff need to grow up and get a life. Just imagine Bono's daily experience on the road --- from the moment he steps out of the hotel, he is constantly hounded by autograph seekers and, worse, camera phone people who all want a piece of him. I don't blame him or the other three for not wanting to sign everyone's U2 things all day long.

Yes, this is what they signed up for, I realize that, but as their fans, I think some of us should back off just a bit, try to understand U2 security's point of view and maybe attempt to approach them in a more laidback manner than the average screaming idiot on the street. They seem to respond better to that anyway.
 
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unreasonably reasonable...that's a good thing, yes???
better than being unreasonably unreasonable??
ohhh....i'm confused!!
 
wait a sec.... "unreasonably reasonable"..... uhhh, lemme think..

yes, that's a good thing, yes!

It means you're being sensible for no good reason, or some shit like that.
 
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the only thing that bothers me about U2 coming out before a show (I haven't waited at their hotels before, just outside venues a couple times) is the pushing and shoving by other fans. The other fans who don't realize what you're waiting patiently for in the rain no less, but once they see any of the band, they start rushing forward. I was lucky enough to have Bono and Edge standing right in front of me in Milwaukee last year and got some pictures and a handshake. That awesome moment for me lasted briefly as people literally put their hands on me and shoved me out of the way.
 
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