chazman151
War Child
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2004
- Messages
- 584
Hope this is ok to post..
Before flying off for a winter break, Adam spoke to U2.Com about his amazement’ at how well the new album is doing, about the New York show and video shoot , about the iTunes hook-up, why there are two ‘second’ singles and plans for the 2005 Tour.
//U2.com
Are you surprised at how successful the new album has been already ?
//Adam
I am absolutely astonished, not because I don’t believe in the material or anything like that. I knew the record was good, I knew it was one of our best, but I think we have just received such a wave of enthusiasm and recognition that it has taken me a bit by surprise.
It seems that if you put something out there that people care about, you suddenly unleash a passion that I didn’t realise still existed – from journalists, radio and TV folk, the people we meet on the street… the music really seems to connect with them.
//U2.com
Do you ever have any doubts on the eve of release, do you wonder whether people might have forgotten who U2 are ?
//Adam
There is always anxiety and vulnerability but also we know that we come from a place where we make the records – to some extent - for ourselves, and once we are happy with the quality of the record then we let other people in.
So you think, ‘Ok this is the best we can do, the record we wanted to make.’ But then when it goes wider than that and it has a much more universal appeal, that’s when it takes you a bit by surprise.
//U2.com
One review of the album was headlined ‘Rock’s Last Remaining Superpower’.
//Adam
(Laughing) There used to be quite a few, but now there are not many who are still out there and making great records after all these years..
It is a different world now, people don’t have long careers anymore. We are very lucky, but we are also now becoming a bit of a rarity too, that we have been able to make records over three decades that are relavant and also get to people.
//U2.com
In Rolling Stone Larry says that he had to bite the bullet and say to the band, ‘I don’t think we are there. Then when Steve Lillywhite came in he said, ‘You haven’t got enough songs.’ That must be quite hard to hear ?
//Adam
Yes, that is really hard to hear at the time. It’s not easy to be the person to say ‘I don't think we are there yet’ - and it’s not easy to be the person receiving that information. But you have to go with your gut reaction and the record had ground to a halt with Chris Thomas. Everyone was sort of scratching their heads going this shouldn’t be so - technically speaking this should all fit together, all the bits should fit. But I guess we were reading the map upside down or something.
But it’s not as though anyone is throwing the baby out with bathwater –the work that has been done isn’t wasted. You just need a rethink, a bit of distance and perspective on it.
Then Steve (Lillywhite) came in - the advantage with him is that he knows us and he knows how we work. He wasn’t unnerved by where we were, he knew we just needed to make a few adjustments and it would all fall back into place. But I don’t think he realised how much energy there was still in the project and we did still write some new songs and there was a whole new lease of life unleashed when he came into the record – we did an awful lot of work in the six months that he was on the record.
//U2.com
Going back to the impact of this new record, the iTunes tie up must have been a huge boost ?
//Adam
First of all it was great that they wanted to use Vertigo – and then when the idea of the band appearing in the ad came up, that just seemed like a no-brainer, a cool thing to do.
The ad has had an amazing effect, it has penetrated the culture, it got ‘Vertigo’ to a lot of people before it was even on radio. The amazing thing – because there are no guarantees – is that radio also really liked that song and jumped all over it. So between seeing the iTunes ad and hearing the tune on the radio, I think everyone knew there was a new U2 record coming out.
You always have to be a bit careful when you are shaking hands with big business, but I think it was always very clear that Apple make the iPod that uses iTunes which sells our music – I think it was a very easy kind of relationship to understand, no one was being taken advantage of in this situation.
//U2.com
Shooting the ‘All Because of You’ video in NY was exciting … but also looked a bit scary at some times? Paul McGuinness said he was a bit scared and didn’t director Phil Joanou nearly fall off the truck ?
//Adam
It is a lot harder to stand up on a moving truck than you would have thought but it is the type of thing you wanted to do from when were you a kid. There used to be thing in Dublin many years ago that if you got on the back of a flat bed truck going down a certain road, you could get a lift all the way down to town… and I think we did a little bit of that in our youth, so this time we kind of knew how to hang on!
//U2.com
Was it surprising seeing all the crowds coming out for the shoot ?
//Adam
Yeah, that was unusual, New York really turned out in style. You know normally in New York you’d expect people to be complaining about the noise or the traffic being held up. I’ve seen a rough cut and it looks great, a classic U2 video I anticipate.
//U2.com
Why a different second single in North America (‘All Because of You’) from the rest of world (‘Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.’) ?
//Adam
It’s really because US radio works differently, it is so diversified. And within the various formats, the record company wasn’t sure that there would be support for ‘Sometimes…’ at this stage. They wanted to go with ‘All Because, of You’ because they wanted another up tempo, rock tune to really kick the record home
//U2.com
The impromptu show under Brooklyn Bridge was your lengthiest for some time – did it give you a feel for touring again ?
//Adam
It gave me back the fear! (laughs) It was very much a scratch gig, but it was nice to be back onstage. It was a pity it was such a short set, it was over very quickly, but yes it gave me a taste for the tour again - it reminded me what it was all about, and there looked to be about 15,000 people there. It is when we are playing that we are at our most U2yness! I suppose in a way (it’s) about purity, about the four of us and whoever the witnesses are - whether it is 4,000 or 10,000 or 30,000 or 60,000. It is to an extent a celebration of sorts, but there is a simplicity about it, everyone doing what they do best for the greatest effect - that is a pure situation.
//U2.com
The tour is set to be announced in the New Year – what can you tell us about the production ?
//Adam
We are going to take a lot of things we learned on last tour and bring them forward a bit. Certainly we like playing indoors so we will start out like that but move outdoors for Europe in the summer. We are going to try and preserve the standing room concept so that people on floor will still be standing, not seated
We will also try and bring back into it some video information like we have had in the past, like on POPMART perhaps … we had some video content on the last tour but not so much. This time we will increase it a bit.
But essentially, the manifesto will be to keep that pure, musical approach that we had on the last tour.
//U2.com
How many of the songs from the new album will you be able to play ?
//Adam
We will probably want to play 9 or10 of the new songs. It’s always difficult having to drop songs from the set – but you only do it when you find better ones, so we might have several different sets or different that we can draw from.
//U2.com
Do you have arguments in the band about including or excluding certain songs?
//Adam
No we don’t have arguments about it but once we see the ebb and flow of the set, based on the new numbers we want to play, you start to fill in the gaps, and it’s really about how you get from the beginning of the show to the end and if it doesn’t work one night, you can try it different the next.
//U2.com
Any songs you are particularly look forward to playing ?
//Adam
Vertigo, every time we play it we have a great reaction but the song that really seems to get people immediately is ‘Sometimes…’. Also ‘City of Blinding Lights’ seems to really connect with people, and I think Yahweh - which we haven’t played to an audience yet – that will be very interesting to perform.
//U2.com
Bono has hinted that some of the shows might be downloadable – is that something you are looking at for next year ?
//Adam
We are hoping that we can make the shows available, I don’t know if we can stream it or download it but it would be good if we could. We are looking into the possibilities - we do want to make the shows available to people, that is part of our ambition for this tour.
//U2.com
What are your own plans for Christmas and the New Year ?
//Adam
Myself and my girlfriend are going to Malaysia to chill out and find some quality time …it will be good to be together as there will be a lot of running around next year.
Before flying off for a winter break, Adam spoke to U2.Com about his amazement’ at how well the new album is doing, about the New York show and video shoot , about the iTunes hook-up, why there are two ‘second’ singles and plans for the 2005 Tour.
//U2.com
Are you surprised at how successful the new album has been already ?
//Adam
I am absolutely astonished, not because I don’t believe in the material or anything like that. I knew the record was good, I knew it was one of our best, but I think we have just received such a wave of enthusiasm and recognition that it has taken me a bit by surprise.
It seems that if you put something out there that people care about, you suddenly unleash a passion that I didn’t realise still existed – from journalists, radio and TV folk, the people we meet on the street… the music really seems to connect with them.
//U2.com
Do you ever have any doubts on the eve of release, do you wonder whether people might have forgotten who U2 are ?
//Adam
There is always anxiety and vulnerability but also we know that we come from a place where we make the records – to some extent - for ourselves, and once we are happy with the quality of the record then we let other people in.
So you think, ‘Ok this is the best we can do, the record we wanted to make.’ But then when it goes wider than that and it has a much more universal appeal, that’s when it takes you a bit by surprise.
//U2.com
One review of the album was headlined ‘Rock’s Last Remaining Superpower’.
//Adam
(Laughing) There used to be quite a few, but now there are not many who are still out there and making great records after all these years..
It is a different world now, people don’t have long careers anymore. We are very lucky, but we are also now becoming a bit of a rarity too, that we have been able to make records over three decades that are relavant and also get to people.
//U2.com
In Rolling Stone Larry says that he had to bite the bullet and say to the band, ‘I don’t think we are there. Then when Steve Lillywhite came in he said, ‘You haven’t got enough songs.’ That must be quite hard to hear ?
//Adam
Yes, that is really hard to hear at the time. It’s not easy to be the person to say ‘I don't think we are there yet’ - and it’s not easy to be the person receiving that information. But you have to go with your gut reaction and the record had ground to a halt with Chris Thomas. Everyone was sort of scratching their heads going this shouldn’t be so - technically speaking this should all fit together, all the bits should fit. But I guess we were reading the map upside down or something.
But it’s not as though anyone is throwing the baby out with bathwater –the work that has been done isn’t wasted. You just need a rethink, a bit of distance and perspective on it.
Then Steve (Lillywhite) came in - the advantage with him is that he knows us and he knows how we work. He wasn’t unnerved by where we were, he knew we just needed to make a few adjustments and it would all fall back into place. But I don’t think he realised how much energy there was still in the project and we did still write some new songs and there was a whole new lease of life unleashed when he came into the record – we did an awful lot of work in the six months that he was on the record.
//U2.com
Going back to the impact of this new record, the iTunes tie up must have been a huge boost ?
//Adam
First of all it was great that they wanted to use Vertigo – and then when the idea of the band appearing in the ad came up, that just seemed like a no-brainer, a cool thing to do.
The ad has had an amazing effect, it has penetrated the culture, it got ‘Vertigo’ to a lot of people before it was even on radio. The amazing thing – because there are no guarantees – is that radio also really liked that song and jumped all over it. So between seeing the iTunes ad and hearing the tune on the radio, I think everyone knew there was a new U2 record coming out.
You always have to be a bit careful when you are shaking hands with big business, but I think it was always very clear that Apple make the iPod that uses iTunes which sells our music – I think it was a very easy kind of relationship to understand, no one was being taken advantage of in this situation.
//U2.com
Shooting the ‘All Because of You’ video in NY was exciting … but also looked a bit scary at some times? Paul McGuinness said he was a bit scared and didn’t director Phil Joanou nearly fall off the truck ?
//Adam
It is a lot harder to stand up on a moving truck than you would have thought but it is the type of thing you wanted to do from when were you a kid. There used to be thing in Dublin many years ago that if you got on the back of a flat bed truck going down a certain road, you could get a lift all the way down to town… and I think we did a little bit of that in our youth, so this time we kind of knew how to hang on!
//U2.com
Was it surprising seeing all the crowds coming out for the shoot ?
//Adam
Yeah, that was unusual, New York really turned out in style. You know normally in New York you’d expect people to be complaining about the noise or the traffic being held up. I’ve seen a rough cut and it looks great, a classic U2 video I anticipate.
//U2.com
Why a different second single in North America (‘All Because of You’) from the rest of world (‘Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.’) ?
//Adam
It’s really because US radio works differently, it is so diversified. And within the various formats, the record company wasn’t sure that there would be support for ‘Sometimes…’ at this stage. They wanted to go with ‘All Because, of You’ because they wanted another up tempo, rock tune to really kick the record home
//U2.com
The impromptu show under Brooklyn Bridge was your lengthiest for some time – did it give you a feel for touring again ?
//Adam
It gave me back the fear! (laughs) It was very much a scratch gig, but it was nice to be back onstage. It was a pity it was such a short set, it was over very quickly, but yes it gave me a taste for the tour again - it reminded me what it was all about, and there looked to be about 15,000 people there. It is when we are playing that we are at our most U2yness! I suppose in a way (it’s) about purity, about the four of us and whoever the witnesses are - whether it is 4,000 or 10,000 or 30,000 or 60,000. It is to an extent a celebration of sorts, but there is a simplicity about it, everyone doing what they do best for the greatest effect - that is a pure situation.
//U2.com
The tour is set to be announced in the New Year – what can you tell us about the production ?
//Adam
We are going to take a lot of things we learned on last tour and bring them forward a bit. Certainly we like playing indoors so we will start out like that but move outdoors for Europe in the summer. We are going to try and preserve the standing room concept so that people on floor will still be standing, not seated
We will also try and bring back into it some video information like we have had in the past, like on POPMART perhaps … we had some video content on the last tour but not so much. This time we will increase it a bit.
But essentially, the manifesto will be to keep that pure, musical approach that we had on the last tour.
//U2.com
How many of the songs from the new album will you be able to play ?
//Adam
We will probably want to play 9 or10 of the new songs. It’s always difficult having to drop songs from the set – but you only do it when you find better ones, so we might have several different sets or different that we can draw from.
//U2.com
Do you have arguments in the band about including or excluding certain songs?
//Adam
No we don’t have arguments about it but once we see the ebb and flow of the set, based on the new numbers we want to play, you start to fill in the gaps, and it’s really about how you get from the beginning of the show to the end and if it doesn’t work one night, you can try it different the next.
//U2.com
Any songs you are particularly look forward to playing ?
//Adam
Vertigo, every time we play it we have a great reaction but the song that really seems to get people immediately is ‘Sometimes…’. Also ‘City of Blinding Lights’ seems to really connect with people, and I think Yahweh - which we haven’t played to an audience yet – that will be very interesting to perform.
//U2.com
Bono has hinted that some of the shows might be downloadable – is that something you are looking at for next year ?
//Adam
We are hoping that we can make the shows available, I don’t know if we can stream it or download it but it would be good if we could. We are looking into the possibilities - we do want to make the shows available to people, that is part of our ambition for this tour.
//U2.com
What are your own plans for Christmas and the New Year ?
//Adam
Myself and my girlfriend are going to Malaysia to chill out and find some quality time …it will be good to be together as there will be a lot of running around next year.
