MERGED ----> Question for newer U2 fans. + I Love Old U2

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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
All these stories are great to read :up: Me? I?m one of the oldies as well. ;)

martha, it?s curious...the same topic has been discussed at a brazilian U2 forum this past week, we have many new fans as well. It?s amazing the amount of passion they can express in their words, people who got hooked a few months ago and now have all the albums and stuff...amazing.

MT
 
I bought my first u2 album.."pop" a week before seeing my first u2 show "popmart" in the spring of 1997. I had fallen in love with Staring at the Sun on the radio and when I watched "A year in pop"..I became fascinated with the group and decided I had to see this band live. I saw my first u2 show a week before graduation with my dad...he was a fan from the 80's...and he took me to the show as my highschool graduation present. Suffice to say...the live show impressed me greatly and that summer I picked up War and listened to both of those cds throughout that summer.
Later, when I began university in the fall, I borrowed the Joshua Tree from a dorm mate and made myself a tape copy of the album. Shortly after that I bought used tapes of achtung baby, zooropa, rattle and hum and under a blood red sky at the local record store on campus and listened to them...somewhat amazed at what I heard...and heard them say. Pop in particular spoke to me and around the 3rd month of university I fell in love with the band. Around this time, I also picked up the Unforgettable Fire biography..a purchase with jumpstarted my obsession with reading about the band:) I also joined the Wire mailing list at the time and through this and a few other websites I gained tickets to see the group in San Antonio Texas. This time around, I knew the songs much better...and somehow got lucky enough to turn my back floor ticket into a spot around the popmart b stage. This live experience blew me away....and combined with getting to briefly meet the band after the show....whoah! I remember being extremely impressed with the way they treated the fans...seeing Bono write a message in a get well card for a sick fan...and totally amazed with the community feel of the fans...the feel of a u2 show was unlike any concert I had ever experienced:)
 
Hello,

As I've written above, I became a fan just before AB when I bought R&H. I then almost immediately delved deep into the U2 history. I remember getting Boy from the library and copying it to tape together with R&H (the two albums fit nicely on two 60-minute tapes). Around February I bought October in a department story (without having listened to a single track from it, IIRC I didn't even know Gloria!) together with my very first U2 bootleg (Another Time, Another Place; a recording of their 1981 Boston gig).
I don't remember that much what my reaction was upon hearing these early albums. It took a long time for October to grow on me (I still think the last few songs aren't up to scratch), but I think I loved most of Boy almost immediately. BTW, it was a very good time to get into U2, as they rereleased all their maxi-singles on CD. So almost every week I would go to the music store to buy a 'new' single from my pocket money. So about 15 months after I'd bought my first U2 album I had all their albums and those re-released singles (+ a bootleg). The last album I got was Boy (since I had it on tape already), but I was happy as a young teenager when my collection was complete (or so I thought). Hey! I was a young teenager then! :D

Writing about it now makes me feel even happier than I already was. The joy of discovering new U2 every few weeks/months. Ah, bless the recent converts as they have a nice period ahead of them. :up:

C ya!

Marty
 
Popmartijn said:
The joy of discovering new U2 every few weeks/months. Ah, bless the recent converts as they have a nice period ahead of them.

Oh, it's absolutely fantastic, all this stuff to collect. My friends tell me how I'm completely obsessed and have way too much U2 stuff, but when I read about all that's been released, I look at my collection and think it's pitifully small! I love being able to go out there and always find something new to get - it's just a shame I don't always have the money to buy it!

Honestly, I'm not sure whether to be pleased I've become a fan now or to be envious of the older fans!
 
I'm a new fan too, i really started getting into them in 2000 when ATYCLB was released. I'd always hear some of their old songs here and there and thought they were good, but didnt really notice them as i was probably too young to know better ( being born in the 80's and all :p ) and most likely listening to all the other crap that was being played on the radio at the time! :rolleyes:
 
2001

I knew U2's hit singles for years and years, so I knew I would love their early songs, which I do. Interestingly, I used to hate Pride and WOWY but now I never get tired of them.
 
I'm a newish U2 fan - I loved Miss Sarajevo way back in 1995, hated Discoteque, didn't have an opinion on Staring at the Sun, but loved Sweetest Thing. I became a "proper" U2 fan in about 2000 - that is when I started to get the cds! I got Best of 1980-1990 first, which was good - I enjoyed listening to all these songs I'd heard on the radio and not realised they were by U2.

I was so happily surprised by baby U2 ... October is one of my faves, and War is too. UF is not the greatest U2 album (that would be Achtung Baby!) but it is nice and calm ... not classic U2, apart from Pride of course.

One of the reasons I have made U2 my favourite band is that I know there's so much music to fall back on. It's not like when I say I like a new band - say, Coldplay - because I've only heard a couple of their songs, and there's not that history there. With U2, there's always something new to discover, and something to look forward too because I know they're not going to be a one-hit wonder like so many other bands nowadays! In fact I have been putting off listening to several U2 albums - Boy, R&H, Zooropa - just so I can be surprised each time. Of course I am waiting for the new album ... all I can say is hurry up! But I am glad that I have such a collection of fantastic music begging to be listened to.
 
Martha, this is a great thread. I'm a 'golden' oldie. I got into U2 around late '83. First U2 album was Under A Blood Red Sky. First U2 show 3/5/85 at the LA Sports Arena. I really dug arwr9797(sp?) post, and the newer newbies posts. U2 is really a unique band. Sure the Stones are still around, and their concerts are still big draws, however they rely mainly on a set list that is heavy with songs from their earlier albums, while U2 is still producing "hit" singles and slanting their concerts toward newer material. Not a slight on the Stones, just a note that U2's staying power is mighty!!
 
I?m a new U2 fan. I?m only 15, and 5 years ago (when I was 10)I heard The Best of 1980-90, so I start liking U2, but I really became a fan in 2000, when I was 12 years old. I bought ALL THAT YOU CAN?T LEAVE BEHIND and I simply loved. The last Christmas I bought The Best of 1990-200 so I really became a fan :)

I listened to U2 albuns, this order:

-The Best of 1980-90 (I realized I knew a few U2 songs before I bought this album: I Still Haven?t Found What I?m Looking For, which is frequently played on Brazil radios, and With or Witout You) -- when I was 10
-ATYCLB - when I was 12
-The Best of 1990-80 when I was 14, last year, so I really became a fan

This year I bought:
-POP
-Joshua Tree
-Zooropa
-Achtung Baby

And I still haven?t heard War, Boy and Unforgettable Fire (and Passengers), but I have lots of mp3. I hope I?ll bought this album for this Christmas :)

I love U2!

(sorry, I know my english sucks..)
 
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I became a full-fledged U2 fan in 2001 or so.

In 1997, when I was 10, I heard Discotheque,( granted I had heard many many other u2 songs as my dad listened to them and my mom bought the Joshua tree and i listened to that when I was a baby) and I liked Discotheque when I heard it come out. I didnt get to see Popmart (I was too young even though we had extra tickets)

So fast forward 4 years later after ATYCLB comes out, I bought it and liked it... so I borrow my brothers POP CD and I absoultly fall in love with that album... Then I became a full-fledged fanatic when I went to the Elevation Albany concert... and the Hartford concert the next night.. and then New Jersey twice... (once in June(21st) and October (28th)... and then both Providence shows.

Basically I didnt have to buy any of the albums since my family already had them all, but POP was my favorite and still is to day... and the reason I am really huge on U2 is because I went to their concerts
 
i also became a fan in 2001, after i watched the boston show on pay-per-view.....enjoyed the show....
brought my first album (ATYCLB) around Christmas 2001, got achtung baby early 2002.....besides best of 80-90 & 90-00, ATYCLB & AB are the only 2 albums i own, i'm more of a bootleg collector though
 
I started with The Joshua Tree and ATYCLB back in late 2000. I then moved to The Best of 1980s and War, and then to Achtung Baby. I stayed with their 1980s music at first, and I remember thinking their 1990s music was just a bit on the different side.

Achtung Baby took me a little while to get to like, but now it's my favorite album in general. I was hesitant with Pop, but also got to like it in time.
 
I don't know if I'm an oldie or a newbie. I started listening to the band at a young age (I was 7 years old in 1987). My older sister weaned me on U2, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, The Cure, etc. I really got into music early on, and made a point of going to a local clothing store right before AB was released to buy a Rattle and Hum T-shirt (they had them on sale for a buck, go figure). Since then, U2 has been a very integral part of my life. I never got to see Zoo TV, didn't get to see PopMart (couldn't afford it at the time, I was only 17 and had a minimum wage job and school), finally got to see them on Elevation. I've amassed in excess of 300 U2 bootlegs and my collection is still going strong. I STILL have my U2 vinyls; The Joshua Tree was the first LP I ever bought. 22 years old now and have been a fan for 16 years; that says a lot to me.
 
Popmartijn said:
*realises he's suddenly an OLD U2 fan :ohmy: *

:tongue:

Marty


I know! Hard to believe when I had my first taste of "older" U2, it was after Achtung Baby had come out. I loved UF & War, but it took me a few more years before I could appreciate Boy.... I am still waiting for the time when I can listen to October all the way through, lol.
 
The first U2 song I really liked was HMTMKMKM back in 1995, when it was released with batman forever. I really liked that song a lot, but never really got interested. Later, I got The Best Of 1980-1990 as a gift, on December 1998. I liked it a lot, but never was really interested. On 2000, I got All That You Can't Leave Behind. Liked it, but still I wasn't hooked by the band. Later in 2001 I heard Achtung on a friend's car. I was hooked, I loved Until The End Of The World and specially Acrobat. After that I got a few bootlegs, the Elevation Tour DVD, and everything else, and love all of it!
 
I became a fan in 2001, too, when the radio station I listen to had a contest where they'd play 2 U2 songs back to back and the right caller would get a copy of ATYCLB and be entered into a drawing to win concert tickets yadda yadda. I had heard (and loved!) many U2 songs throughout my life but never knew it was them until this contest. Each time I heard the back to back songs I was like "OMG! That's U2?!?! I love this song!" :eeklaugh:

As soon as I could, I ran out and bought ATYCLB and the Best of 1980-1990, and I fell in love :D Soon after that, I bought War, which I instantly loved as well, and I really liked Seconds and 40. Then my brother let me pick out some cds for my birthday, and I got UF because it had Pride and Bad on it, which I loved from the 1980-1990 cd, and I also got October (cuz it was like $3.99 :shifty:) Neither of those albums really held my attention at the time because I was listening to War constantly. Then, my parents bought Achtung Baby for me for my b-day and that replaced War for a while.

I got JT for Christmas, but didn't really listen to that one either because I loved AB so much. After a few months, I decided it was time to finish my collection, so I bought Boy and Pop. I didn't like either at first... Boy just didn't hold my attention like War and AB did, and Pop was too depressing for me. The more I listened to Pop, though, the more I liked it. I got the Best of 1990-2000 last Christmas and I loved it, although I usually tend to skip over THTBA and MS. I bought Zooropa next and thought it was alright... but I still don't listen to it past DGPFYCC for some reason. I loved Rattle and Hum right away, and this summer, I decided to go through all the albums and listen to each one again, and I really :heart: some of the older ones that I didn't like before. I love Boy now, and October is growing on me. War and AB are still my favorites. I'm so glad that Kiss had that contest, haha, or else I might not be the fan I am today :D






:reject: Wow, that was way too long! :blahblah:
 
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U2girl02 said:
:reject: Wow, that was way too long! :blahblah:

Nope, it was still way too short! :p
It's really great to read all these stories of how people fell in love with U2. I particularly like those where there was initially no love for U2, but where it was growing on people. As I said, I can relate to that. ;)

Love this thread! :up:

C ya!

Marty
 
Hey, I really enjoyed reading everyone's story on how they became a U2 fan! I love reading that stuff

Anyway, here's *my* story...

Okay, so compared to every kid I knew in middle school, I was never really big on music. There weren't any bands or artists that could really hold my attention (my first two cd's were the "Mortal Kombat" and "Batman Forever" soundtracks (bought the "BF" st for "Kiss From a Rose"...hush-up)).

Alright, so while everyone else in my middle school classes were listening to the likes of No Doubt and whoever else was popular at the time, I just kinda swayed along and didn't pay much attention until the next big music thing reared it's ugly head around the corner...

TEH POP-CRAZE!!1

eck. Sadly, I bought into this. I'm not going to say which cd's I actually bought, but I did buy somestuff (I can't believe I'm telling you all this). Yes, I liked the music. Yes, I watched a few specials on some of these artists. Yes, I regret every minute of it :(

SO OKAY, the year is 2000 (I think...maybe early 2001). Alright, so I'm watching the VH1 countdown and what do I see? "Beautiful Day!"

Alright!! Now I think to myself "wow, great song! I want that album!!!1!1one"
...actually no :( What I was really thinking was "THAT is their first single?? Geez, that's kind of sad."

Yeah, I know. I...was a moron. Okay, okay, but things get better (trust me. i'm posting on the interference boards after all, right?)

SO after months and months of listening to all my popstuff I finally start thinking to myself "you know...this stuff really isn't that great." I decided I was in need of a change (rightfully so)!! I start thinking of what kind of music I'd like to get involved in and soon enough start humming and singing to myself "Beautiful Day." I was thinking that *maybe* U2 could offer up the goods I've been looking for...none of the pop crap that was surfacing on the radio or the poor attempts at rock music that was being made.

Alright now, it's March of that year and we're getting ready to go on a family vacation. My brother and I are talking about the grammy's (I didn't watch them, so was curious what the "song of the year" was). As much as I can remember, I was VERY happy for U2 that they won with "Beautiful Day." I decided I was going to buy "All That You Can't Leave Behind!"

So while we're on our vacation (Disney World...had a blast!), I bought "ATYCLB," but did NOT play it until we got back from the trip (had no cd player...plus I always had a thing about putting the sticky label on my cd-player (I'm a weird boy))

OKAY, so I get home (this is the moment you've all been waiting for), AND I PLAY "ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND!!!!!!" And, MUCH TO MY SURPRISE, I didn't like it so much :(

Yes, sadly, I wasn't too big on that album aside from "Beautiful Day" (of course), "Walk On," and "Kite." The others...eh, not so much, really. I had read reviews on the album prior to listening to it (especially the "Rolling Stone" review), so considering the amount of praise "Stuck in a Moment..." had received, I remember being fairly disappointed in that particular track.

Okay, so for some reason or another, I still wanted to listen to these guys. I kept reading about them and wanted to know what the FANS generally thought was their best album. So what do I do next? I buy "Achtung Baby!"

Oh yeah, I had read SO much goodstuff on this CD that I had to have it...and I did. About a week or so later I purchased "AB" AND...it didn't live up to the hype, in my opinion :(

HOWEVER, I had recognized one song off the cd and it really kept my interested in the band..."One." I really liked this tune (not so much as "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" at the time, but equivalent to "Mysterious Ways").

SO, while my interest in the band was still there, I decided to buy "THE JOSHUA TREE." This was the album that everybody knew and had their only #1 singles. I just knew I had to give it a shot, so if atleast I didn't like the album, I'd have the three masterpieces of U2 (according to "Rolling Stone").

I buy "The Joshua Tree," pop the sucker in my cd-player, listen, and GUESS WHAT?!! I was disappointed yet again :( For some reason or another, none of the hits off the album really did anything for me. However, I did grow an unusual strong liking towards "Red Hill Mining Town."

Okay, so after purchasing 3 of their supposed greatest albums and not seeing the great musicianship in either one of them, why did I continue to pursue the band? HONESTLY, I don't know, but I did anyway. I continued listening to each of the albums (moreso "Achtung Baby"...I found that to be the most interesting of the material I had of their's). So gradually, I came to really like that album...I really, really liked it...then I REALLY REALLY liked it.

I'm not sure why, but I grew an odd obession with that one album. I blared it over my cd-player, forced my brother to listen to it, had it in the car ALL the time...it was f'n great material!! I LOVED "Achtung Baby!" Soon, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was my 2nd favorite cd! "The Joshua Tree" took a wee bit longer to warm up to (now that's my 2nd favorite, though)

I really really really really liked those albums. They really did something for me (not sure what exactly, but it was definately something). Later on, before purchasing ALL the other albums ("War," then "Rattle & Hum," then "The Unforgettable Fire," then "Zooropa," then "POP," then "Boy," then "October"), I was checking through all my album and came across my first 2 cd's - the "Mortal Kombat" and "Batman Forever" soundtracks. I was checking through the tracklisting of each and much to my surprise I saw that U2 had made a song for the "BF" movie. I found that a tad amusing and decided to play and see what song it was (had to refresh my memory on a few of the songs), and MUCH TO MY SURPRISE...it was one of practically the only two songs I liked on the cd when I first purchased it! I remembered dancing around the cd-player to the tune and singing along to "Kiss From a Rose" during my younger years. I was REALLY happy to know that U2 recording that song.

SO, time passes, I go to one of their concerts (11/5/01 - GREAT SHOW!!!!), buy ALL their albums (except the "Best Of 1980-1990" and their live albums...oh, and the "Passengers" thing), and I'm loving every second of every minute of every song of every album from the band! They've really changed me (I know that sounds like an odd thing to say, but 'tis true)! I get involved in local community services, I find myself discussing and informing my peers about the seriousness of Third World Debt, and due to my extreme craze over the band, most of my friends and family tend to call me Bono from time to time (though some people, no matter how many times you tell them, still tend to pronounce it "Boh-no") :)

Well that's all for now. I'm done, stick a fork in me. For those of you who actually read this whole thing, thanks! And for those of you who didn't, I don't blame ya', I wouldn't have either :p
So long!
 
Wow, that's a great story! :applaud:
Looks like it always pays off when you keep on trying. :D Of course you should have been sold after the first 2 seconds of AB, but I don't blame ya! :p

C ya!

Marty

P.S. One more yay for all recent U2 fans! YAY!!! :dance:
 
I've told this story a few times, but I don't mind telling it again-my U2 fandom story:

I'd always liked U2's music-hear their big hits on the radio and sing along to them when I was little. And I'd always had a positive impression of the band, 'cause I saw that Pop-Up Video thing and I saw how into humanitarian causes they were and how nicely they were to fans (like that lady Bono kisses in the ISHFWILF video, and the director's telling her to leave, according to the Pop-Up show, and Bono was like, "Nah, she's not bothering anyone, it's cool"-I thought, wow, that was nice of him).

And then a couple of years ago, I was listening to a classic rock station one night and I heard "Angel Of Harlem". And I fell in love with that song. The more I heard it, the more I liked it, and so I decided to put it on a CD with some other U2 songs that I liked ('cause my sister went through a short U2 phase and was playing a lot of their ATYCLB stuff, which I liked as well).

And something clicked when I heard those songs. I just started to want to hear more U2.

Then in June of last year, I saw the Elevation Boston concert on T.V., and I got to hear a bunch of their songs I'd never heard before. I found out what the names of the songs were, and downloaded them, and started learning more about the band, and got even more hooked.

And then in July of that year, I also got The Joshua Tree, and the rest is history-I've been a fan for over a year and it's been a great experience.

As for the talk of their older albums, like their really early stuff-when I went back and heard the older U2 albums, I remember really liking what I heard. There were certain songs, like "Tomorrow" and "I Will Follow" and "Wire" and "A Sort Of Homecoming" and so on that just really grabbed my attention and became some of my favorites. October-I like that one 'cause the lyrics are very spiritual without being pushy. And I just think that's neat. I can express my spirituality through those songs and get that kind of an experience, and it's not in a pushy manner.

And I love UF. That is an awesome album. So many neat songs-I still say "MLK" is one of the prettiest songs U2's ever done. Very soothing and lullabyish.

The thing I liked about War when I heard it was the lyrics to the songs-totally fit my political ideals and everything, so I was like, "Yes! Songs that relate to me!" :D. And it was neat to hear some songs other than the big hits out there, and I really get a kick out of their early albums because it's amazing how far they've come since those days. And it's neat to hear how they sounded back then.

So, yeah, had I been alive in 1980, chances are I probably would've gotten into them then. But hey, better late than never.

Angela
 
Love Old U2

I started liking U2 in 2000 (when I was 12) and I love their older music. I have Desire on 7" and it is 100 times better there than on cd, because it has such a raw sound.

This was supposed to be in the 'Question for newer U2 fans'. I guess I'm still working out this board. Sorry about that!
 
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I first became a U2 fan in May of 2001, when my sister gave me the Joshua Tree and ATYCLB. I listened to JT during my art class, and the music inspired me so much. I remember thinking how good WTSHNN was, and each song just got better and better. By the time BTBS was over, I was absolutely hooked. I went home, and listened to ATYCLB, and knew that I had found a great band, especially considering that up until that day my favorite band was the Backstreet Boys!

I didn't really listen to them over the summer, but then my sister gave me R&H, which I listened to every morning on my 1 1/2 hour bus ride to school. After that came Achtung Baby, then UABRS, then UF- which absolutlely amazed me that a bunch of 24 year old guys could be that good. The first time I listened to Bad, it was like some sort of magic and joy, which i still feel every time I listen to it.
 
Been a fan since 1983, ever since I saw the New Years Day video on TV I was hooked, I have to say though even to this day I still rarely play Boy or October, the War album was the one that did it for me! :bow:
 
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