Merged ----> ** Remembering SLANE ** + August 25, 2001

[zooropamanda]

** Remembering SLANE **


Its almost a year since I left my lil home on an adventure which I called my 'Last Train to Bono', where I flew to The UK and Ireland to see U2 for Slane.
As it will be a year since the Slane gig on August 25 (and a week later for Slane 2), I thought it would be nice for all the Slaners and non Slaners who wanted to be Slaners, to remember back and share some great memories with each other.
Remember our count down thread?

It would be cool to have a re sharing of photos and stories mainly because I think a lot of people probably missed them first time round as many were travelling at the time. Even if you don't want to share thoughts, if you were there, post your stamp on this thread!

Personally I think Slane 2001 has to go down as one of the most memorable U2 gigs and I know that for me it was an amazing journey.
I met some wonderful people, shared that day and night with some cool interlanders, and was taken to a place that I'll never forget because of the sheer significance and magic of being a part of the 80,000 strong crowd on that rainy, but sunny saturday on the hill..

Please share your special memories and photos if you have them.

 

[zooropamanda]

 

[Salome]

I remember Slane
the weather was great over here
I spent the day in the back garden
even got a tan

 

[bono_man]

nah i'd rather not remenise in here about slane with you guys. some of you, not mentioning names here* got jealous of my slane experience and roasted me and desert_rose about what we said, etc. so i will remain silent...


*zooropamanda

 

[CatDubh]

DOH!



I was prolly crying my head off, coz I was trying to get tix even in the last minutes, but I couldn't. But, I heard so many stories, good ones and bad ones and I really wish I could have been there.

Umm, yeah, and Larry said himself, it's a night that they'll never forget. No1 will evah forget about that night

 

[zooropamanda]

*sniff
jonny, please, dont be mean
tell your story, i want to hear it this time when im not sitting in a stinky net cafe in temple bar

 

[jezebel]

*** goosebumps***

WASN'T IT A GORGEOUS DAY??????

Ohhhhhhh......

yep, started out gloomy and rainy, ended up being perfect.....

Best 2 1/2 weeks of my life!

(noooo, the concert wasn't 2 1/2 weeks (see joyfulgirls thread), I was in Ireland for 2 1/2 weeks!)

 

[lazyboy]

Slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, i remember it, and Slane2!! To think they are still trying to sell tickets to this years Slane a week before it's actually on! If only it was so easy to get em last year......
Dunno if the pic will work, just one at Slane1, look, lotsa people!

 

[Truly]

I was at Slane 2 and I can't believe it's been almost a whole year already Sometimes it feels like yesterday.

Slane was definitely the best day of my life ever!!! I didn't decide I wanted to go until the beginning of August, so getting tickets was a bit of a problem, and in the end I had to get them off a ticket broker which wasn't exactly cheap! But it was worth every penny!!!! Even though I was about a mile away from the stage and had to watch the screens to work out what was going on

I've got loads of fond memories from that day - turning the corner out of the woods and seeing the stage and the crowd for the first time....the Ireland vs Holland match, when everyone gravitated towards the screen at the front to watch....80,000 people leaping into the air when Ireland won....Moby bringing Dougal (forget his real name) from Father Ted out to sing "My lovely horse" ....everyone singing along to "The boys are back in town"......Bono singing "Tonight Slane Castle belongs to me" in "Angel of Harlem"......the emotion in his voice when he recited the names of people killed at Omagh during SBS....the moment I heard the first notes of "Pride," my favourite song at the time and the one I was hoping they'd play more than anything.....everyone breaking out into crys of "Oleeeeee ole ole ole" if U2 stopped playing for more than 5 seconds.....the way everyone sang "The referee won't blow the whistle" just that little bit louder than the rest of the song....the fireworks to "The Unforgettable Fire" - sooooo amazing ....the long walk back to the bus and then falling asleep for the whole journey back to Dublin......what seemed like almost everyone in Dublin wearing a Slane t-shirt the next day (if they weren't wearing a football shirt)

*sigh* wish I could do all that over again

 

[what a bomb!]

Zooropamanda i can't believe you haven't mentioned the fact that you went to a Earls Court gig too!!!!!! Yes I'm sure Slane was amazing but so were the London gigs!!!! grrrrr!

 

[bono_man]

Slane was an amazing time for many involved here at Interference. It all really started months before with zooropamanda (I think??) starting a thread about Interfers who were thinking of going, meeting up, etc. I had was taking the year off uni and decided to take the plunge. I went and bought my airline ticket well before the tickets went on sale and just hoped for the best I would get one!

By some wonderful twist of fate, I crossed paths with Angel and desert rose and the 3 of us planned our trip together from there. We were all online when tickets went on sale and to our utter amazement...we missed out!!! Then we got desperate and started throwing around all sorts of cash values in vien attempts to get tickets. I already had my flight booked for christ sakes!!! In desperation I was able to book a ticket to their show in London on August 21st. I wasnt going to go all that way and NOT see U2!!!

To cut a LONG story short, the three of us were able to secure tickets to Slane in the end and in yet another twist of fate, all had tickets to London 21! We planned our whole trip around eachother and the shows. Little did we know what was to follow...

I think I will save our London story to next week, one year after the show. But it was THE most amazing show I have and will ever see....no question. I think Rosa and Christina will agree with me.

For those who spent those fews days in Dublin prior to Slane One, you will remember the atmosphere and overall feeling of togetherness that hung around Temple Bar. Many of the wonderful people we met in the ques in London were in Dublin and even staying the same hostels. A special bond was formed that week, like we had known these people all our lives.

Upon reaching the venue on that rainy Saturday morning, spirits remained high, even though the weather seemed against us. However, as with all things about our time together, through adversity and against the odds (its Ireland it always rains!) the sun started to shine, the clouds cleared and it left us with truely a beautiful day!

As we negoitated our way through the crowds to get the best position (Rosa and I, Christina was with other people at this point) we met up with our friend Michelle. She had by chance, brought the Heart armbands from London that we had and with lady luck shining upon us once again, they were the same bands being used at Slane! Rosa and I put the bands on and walked directly into the Heart!! At Slane!! The spots where people had been lining up since Friday for, we walked straight into! Naughty yes...but hey, its Slane peoples!!

After watching amazing performances by Relish, Coldplay and RHCP, the time had come. Rosa and I decided to take up positions on Edge's side of the Heart runway, halfway down. During The End of the World, Bono walked passed us. With a rather attractive girl being next to me (Rosa), Bono stopped, looked back and walked back towards us. He bent down to Rosa, grabbed my hand on the way thru and reached out to her, taking her glasses. The media went wild at this point causing the glasses to be broken and Bono to lose his temper at the photographers! He got up, continued on with the show while Rosa slowly lost it!! hehe. To top this off, A Sort of Homecoming was played which sent most of us into another world. The fact that Bono had buried his father less than 24 hours before added to the feeling of the show and made the performance amazing for all involved...just so emotional. Kite had almost everyone in tears and One was pretty much the same.

After the long trip back to Dublin the three of us decided enough was enough. We had to get out of Dublin. It had all been too much for us! We escaped to the other side of the country for the week and more adventures.

Slane was amazing for me and I am sure for Rosa and Christina. I will never forget being at two shows that will probably go down in U2's history...all in the space of five days!!

I dont believe in magic...but I do believe magical things can happen...

 

[bono_man]

PS - my avatar was taken by one of the photographers who was directly in front of Rosa and I when Bono was reaching out to us.

 

[zooropamanda]

what a bomb, i actually enjoyed myself more in earls court than at slane, matey!
this was just such a significant event for many so i thought id get in early.
dont worry, i will be talking about my earls court gigs come august 21 and 22!

yeah, jon, i think i did start up the thread way back when. its so crazy that i never met up with you guys!
meeting lazy was just so overwhelming, i dont think i could have coped with more

great stories so far guys! keep em comin, i'll be back when my mind is unstuffed to remember..

 

[Bono's pet Frog]

Is this just an excuse to show my picture again, manda?

 

[Fritzy]

Happy Slaneaversary

*sigh* what an experience.

magical.

getting to see U2 in Ireland, and meeting up with so many cool people, it doesn't get much better than that, does it?

i can't believe a year has passed.

unfortunately my pix are not on this computer so if i can locate them i will come back and post some.

 

[adamswildhoney]

I like all of the stories! I had hope to go to Ireland for Slane but my gram fell ill and so I had to stay bc it was touch and go there for awhile. Glad to see that everyone who wen had a fun time. Someday I plan on going to Ireland, the only question is WHEN?!

 

[Fritzy]

don't put it off!

i need to go back and see more of the country.

 

[dougal55]

I agree totally with Bono_man and Angel it was a magical experience for us all who were there! By the way, hi to you both!

I took three of my pals, Mat, Dean and Elaine to the gig and it was both Dean and Elaine's first U2 gig too! We arrived from London on the Thursday before the first show and I left on the Monday after the show. In-between, I have had an amazing time at not just the gig but also the city I love and definitely especially meeting fellow U2 fans in Temple Bar too including Bono_man and Angel! They and many others were great and we all sang to the songs blaring out at The Palace Bar! Oh what fun!

As for the gig itself, it was a long long day but every minute is worth it! Right from getting up at 5.30am (this, after a long night of drinking Guinness! lol!) travelling up to the gig and the long night getting back to the hostel afterwards at 4am! The highlights of the day? Well, managing to get wristbands at all to get into the outer heart! my that was a real rush and crush to get that! lol! Plus the gorgeous sunshine that day! lovely!

The support bands were great apart from Kelis who were crap! But happily Coldplay, Relish and RHCP were perfect support..... especially the Peppers. I havent heard any of their stuff, only a bit of Californication on TV that was all so it was a treat to see them perform given their immense reputation on stage! Needless to say, it was Higher Ground that was the real highlight for me when at least 30,000 people were waving their tops above their heads! superb!

Of course the day wasnt complete without the appearance of the four Irish guys....Yeah I agree with Bono_man...hearing A Sort of Homecoming was, to me quite a shock! I didnt expect that so I was elated about that! I remember the audience going ballistic when U2 came on with Elevation! WOW! I dont want to give you all the song details but needless to say it was fantastic!

It was also a day of reflection for Bono as it was the day after his father's funeral so it was quite moving to see his father's face on the video screens at the top (from the video One) as part of his tribute to him. Im pretty sure the whole audience were with him at this point. He was a marvellous and an inspirational guy to Bono. God bless him!

Anyway, all in all, it was a magical day for me and my pals who came with me.....

dougal

 

[zooropamanda]

Sir Frog....erm
after my last attempt, do u actually think Im game?
fritzy will understand the fear i feel, eh fritzy.

btw, everyone, fritzy and bono's pet frog are 2 of the wonderful people i spent slane with and we had a ball.
we especially had a ball during coldplay, didnt we fritz?

 

[Fritzy]

hehehe thanks manda, same there

we were definitely meant to all spend that day together, considering the group of us managed to find each other in the crowd randomly lol.

*still looking for her shoes
who knew coldplay turns the crowd wild?

 

[ZooEuropa]

Its so weird to think its actually been a year since the last U2 concert. *sigh* I miss Dublin too.

 

[Bono's pet Frog]

Yup, it was fortunate i did find you lot (well, unfortunate for you) , cause i thought i would be standing on my lonesome. Almost missed my bus as well, thanks to drinking too many pints the previous day.
I also remember it was Fritzy who was first to leave the coldplay crush (as i now call it), which was probably a good idea in heindsight.
For some reason, i feel like a pint (or ten) of guiness.

 

[Fritzy]

as i recall, i didn't leave so much as get pulled out lol

yeah i could go for a guinness myself

 

[ZooEuropa]

as i recall, i didn't leave so much as get pulled out lol

yeah i could go for a guinness myself

HELL YEAH!!!

 

[zooropamanda]

at least when you hit the ground fritz, the guy who pulled you out didnt pull you up with your t shirt over your head!

 

[bono_man]

and who remembers the massive inflatable penis floating around slane all day?

ahhh...the memories...

 

[zooropamanda]

Funny he should say that, eh fritz?

 

[Ultravioletbabe]

I had to get all my news from the internet- I was so excited when the pics came up on Yahoo! Bono looked so sexy!

 

[bono_man]

oh thats the one manda. that was the second biggest dick in the house coming in a close second to the lead singer from JJ72.

 

[coolhandlaura]

i was at slane 1

what a fuckin day!!

and not just for U2 who were absolutely flippin incredible, but for The chillis and Coldplay.

what a day!

i had such an amazing time. amazing.

this years slane is such a dissapointment compared to it.!!!