Question for all the older people

[JCOSTER]

Seeing them appear one by one silouhetted against the red glowing background, brought me to tears.


But then again, that always happens when they appear on stage.

 

[hughfan_1]

Now Pop. I know this isn't going to be popular around here, but this is where they really lost the old fans (at least the ones I know)
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Yes, they lost a lot of folks with POP. The YMCA stuff and lemons overshadowed the music. The first U2 album I bought was POP and POPMART was the first U2 concert I ever went to. Didn't like the album much, and the concert was way over the top, where I was more interested in finding out what that lemon did than listening to the music. POP remained on my CD shelf without being listened to for years. But I turned into a fanatic with ATYCLB and as I result I revisited that POP album. And it turns out that POP just so happens to be a great album. It has aged extemely well and it has so many great songs on it. I did not get U2's music when POP was released. I get them now.

 

[hughfan_1]

These are the times when I envy everyone who has been a fan for ages. I have purchased all the albums in about two and half years, as opposed to the 30 years for most others. I would have loved to see U2 when they were at the absolute pinnacle of their careers, in both music and media.

Umm, I think they are at the absolute pinnacle of their careers, in both music and media RIGHT NOW. They were big during JT, ZOO TV but now that are in the stratosphere. And I think they are getting better and better as time goes by, they are not finished yet.

I am so looking forward to what is next for this band.

 

[U2Kitten]

Umm, I think they are at the absolute pinnacle of their careers, in both music and media RIGHT NOW. They were big during JT, ZOO TV but now that are in the stratosphere.

They have been in the firmament since the Elevation tour. And they're not coming down.

 

[Liesje]

Now Pop. I know this isn't going to be popular around here, but this is where they really lost the old fans (at least the ones I know)
-------------------------------------

Yes, they lost a lot of folks with POP. The YMCA stuff and lemons overshadowed the music. The first U2 album I bought was POP and POPMART was the first U2 concert I ever went to. Didn't like the album much, and the concert was way over the top, where I was more interested in finding out what that lemon did than listening to the music. POP remained on my CD shelf without being listened to for years. But I turned into a fanatic with ATYCLB and as I result I revisited that POP album. And it turns out that POP just so happens to be a great album. It has aged extemely well and it has so many great songs on it. I did not get U2's music when POP was released. I get them now.

That's how I feel too. And for every fan they lost because of POP, they gained half a dozen more

 

[Bono's shades]

Prior to 1987 and the release of the Joshua Tree, U2 was still refered to as an "underground band" in the United States, despite having soldout multiple arena shows in the USA in various cities. Part of the reason was the lack of radio airplay the band received in those days, relative to what it received after the release of the Joshua Tree. Coverage on MTV may have been better, but U2 were not a regular feature on their weekly top 20 countdowns. Those who would listen to the national radio top 40 countdown on Sunday's were more likely to say You Who? instead yeah, I know who U2 are. Obviously, modern rock fans, college students and other select groups would naturally talk about the band, but your average person in the general public was unlikelly to know who U2 were.

Then, U2 released the Joshua Tree in March of 1987, and With Or With Out You climbed to the top of radio play list all across the USA. MTV would play the video every hour! Remember, this is back when MTV actually played video's all day long. The same happened with "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Their tour stops were major events and people would travel from hundreds of miles around to see them in concert. Think of that song that always seems to be on the radio when ever you turn the radio on now, and that was "With Or With Out You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" in 1987.

By the summer of 1988, this mass level of exposure was already starting to create backlash among some people. Rattle Hum later that fall just moved that up, but I remember people telling me that Desire was played at their school dances that fall, and everyone would stop what they were doing and clap when the song was over. Very over the top, reverent for a school dance I would say.

Starting in 1990, people got a breather, but by the end of 1991, the machine started up again for Achtung Baby, and the summer of 1992 felt just like the summer of 1987, except this time, everyone had a lot of U2's albums and had read a book or two about the band. So, similar exposure, but now the fan base was much larger and more fanatical.

Through out that late 80s/early 90s period, it was difficult to find someone who really did not like U2. Sure, people got tired of the exposure occasionally, even die hard U2 fans, but most people only had positive things to say about the band.

There was no internet in those days and tie ins with TV programs was not as common. Most of the exposure was through radio and MTV.

That's pretty much how I remember it having gone to high school/college in Iowa the 1980s and being a young adult in the early '90s. Back in 1983 or 1984, this guy from our high school newspaper wrote a story about U2, saying how great they were and what a shame it was they were hardly ever played on the radio! I remember being intrigued by the article, but never bothering to check out the band. I didn't fall in love with them until With or Without You started getting radio play in 1987. And suddently they were THE band and got on the cover of Time, etc. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing them, but aside from a little bit of grumbling from a few folks who had been fans in the early days, almost everyone seemed to adore them.

 

[The_acrobat]

I'm not old, but I have been a U2 fan for 12 years. The year was 1995, and I was 13 years old. I didn't really care about music back then. I just knew I hated hip hop and rap, which was all everybody at school would listen to. Then, it happened. "Hold me thrill me kiss me kill me" was playing on MTV, and I saw the video. I knew nothing about U2, I couldn't have even named one of their songs. I just knew they were a band who my mom liked that was popular in the late 80s/early 90s. But I really liked that song. I dug out my mom's cassette copy of Joshua Tree, and for the first time, I was engrossed by an album. I loved everything about it. And through 95 and 96, I eventually bought all their albums and became as big of a fan as there ever was.

Then in 1997, U2 finally released an album DURING my fandom. I was so psyched. I loved Pop, I thought Discotheque was exciting and different... a step forward for them. Then, the backlash came. What was happening? Suddenly, kids at school were making fun of me for liking U2. Every article I read on the band was negative. It was surely not a good time to become a U2 fan. I actually saw Popmart in Columbus... my first concert ever. It was, at that point, the single greatest thing I had ever seen in my life. If I hadn't seen them live, I probably would've bought into the backlash... it wouldn't have been hard cause I was 15 at the time. But for me and my 4 friends who saw the concert, we were U2 fans for life, through the thick.... and then the thin. ATYCLB was released, U2 were back on top, and suddenly EVERYONE liked U2. Which was good for me, but the POP era will always be MY time with U2.

 

[Greenlight]

I can identify with a lot of the comments here. I first got into U2 around October/War time. They were big in the student community - a must see live band but hardly mainstream at this time and from what I remember they were regarded as quite anti-establishment for a while. MTV didn't even exist in the UK then - I don't think I even saw a U2 video until the Joshua Tree and there weren't many commercial radio stations but they got quite a bit of exposure playing live on TV programmes such as The Tube & Old Grey Whistle Test which were great for new bands.
Live Aid obviously made a big difference and helped make them more well known but the Joshua Tree just catapulted them to another level altogether. I think it was the fastest selling album in British history. It was played everywhere you went and everyone thought it was amazing.
Like others though I hated Pop when it first came out. I blame it on an early mid life crisis but I didn't even bother trying to get tickets to see the Pop tour. It's now one of my favourite albums though but it took ATYCLB to make me see it.
I sometimes wonder what effect the internet would have had on U2 if it had been around at the time. I bet they'd have got a bigger fan base much quicker than they did.

 

[Snowlock]

Back in the day, when MTV actually nearly exclusively showed videos, New Years Day and Sunday Bloody Sunday were pretty prevelent, but didn't make any more waves than other songs of that early to mid 80's era. They kind of blended in.

Then they dipped in popularity, and though Pride was out and did okay, and the Live Aid performance made a few ripples, really it seemed like they were gone. And just as if The Thompson Twins or the Eurythmics had had a couple non album years, it was the same with U2. You knew about them, liked a song or two when you heard it, maybe even picked up the War album, but really, nothing but a passing fancy sort of thing.

Then With or Without You debuted on MTV. Buzz started to build. Then it went to #1 in the US, and the Joshua Tree hit. Things got pretty busy. You started to see the old videos again, there were U2 specials, they were in the news. They were coming to town.

But then I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For debuted. And the boys were at their peak. That video was on MTV like every ten minutes. It seemed as if 80's new wave cheese died over night; it was suddenly just gone. The new videos from the hair metal bands conspicuously were missing make up and outlandish outfits. Suddenly their hair was straight, and they were wearing leather vests with no shirts on underneath; they released albums with a lot of acoustic songs ot them. Hmmm.

The summer of 1987 belonged to U2; what with the two consecutive #1 singles, and the big tour, and the pervasive MTV presence. There were books, calendars, posters, interview cassettes. Sure that stuff is around now as well, but you have to look for it a bit (at least in the States). Back then you could find a U2 calendar at the gas station. No joke, for a very brief period, there as a mania about them equal to that of any early 2000's boy band. Then later on into the fall they had, the Steets video, which didn't do as well, MLK Day controversy and then the Christmas Song and video, and Bono's injury which kept the public eye nearly squarely on them (they did share a piece of the spotlight with Def Leppard and Guns N Roses; though those two bands didn't have the cross over and mainstream media success that U2 enjoyed.)

They went away for a bit in '88, though their videos were still being played, and they released alesser single, In God's Country; but didn't have the crossover radio success of the previous big two.

There were rumors of a movie for late '88. Desire was released as the first single to said movie in the early fall of '88 and it seemed that the machine was gonna start turning again as Desire shot straight to #3. Then amidst the gathering mania, the movie debuted, and... Ummm...

Backlash. Critics panned it as self indulgent. Fans of the Joshua Tree wanted The Joshua Tree Two; but they got the Blues version. The live cuts were too gospel-y and too preachy. The movie didn't do well (bombed, actually). Angel of Harlem didn't do well on MTV. When Love Comes To Town had some legs, and revived BB King's career, thank you very much. But then All I Want Is You was just a blip and the band faded out; going on tour on the other side of the world. There was one more blip when Bono announced they would "Go away, and dream it all up again", but by this time it was really and truely over; and the music scene moved on.

To be continued.

 

[thankyou]

Snowlock, that's actually a pretty accurate description. I sort of remember it fairly similar.
I do remember the time I was at the movies and they started to show the preview of Rattle and Hum. At first couldn't figure out what they were referring to, because the preview didn't show anybody from the band, just a sound, and then their silhouettes appeared on that big screen. The thrill of hearing WTSHNN opening up, and thinking "Oh wow! I can't wait to see that!"

Unfortunately in the 90's i got so busy with having kids, for a while i lost track of them. I remember getting Achtung Baby and liking it, even though my ex-husband at the time referred to them as "gosh, what's up with them and the drag stuff? have they gone gay or what?" I guess that was my first warning that i should divorce the guy.

And then I remember their music just sneaking in over and over again. Snippets here and there. Songs that did break through. I remember hearing them in movie themes (Batman, City of Angels etc.. and their songs were always my favorite on the track), or hearing them on the radio here and there and always just loving them. Who wouldn't?

 

[JCOSTER]

^ During POP was my low period with U2 due to having kids etc. I couldn't keep up with their goings on. I did however manage to get to 2 POPmart shows.

 

[love2bmama]

I, too, kind of lost track of u2 a little bit in the '90s, busy getting married, having kids, etc. I definitely loved AB, and didn't love Pop or Zooropa.

I have some appreciation for a lot of the songs on Pop now, but I didn't really get back into their music until 2000 when I went through a personal crisis and, honestly, listening to u2 night and day on a cd walkman was what got me through it. If you don't understand that then I can't explain it to you, but I do feel I owe the hopeful messages in their music a debt of gratitude I can't ever repay.
And this is officially way too personal for this thread, so I'll stop there, lol!

 

[Aygo]

I'm not that old, so, I don't remember the 80's very well, in fact, I can't remember the 80's U2.

The early 90's too. I remember the Zoo era, singles on the radio. "The Fly" and "WHo's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" were better received by radio stations at the time than "Mysterious Ways" or "Even Better Than The Real Thing", here in Portugal. "One" was a massive hit in rock radios.
I remember very well that at the time, everything that radios aired was Guns'n'Roses, Bon Jovi, Brian Adams, 4Non-Blondes and some other stuff. That was what was hot here!

I remember hearing when Zoo TV came to Lisbon, but I didn't go to the show

By the Zooropa time, I remember listening massively "Stay" on the radio mixed with Nirvana, Green Day and Pearl Jam. "Lemon" didn't get much promotion here, but the "Numb" video was aired at every music TV show. It was pretty weird. Me and my sister, we used to poke fun of The Edge being tied, licking feet, etc...

I remember The Passengers era too. I didn't pay much attention to it - don't know why - but I remember that the album went #1 here, because "Miss Sarajevo" was always the last video to be aired in the countdowns.

The Pop-era... I remember the backlash, it was huge around here.
In Portugal there's a lot the cult of the JT/AB stadium anthems. Pop was the opposite to it.
"Staring At The Sun" was well received and IGWSHA was aired in radios too, but "Discotheque" was very criticized and I remember people poking fun at those gayish-U2. I can't remember LNOE, I think it was ignored here.
Popmart Tour here was huuuuuge, naturally

"Sweetest Thing" was sucessfull and the The Best Of 80-90 was the premonition of the "get back times old U2". "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" was a radio moderate-sucess, but the soundtrack was ignored and then...

It came ATYCLB. Here, I remember the explosion of "Beautiful Day" and the constant rumours of a Elevation show here. The Best Of 90-2000 sold very well here, as much as the predecessor, I think, much because of "Electrical Storm".

I didn't have to explain things especifically in my country after 1997 (when I became fan), but it was just to situate...

 

[DontExpect]

...but I probably resented having to share them with everybody else at that point. Kids are funny.

It's funny. I'm still in high school, and the feeling is probably much different. While everyone knows U2 and the songs are pretty familiar, I am known as the only person in the school who is really crazy about them. Now I want to SHARE them with as many people as I can because it bugs me that most high schoolers think they are uncool.

Oh well, kids are funny

 

[Bones58]

It's funny. I'm still in high school, and the feeling is probably much different. While everyone knows U2 and the songs are pretty familiar, I am known as the only person in the school who is really crazy about them. Now I want to SHARE them with as many people as I can because it bugs me that most high schoolers think they are uncool.

Oh well, kids are funny

No worries, I've converted 3 or 4 friends in highschool to massive U2 fans They finally saw the light

 

[Allanah]

These are the times when I envy everyone who has been a fan for ages. I have purchased all the albums in about two and half years, as opposed to the 30 years for most others. I would have loved to see U2 when they were at the absolute pinnacle of their careers, in both music and media.

I know how you feel (I'm 24 and became a fan in 2005), but it is also kind of cool to discover them later in their career. No waiting years between albums; they're all on a shelf at the music store just waiting to be discovered. For me, it was like stumbling onto a goldmine.

 

[last unicorn]

I came to the band and the music rather late, but I was interested once before, when Achtung Baby came out. Anyway, the interest did not last very long and I was into different kinds of music for most of the 90s. In the 80s, at least that's how I feel to day, I did not understand their music since I was simply too young. I really came back to discover U2 around 2000. I used to envy people very much that were long time fans, but now I see it as a great chance and a great endevear to discover their history from present back to the beginnings. It's a privilege for me. I find it quite challenging and very interesting and I like them more than ever before now, especially since I have read so much about the band personally in recent years.

 

[Yahweh_OMG]

I got into them in 1989.... but knew a lot of their songs (somewhere in my head), thanks to my 2 older sisters....

First thing I got was R&H, and then October..... and then R&H video.... this blew me away so much.... this intensity, this voice, charisma....well, everything a band could wish for, U2 had it. Then Achtung Baby came out in 91 and I had the cance to see them live in 92 and 93..... the greatest concert ever was indoor 92.... no words to express the feelings..... AB is my favourite album by far, but at the time they were already another band..... then I wanted to see how they were in the early 80's, to compare the songs live, see how Bono was behaving during concerts.... wow... what an energy back then....82-85 this was crazy, a real punk-rock band, full of anger.... I liked it....
In 97 I saw POP Mart 2 times, great show, but totally different from what I saw in 92, even more different if you compare with the 80's....
In 2001, I saw them again in indoor, it was closer to 92 than 97 in terms of energy and music..... but to me it had lost a lot of something.... I don't know what, probably anger and sincerity....
Finally 2005-2006, I saw them 5 times..... a bit disappointed at first, but it got better and better to finally end with a few of their best live show in 15 years (Zew Zealand, Japan).

U2 had at least 4-5 different styles, different way to play live, to act, to show us how to be the best band in the world..... those changes are why they are still the best live act in 2006, 27 years later....

 

[X-it 7]

Great thread! I could write a book on this subject. For the first time in my life though, I'm going to keep it relatively short and comment on their live performances.

If you've seen U2 in the 90's and 00's but did NOT see them in the 80's, think of it this way: You know all the TV's hanging from the scaffolding, the 40 foot video wall, the mirrorball lemon, the B-stage, the heart, the elipse, anything and everything that U2 has utilized in their groundbreaking tours since 1992 and the unbelievable excitement they've added to their shows? Got a picture in your head? Got a feeling in your stomach?

Now imagine just four guys on stage with nothing but a silk backdrop behind them yet exuding MORE of a frenzy and MORE of an excitement than what they did in the 90's and 00's (arguable point, of course). Or, just think of their 15 minute Live Aid set and the excitement it provided, but the whole thing lasting for two hours plus. THAT to me was U2 live in the 80's. And to this day there is still no band that even comes close to touching their live performances. Not even remotely close. After I saw them for the first time in in the mid-80's I literally could not sleep well for about three days. They were THAT good!

Well I guess that wasn't short. Obviously I've taken to rambling in my old age (I'm only 33!!!). Again, great thread.

 

[BEVERLY56]

I'm sorry. I'd love to answer this ... but I forgot the question.

 

[Zoots]

It was absolutely fantastic to be a U2 fan in the 90s! Especially the early to mid 90s. There was a lot of backclash with Pop and it kinda grew on me over time.

Got into them in I think 1991 or 1992 after watching one of those videos either Mysterious Ways or Even Better Than The Real Thing on MTV Asia.

Knew nothing about their 80s past and they came off to me as this uber cool rock band that always dressed in leather and/or black. Only towards the mid 90s or so when I listened to the Joshua Tree and then Rattle & Hum, did I know about their past. That said, Pride was one of the first songs of theirs that I knew and loved... the R&H version!

It's mostly the videos (and the songs of course) that made me a solid fan... EBTTRT, Numb, One, Stay, MW, WGRYWH, Lemon, Discotheque etc. Didn't know about The Fly till much later when I bought Achtung on cassette. For some reason, they didn't show the Fly video much or at all on MTV Asia.

When Pop was released, I think I only had AB & JT on cassette and had maybe listened to War as well. Loved the singles & videos from Pop. Couldn't get into much of the experimental shit like Miami, Mofo or Velvet Dress. Bought the CD only in 2000 and the album freakin blew me away!

It's amazing when I think about it. In 1997/98, they really came off as a tired old band that had become so cynical and lost all hope of anything good in the world. And I actually felt sorry for them. Didn't realize at the time that it was really all just an act... a facade that Bono had pulled off marvelously. Cos Beautiful Day was like a total 180 from Wake Up Dead Man. And my jaw hit the floor watching the BD video. Was this the same desperate and pleading rock star??? Loved Beautiful Day almost as much as Pop. It was not until I borrowed ATYCLB from a roommate and listened to Stuck In A Moment, that I felt a crushing disappointment for the very first time from my favorite band.

Nevertheless, I've grown to appreciate the strengths of ATYCLB and to some extent, HTDAAB. That's my story, thanks for reading.

 

[U2Man]

great story zoot. everything was fine, right until the stuck line.

 

[Zoots]

great story zoot. everything was fine, right until the stuck line.

It's the truth. When I first listened to Stuck I was like WTF is this??? Sounds more like Michael Bolton than U2. That was my first reaction.

 

[xaviMF22]

great story zoot. everything was fine, right until the stuck line.

I thought it was the best part

 

[BVS]

Didn't realize at the time that it was really all just an act... a facade that Bono had pulled off marvelously.

You honestly thought it was a facade? Yet you thought that was cool?

BTW Bolton could have never pulled off such a wordy chorus.

 

[Zoots]

You honestly thought it was a facade? Yet you thought that was cool?

Um.. when did I say I thought it was cool? I didn't particularly care for almost half the album when it first came out. Songs like Miami, Mofo, Velvet Dress etc. sounded freaking cool to me only in 2000 when the album finally "hit" me.

 

[U2Man]

i cannot believe it only took three years.

 

[Zoots]

Well... truth be told, I didn't "own" the album till 2000. Before that I'd probably listened to it all the way thru a handful of times.. maybe 3 or 4 times, that's it. It was a friend's copy and I returned it back to him before the 'album' songs ever grew on me. Although, now I'm not sure. I might have liked Gone back then. But damn, felt a bit like johnny come lately when I finally got it in 2000. Despite having been a fan since the early to mid 90s, I've never been prompt at getting their albums... until HTDAAB that is.

 

[BVS]

Um.. when did I say I thought it was cool?

You always refer to the 90's as cool.

You said you didn't realize the "the facade" until later as well, yet you still refer to the 90's as the cool. I'm just wondering why faking cynicism would be cool...

 

[U2Man]

Well... truth be told, I didn't "own" the album till 2000. Before that I'd probably listened to it all the way thru a handful of times.. maybe 3 or 4 times, that's it. It was a friend's copy and I returned it back to him before the 'album' songs ever grew on me. Although, now I'm not sure. I might have liked Gone back then. But damn, felt a bit like johnny come lately when I finally got it in 2000. Despite having been a fan since the early to mid 90s, I've never been prompt at getting their albums... until HTDAAB that is.

i was in the record shop on the day it was released. but then again, i'm a real fan