u2's popularity / ? for "younger" fans

[jphelmet]

how popular is u2 with high school and college age fans?
i recently started coaching a high school basketball team and although i'm really old to them (27), i'm no that old. one of them asked me about the music i like, and of cource i said u2 first, and the comment to me was "oh, i've heard of them." just curious how many fans under 21 are on this borad, and are they really big u2 fans. second, how many "older" fans care if u2 is really popular with younger fans? just curious because i hear a lot of people discussing,with regard to the new album, what u2 has to do to get younger fans etc. i personally don't care if they get any more fans or if younger kids like their new album. don't misunderstand me, i welcome any new u2 fans and hope they see how brilliant they are and discover all their past materpieces, but i certainly don't care about album sales, getting new fans, etc.

 

[popacrobat]

U2 isnt that popular in my high school. I burned maybe 7 kids CDs, and they loved it...

before then,they, along with the rest of the school, think u2 is all beautiful day (which they like) and stuck in a moment, but that only scratches the surface

its a matter of them hearing all of their music really.

 

[alexvilagosh]

I'm 15, and I've really taken to U2. I was introduced to them with ATYCLB by my sister, and haven't looked back since. However, I prefer their older stuff, and I don't really like ATYCLB now.

All my friends give me shit for liking U2. They only know them as Beautiful Day too, and some know the Sweetest Thing. But thats about it. They only like the punk rock crap or rap.

My musical tastes (and my personality) seem to be 10 years ahead of me. I get on better with 20 year olds than with people my own age, and like the same music as them.

Being 15, I am annoyed by people who think I'm not really a fan of U2 just because I haven't seen them live, or have only been listening to them for 3 years. It's a bit hard to see them live when the last time they came I was 9. Other people also dismiss me as one of those teeny-bopper fans, which annoys me.

I used to like Coldplay a lot, but recently they have had too much media attention and then they got the teeny-bopper image... annoys me a hell of a lot.

[/end rant]

 

[Liesje]

U2 was popular in my school in that people were always singing Stuck or Sweetest Thing in the halls. The huge fans consisted of myself, my friends, and a few younger teachers (20s-30s).

At my college they are a HUGE item. Last year I had a program that would search all of the computers on our network at a given time for any .mp3 file, and U2 always came back with the most hits followed most closely by DMB (most of my searches yeilded around 97,000 files, these are only from computers on and available to the network at the time of the search).

I'd bet that they are one of, if not the most popular band on campus. At the dining hall I've seen Elevation tour shirts, Rattle and Hums shirts, a War shirt, and even an "I *heart* U 2" shirt. Their posters are bought fast at the annual poster sale, hell, there's even an amazing guy here who's teaching an interim course based on U2's music. Our school's President and the man I just mentioned (not a Prof, but a really intelligen, wise man who I think works more with the Pres. and actually lives in Virginia) met with Bono personally a few months back to discuss AIDS in Africa.

A lot of it can be attributed to our Student Activities Director, who is a mega-fan, as well as most of the ResLife live-in staff, who obviously have a lot of influence on students. Also, I go to a Christian college, not that U2 is a declared "Christian" or CCM band, but it helps I'm sure. All of the guys I work with that went to this school are big fans.

I've made a lot of new friends here b/c of U2. Like, people stop by and ask to come in and see the "U2 room" and we start chatting and so on....At any rate, I can see U2 being MUCH more popular here than at a huge university.

 

[alexvilagosh]

My swimming coach is a U2 fan, as are a number of my school teachers. Each have seen them play a few times live... lucky bastards.

 

[intedomine]

yeah in australia the younger people around my age, 18, have never really taken a strong liking to u2 and prefer modern day punk such as good charlotte and blink 182 and pathetic r and b artists such as p diddy and rapper eminem.

I actually think that if an individual did like a u2 song at the age of 13-15, they would be ahsamed and not say so in front of their peers because u2 been around for so long and are considered old fashioned.

perhaps it shows that a majority of younger teens in Australia have shallow taste in music and their lives are totally dominated by peer pressure.

Personally I dont enjoy being an eighteen year old u2 fan essentially because it has meant that I have been unable to follow the band through each phase which is something i would have loved to experience.

I was only 5 when achtung baby was released and only became a passionate u2 fan in 2002.

I wouldve liked to have been born in maybe 1965-1970 in order to enjoy the journey of u2 to its maximum excitement, right through from boy to atyclb.

nevertheless, this doesnt mean that an 18 year old fan can not be as apssionate as say a 40 year old fan.


my conclusion is this:

u2 is not really popular for someone in their early teens and it is only when they reach 17-20 when a true love for u2 can emerge.

It is peer pressure and shallowness and naivety and acceptance which prevents the younger generation becoming hardcore u2 fans.

 

[intedomine]

alexvilagosh.....

i can sympathise with ya....

exactly the same situation here buddy

hey and the fact that you got over 250 posts under ya belt makes u a real u2 fan no matter what ne1 says

i never seen them live but its top of my list of things to do in my lifetime

 

[beegee]

i have been a U2 fan since 1984. that's over half of my entire life. i think it's great to see the younger kids getting into U2. but i do wonder sometimes what it would be like to have to go back and discover all of those albums, all of that music, all of those songs. also, for these kids to have missed the passion of the joshua tree era, well that's just a damn shame.

 

[nick_u2]

A lot of kids have wrong impressions of U2, and don't take kindly to me wearing a u2 shirt, or saying I like U2. But some kids like them and a lot of teachers suprise me by liking them.

 

[Liesje]

i have been a U2 fan since 1984. that's over half of my entire life. i think it's great to see the younger kids getting into U2. but i do wonder sometimes what it would be like to have to go back and discover all of those albums, all of that music, all of those songs. also, for these kids to have missed the passion of the joshua tree era, well that's just a damn shame.

I've never felt like I've "missed" anything. It's not like U2 are announcing retirement anytime soon. I think it's just as hard to go back and discover the albums than it would be to be back in time, waiting for new albums!

 

[alexvilagosh]

It is exiciting for me now, being here for the first time waiting for the new U2 album and the tour to follow.

I do wish I had been there at ZooTV and POPMart, and before that, but there isn't much I can do about it.

 

[martha]

my school teachers.

alex, I was ahead of my peers in musical tastes when I was your age, too.

 

[Bono's shades]

Being 15, I am annoyed by people who think I'm not really a fan of U2 just because I haven't seen them live, or have only been listening to them for 3 years. It's a bit hard to see them live when the last time they came I was 9. Other people also dismiss me as one of those teeny-bopper fans, which annoys me.

I'm sorry you have to put up with that kind of attitude. There's no age maximum or minimum for being a true fan, anyone who tells you otherwise is full of b.s.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

I'm 15 as well, I think U2 are viewed more as old fogey band.

Most of my music tastes I have to thank various online forums, although it's undergone the most change at Inteference.

 

[alexvilagosh]

Thanks guys! You people are cool... to bad my peers aren't

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

I'm almost 21 and i've ran into a few U2 fans my age, there's not a ton, but we're around.

 

[The_acrobat]

I'm currently 21. I became a huge U2 fan when I was 13. I can't believe it's been that long ago. But when I got into U2, it was during that stage when a young boy starts coming into his own, and starts to become the person he will be the rest of his life. I'm glad U2 were with me through those years of intense change. They really made me who I am today.

I go to a small community college, so I have little interaction with the people at my school, as most of them are 30-40 year old women who want to be nurses. But I visit friends at real colleges a lot. During like 2001-2002, U2 were really "IN" among the college kids. But U2 hasn't done anything lately, and those college students have moved on to other things. DMB isn't even the college band anymore. But I had hippie stoner kids who love Phish show me their CD collections and 7 times out of 10, ATYCLB was in there, or the Joshua Tree or Best of 80-90.

In high school, it was different. POP had arrived upon the world in all it's glory (or not), and I was rediculed for being a U2 fan. Many people thought they were gay b/c of the village people scene in discotheque. I wore my popmart tour t-shirt to school one day, and this one kid said "U2? What the fuck? Did they play "Sunday bloody Sunday"? That's their only good song." Now even though U2 didn't play that song at the concert, I lied and said they did. Then he was like "oh, that's cool." Basically, in high school in 1996-2000, U2 were not well liked. My younger brother, who is now a senior, experienced a different scenario. He has lots of friends who like U2. It's all based on how U2 is reaching a certain audience.

On this next album, it'll be much harder to sell their music to the high school generation. Why? Because they all look like old men now. In 2000, they looked remarkably the same as they did in Zoo TV. But now, Adam is grey as a mule, Edge isn't far behind him, Bono is wrinkly and BALDING (I never thought the day would come), and Larry is actually starting to look like he's in his 30s instead of 20s. I could care less how they look personally, but some of the kids are going to be turned off by guys that are older than their parents still trying to be cool. HOpefully, the album is amazing, and they can prove to everyone that they are still relevant and have some youth left in them.

 

[Bonochick]

I first became a fan when I was 13, and it was widely known by teachers and students what a big fan I was. I think I will always be remembered for that. Nobody else seemed to share my love though.

 

[alexvilagosh]

We were learning about sound at school and my teacher was talking about sound waves bouncing off things, and he went on to give an example of how he saw U2 at the Tennis Centre and he was right at the back and the sound was bouncing off the back wall straight back to him. The whole class looked at me, and someone said 'I bet it was a Beautiful Day'!

I went on to tell him how I'm very sure it wasn't, because Beautiful Day was from 2000, and the tour this teacher was talking about was surely the Lovetown Tour back in 1989 .

 

[Laura M]

im 18 nearly 19 and i know loads of ppl who love u2 all around uni i see ppl waering their u2 tshirts but its only ever boys so i talk to them sometimes but in ireland I dunno I think more ppl like U2

 

[Axver]

I'm nearly 17, and I've been a casual fan ever since birth - U2 was one of those Things You Have To Know and also Something That Is Good And Everyone Thinks That. That's the mentality relating to U2 that I grew up with in suburban New Zealand. Upon moving to Australia (state of Queensland), I've found most people appreciate U2 for being talented musicians, but only really know them for Beautiful Day, even though they or their parents have The Joshua Tree and/or Achtung Baby. Some people don't appreciate them, but they're into bubblegum pop and nonsense rap, so I don't care for their opinion - they have no taste.

All of my friends like U2 to some extent. My closest friend downloaded some of their stuff and has searched for U2 radio stations on the Internet (and I just got him to download heaps of live stuff for me because he has a great high-speed connection, unlike me, and so I may have him converted), while one of my other friends reckons Edge is good, another surprised me when he said that Running To Stand Still is really good and wanted to talk about the Beautiful Day video, and this one guy I have a study class with thinks Sweetest Thing is one of the best songs ever.

If the next album is really good, you can guarantee these people who are simply appreciative of U2 will be more than that. And some simply aren't aware certain songs are by U2 - I had to inform someone that U2 does Mysterious Ways last term at school. I think that gave them a newfound respect for the band.

 

[U2Kitten]

I always say this when the topic comes up, but it's true: Sadly, the majority of younger fans probably do disregard U2 as 'old', and can't relate to someone their parents' age. That's why U2 should never abandon what they want to do, what they are feeling, to 'appeal to a younger audience' and I think they'd come off as silly if they did. (see Britney trying to change to appeal to an older audience ) The people who diss them now would not be won over, they'd only use it as another reason to joke on them, look at those old farts trying to play young! So I hope U2 never go raprock or hiphop or whatever is 'hip' just for that reason. They will never impress that crowd, and it will only drive away their fanbase.

BUT- who IS their fanbase? What age group? More than age, it's a matter of TASTE- they have fans of all ages. I became a fan in 1983 at age 13, and people my age are perhaps among the most hardcore, because we had them as 'our' rock band during our teen years. But, they also have fans as old as they are, and older, and younger, even much younger. When I was a teen, I couldn't care less how old someone was as long as I like the music. And thank goodness, there are plenty of teenagers who feel that way now and like U2!! There are LOTS of teens and early 20's here, just as many if not more than older fans. Look at this poll:

http://forum.interference.com/poll.php?action=showresults&pollid=1607

There is a broad and good representation of ages here, and I know for sure there are more teenagers than participated in the poll. (it's not too late if you want to join in!) In my nearly 2 and a half years here, I have seen time and time again teenagers come here who became fans only with ATYCLB and/or the Elevation tour. So yes, they are still bringing in new fans, fans who appreciate quality and greatness, and that will always happen. So it's not a matter of age, it's a matter of good taste. I have also noticed that in general, smarter people tend to be U2 fans There will always be people of all ages who will like U2, the rest, it's their loss and the band doesn't need them anyway.



U2 fans of all ages

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

perhaps jphelmet and i can play the first ever interference members who coach high school basketball teams invitaitonal tournament... perhaps zoney can invite his lax team yeah that's right

 

[Sue DeNym]

I'm 15, and I've really taken to U2....My musical tastes (and my personality) seem to be 10 years ahead of me. I get on better with 20 year olds than with people my own age, and like the same music as them.

My tastes are ahead of my time, too. I've gotten into old jazz, big band, r & b (Motown!) and other artists from before my time, as well as today's rock and the music I grew up with. Nothing wrong at all with expanding your taste in music, it can be quite a fun hobby.

Being 15, I am annoyed by people who think I'm not really a fan of U2 just because I haven't seen them live, or have only been listening to them for 3 years. It's a bit hard to see them live when the last time they came I was 9. Other people also dismiss me as one of those teeny-bopper fans, which annoys me.

That annoys me as well, and I'm 35! It doesn't matter if you saw them in Dublin in 1979 or recently picked up ATYCLB. A fan is a fan is a fan; age and longetivity do not matter. There should not be a caste system in fandom. And those who mock or criticize the younger fans are not acting in the spirit of the band; they are the only ones whose "fanship" I would question.

 

[Squishy Peanut]

I'm 17 and I've loved U2 pretty much ever since I can remember. It's not that I was brought up on them, cos my parents were never that keen on them, I just felt naturally drawn towards their music when I heard it, hehe.
There aren't really that many other people my age that I know who would count them as their favourite band or one of their favourite bands...there's a few passive fans around...most people I know don't even realise thye like 'em...they don't realise these songs they like are by them.

 

[Convoy]

I am 17 and a senior in highschool and have been a hardcore U2 fan since 8th grade. I have U2 everything. Belt Buckles, posters, keychains, shirts, etc. And sad to say but out of a high school of 3000 kids, I'm the only rI am 17 and a senior in highschool and have been a hardcore U2 fan since 8th grade. I have U2 everything. Belt Buckles, posters, keychains, shirts, etc. And sad to say but out of a high school of 3000 kids, I'm the only real U2 fan that I see. Hell, kids call me 'The U2 Kid' For my trademark of wearing U2 shirts almost everyday.eal U2 fan that I see. Hell, kids call me 'The U2 Kid' For my trademark of wearing U2 shirts almost everyday.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

My musical tastes (and my personality) seem to be 10 years ahead of me. I get on better with 20 year olds than with people my own age, and like the same music as them.

Being 15, I am annoyed by people who think I'm not really a fan of U2 just because I haven't seen them live, or have only been listening to them for 3 years. It's a bit hard to see them live when the last time they came I was 9. Other people also dismiss me as one of those teeny-bopper fans, which annoys me.

Join the club on everything in this post. I've said time and time again that I would love to go back and be a part of some of the big events of U2's career. But it's not my fault that I was born when I was.

Anywho, I've been alive for most of U2's career-I was born in 1984, and I've always liked their music. But I didn't really start getting into it until mid 2002, when I was 17 years old, and I do consider myself a rather huge fan of the band.

When I was in school, I didn't know a lot of kids who were into U2-it was either rap, country, or the new rock bands that a lot of kids were into. I do know a few people from other boards, though, who do like U2's music.

Course, the few kids I know aren't representative of the millions of kids out there. I know there's lots of people under 21 who like U2-just from the more recent concerts I've seen on T.V. and stuff, I see a lot of younger people there, a lot of people that look to be around my age.

I've never seen U2 as "old", and I don't see them as "old" now. I just find it interesting that people who are 23, 24 years older than me are making music that I can relate to better than the music from a lot of the newer rock bands. Age should be irrelevant when it comes to liking music-all that should matter is whether or not people of any age can relate to the subject matter. So far, I think U2 has been able to stay relevant, and therefore, they are not old, they are not out of touch.

Angela

 

[Tabby]

Originally posted by U2Kitten
it's not a matter of age, it's a matter of good taste

Exactly! There are also 30 year olds who don't like them, and there are 14 yr olds who do.

 

[discothequeLP]

I'm 15. At my school, not too many people like U2, saying their "lame." A few people kinda know, and they "respect" the band, but I don't know any hardcore U2 fans (besides me) at my school.

 

[Tabby]

At least respect is something. That means a lot, it's better than having ppl say they 'suck.' I mean, I think everyone respects the Beatles whether or not they like them, even old folks who like country.