When Paul McGuinness politely and eloquently distanced himself from U2

[U2girl]

Yes they were tired of being in a niche but who knows what would have happened had the critics liked Rattle and Hum?

A very big reason for U2 running away from the preachy 80s image was exactly because the media portrayed them as such - Bono in particular.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

A bit of an unfair question, in that besides the Rolling Stones, there ISN'T a band the size of U2 that is still around.

the only way you can't count the stones is if you're saying the stones are bigger than u2... otherwise, they're in the argument.

the question isn't who's still on the charts... the question is acts as big as u2... be they nostalgic acts playing greatest hits or fresh new rockbands trying to make their mark on the scene, be they country, rock, rap, pop, etc. there are plenty of acts as big as u2 still out there...

--bruce springsteen's current solo accoustic tour- price range $55 to $85... floor is $85
--rolling stones- price range $64.50 to $454.50... floor is between $103.50 & $454.50
--paul mccartney- price range $50.00 to $250.00... floor is between $125 to $250
--elton john- price range $49.50 to $129.50... floor is $129.50
--green day (yes, like it or not, green day is as big as u2 at this time and moment)- price range $39.50 to $45.00... floor is $45.00
--coldplay- price range $35.00 to $70.00... floor is $70.00
--the eagles- price range $25.00 to $175.00... floor is $175.00
--celine dion- price range $79.55 to $204.55... "orchestra" is $204.55
-pearl jam- price is $48.00... every seat
and finally...
-u2- price range $54.00 to $169.50... floor is $54.00

so baisicly... of all the major touring acts playing in the united states some time within the next month and a half, some bigger than u2, some smaller... u2's floor seating is comparable with that of the other two cheeper acts... pearl jam & green day... with a price difference of only $9 american seperating all three. the average pricing is very much average compared to other popular touring acts... not even close to the high end.

so baisicly, compared to other major acts touring at this moment, u2 fans should probably stop bitching.

 

[namkcuR]

the only way you can't count the stones is if you're saying the stones are bigger than u2... otherwise, they're in the argument.

the question isn't who's still on the charts... the question is acts as big as u2... be they nostalgic acts playing greatest hits or fresh new rockbands trying to make their mark on the scene, be they country, rock, rap, pop, etc. there are plenty of acts as big as u2 still out there...

--bruce springsteen's current solo accoustic tour- price range $55 to $85... floor is $85
--rolling stones- price range $64.50 to $454.50... floor is between $103.50 & $454.50
--paul mccartney- price range $50.00 to $250.00... floor is between $125 to $250
--elton john- price range $49.50 to $129.50... floor is $129.50
--green day (yes, like it or not, green day is as big as u2 at this time and moment)- price range $39.50 to $45.00... floor is $45.00
--coldplay- price range $35.00 to $70.00... floor is $70.00
--the eagles- price range $25.00 to $175.00... floor is $175.00
--celine dion- price range $79.55 to $204.55... "orchestra" is $204.55
-pearl jam- price is $48.00... every seat
and finally...
-u2- price range $54.00 to $169.50... floor is $54.00

so baisicly... of all the major touring acts playing in the united states some time within the next month and a half, some bigger than u2, some smaller... u2's floor seating is comparable with that of the other two cheeper acts... pearl jam & green day... with a price difference of only $9 american seperating all three. the average pricing is very much average compared to other popular touring acts... not even close to the high end.

so baisicly, compared to other major acts touring at this moment, u2 fans should probably stop bitching.

Green Day and Coldplay don't belong in that list. I doubt you see Billy Joe Armstrong's face or Chris Martin's face in the newspapers and on TV as much as you see Bono's face. Both of these bands look up to U2. They are not on the same platau.

But your point is a fair one. But remember, the ticket prices people have complained about on this tour aren't the market prices. They're the prices scalpers and ebayers and whatnot sell them for. Prices that U2 aren't responsible for.

 

[Utoo]

But remember, the ticket prices people have complained about on this tour aren't the market prices. They're the prices scalpers and ebayers and whatnot sell them for. Prices that U2 aren't responsible for.

Yup. Damn the scalpers.

Oh, and the only reason Green Day's tickets are so cheap is because their average fan is 12... hehe

 

[phanan]

Green Day and Coldplay don't belong in that list. I doubt you see Billy Joe Armstrong's face or Chris Martin's face in the newspapers and on TV as much as you see Bono's face. Both of these bands look up to U2. They are not on the same platau.

I guess you'd have to take out Pearl Jam then if you go by that. And Green Day has been around about as long as Pearl Jam has.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Green Day and Coldplay don't belong in that list. I doubt you see Billy Joe Armstrong's face or Chris Martin's face in the newspapers and on TV as much as you see Bono's face. Both of these bands look up to U2. They are not on the same platau.

But your point is a fair one. But remember, the ticket prices people have complained about on this tour aren't the market prices. They're the prices scalpers and ebayers and whatnot sell them for. Prices that U2 aren't responsible for.

actually to be honest with ya i see billy joe armostrong and chris martin much more often these days than i see bono... especially billy joe/green day. they are probably the most popular band in the united states at this time. doesn't mean they're bigger... just mean's they're hot "in" thing right now.

but i didn't include them because they're as big or bigger than u2... i included them because they're two of the "hot" touring acts in the US at this current time... which they most certainly are.

 

[Knuckle]

I know nothing at all about managing a Rock & Roll band. However, my guess is that anyone who can take a ragtag group of young guys from the north side of Dublin (albeit ambitious and creative ones) and take them to the top of the world; and then conquer the world a few times over, must be a genius of a manager.

I know some have said he rode U2's coat-tails. That cannot be true. U2 are enormously talented, but there a lots of enormously talented former would-be rock stars out there who never made it. I really do wonder where U2 would be now if it were not for McGuinness.

As for the calls for getting rid of him, I think that if the members of U2 were faced with a choice of firing McGuinness or pulling the plug on the whole operation, believe it or not I think they would probably pull the plug on U2. I think they are all in it together. That may sound unsophisticated of me, but I think it's true.

 

[BVS]

so baisicly, compared to other major acts touring at this moment, u2 fans should probably stop bitching.

 

[lazarus]

Funny, Green Day's top price is $45, Pearl Jam's is $48, Coldplay's is $70, U2's is $170 and you claim they're all in the ballpark because the cheap seats are all near the same price. Big fucking deal. That is not how we use mathematics to prove a point.

U2 is charging $100 more for the top ticket than all of them, therefore THEY ARE NOT IN THE SAME PRICE CATEGORY. What's left is a bunch of old revival acts (with the exception of The Boss, who is still putting out relevant music). That is the company in which U2 are placing themselves through their pricing choices. You talk about popularity, and I'd argue that those acts are only "popular" in the sense that people want to see their greatest hits. If U2 is about touring their new music alongside their classics, they should set prices more accessible to newer fans.

 

[Zootomic]

Yes they were tired of being in a niche but who knows what would have happened had the critics liked Rattle and Hum?

A very big reason for U2 running away from the preachy 80s image was exactly because the media portrayed them as such - Bono in particular.

If U2 had just released Rattle & Hum by itself it is possible that critics would have given it a fair assessment and actually liked it. But it wasn't released by itself. It was released along with a movie and a book and a tour which all together led to massive overexposure which led to the inevitable massive backlash. An 'excellent manager' would not have allowed this to happen.

I think it is very likely that they would have reinvented themselves to a certain extent just as part of the natural growth of the band even if there had not been a backlash. But there is no question that in the late eighties U2 felt they HAD to reinvent themselves BECAUSE of the backlash. It's that sense of career desperation that a quality manager could have prevented.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Funny, Green Day's top price is $45, Pearl Jam's is $48, Coldplay's is $70, U2's is $170 and you claim they're all in the ballpark because the cheap seats are all near the same price. Big fucking deal. That is not how we use mathematics to prove a point.

U2 is charging $100 more for the top ticket than all of them, therefore THEY ARE NOT IN THE SAME PRICE CATEGORY. What's left is a bunch of old revival acts (with the exception of The Boss, who is still putting out relevant music). That is the company in which U2 are placing themselves through their pricing choices. You talk about popularity, and I'd argue that those acts are only "popular" in the sense that people want to see their greatest hits. If U2 is about touring their new music alongside their classics, they should set prices more accessible to newer fans.

you're missing the whole point... why do we need this whole relevant argument anyway? that's such fucking cop out bullshit and i'm a little sick of it. a song's relevance is in the ears of the beholder. if you like it, it's relevant to you. who gives a shit if joe yuppie down at the starbucks doesn't like it.

all i was saying is that based upon the other "hot" and "popular" acts touring at this current time, u2 are not at the top, they're in the middle. and considering they are a band who's already been enshrined in the rock and roll hall of fame and have a popularity that exceeds most else on that list, being in the middle ain't that bad.

 

[Ellay]

I know nothing at all about managing a Rock & Roll band. However, my guess is that anyone who can take a ragtag group of young guys from the north side of Dublin (albeit ambitious and creative ones) and take them to the top of the world; and then conquer the world a few times over, must be a genius of a manager.

Yeah, and his appearance in the numb video was outstanding