JT Tour, Arizona
"During the Joshua Tree tour in the late 1980s, the band was campaigning for states to ratify the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While playing in Arizona, the band got into trouble for this advocacy work and received some death threats. As Bono recalls there was one specific threat, “Don’t go ahead with the concert. And, if you do, don’t sing ‘Pride (In the Name of Love,’ because, if you do, I am gonna blow your head off, and you won’t be able to stop this from happening.” The band decided to go ahead with the concert and as well to play “Pride.” Something dramatic did happen, but not what everyone most feared. Bono, again:
I do remember actually, in the middle of ‘Pride,’ thinking, for a second: ‘Gosh! What if somebody was organized, or in the rafters of the building, or somebody, here and there, just had a handgun?’ I just closed my eyes and I sang this middle verse, with my eyes closed, trying to concentrate and forget about this ugliness and just keep close to the beauty that’s suggested in the song. I looked up, at the end of that verse, and Adam was standing in front of me. It was one of those moments where you know what it means to be in a band. "
Does anyone have the exact concert date? This is an amazing story about Adam. I guess it's like they're always saying, that they're real "mates", that friendship runs really deep between the four of them.
On a similar topic, I thought it might be interesting to mention that Bono has received other death threats in the recent past too. I had only read about this more recently.
U2 frontman receives death threats -24/6/03
U2 frontman Bono has received death threats as a result of his campaigning against AIDS and to relieve Third World debt -particularly in Africa.
The theats against the rock star who is well known for his Christian faith and work with the Jubilee 2000 campaign are being taken very seriously by his personal security team and the British authorities.
Added security measures have been introduced following a special investigation by Britain's Royal Mail service, aided by Scotland Yard.
According to the Sunday Mirror, two dozen extremely abusive letters-containing foul language, racial slurs and death threats-were sent to the music superstar over a period of the past two years.
Reportedly, all of the letters originated in Southeast London and were addressed to Bono, care of his management company in Dublin, Ireland.
Scotland Yard is so concerned about the content of the letters, it is conducting extensive DNA research and other forensic testing to trace the mail to the person who wrote the vicious attacks on Bono's attempts to fight AIDS and relieve Third World debt.
One letter contained this threat: ''You have been warned and you and your do-gooder friends had better watch out. F--- the foreigners and help your own people.''
The initial tip to the letters' contents came from a London post office sorting room where an employee was intrigued by strange lettering on an envelope addressed to Bono, written in a very unusual, neon-bright shade of green ink.
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_2003_06_24_u2.shtml