Popmart poor attendance examples

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The_acrobat

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I'm a big fan of all U2 eras, but Pop and Popmart always hold a special place in my heart. That was my first album/tour as a fan, and ever since I was a teenager I've been mildly obsessed with it. I just discovered these 2 videos yesterday8. While it's no secret that Popmart had some poor attendance in some cities, I think these 2 are about the worst examples I've ever seen. Go to the "money shot" in "Where the streets have no name" at both of these shows to get an example of how bad it was.

Jacksonville-

Tampa-
 
Wow. At the time I was a touch embarrassed by Pop. Not the album, which was heavy, but by Discotechque and it's video, and by the news footage of U2 appearing from a lemon. I mean I kinda got that it was ironic but it was also kinda stupid and very uncool.

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For anyone who can't be bothered figuring out where the relevant points are, in the first video go to 1:12:45 and 1:12:15 in the second.

Geez you can see why the band took a bit of a hit to the old ego, having this after ZooTV - and, well, the success of Popmart in most European markets. That Jacksonville one is pretty unfortunate.
 
The moral of the story is that sometimes a band isn't as 'big' as they think they are and that success can be rather fleeting.
 
ZOO TV appealed to most, it could be enjoyed on many levels either as a fairly high brow artistic statement or as a rock and roll show with cool tv screens, plus the album it supported was a masterpiece.
Nearly 30 years later and I'd still struggle tell you what the fuck the actual Popmart show was about, and I saw and enjoyed it 12 times in 6 different counties. I know the general themes they were trying to convey but it really wasn't translated well into the show in my opinion.
 
An Cat Gav said:
I know the general themes they were trying to convey but it really wasn't translated well into the show in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree.
I enjoyed PopMart even more than ZOO TV on some levels, but in the end the supposed themes were limited to a static stage design that had no obvious connection to anything going on on the stage.
 
An Cat Gav said:
Nearly 30 years later and I'd still struggle tell you what the fuck the actual Popmart show was about, and I saw and enjoyed it 12 times in 6 different counties. I know the general themes they were trying to convey but it really wasn't translated well into the show in my opinion.
Click to expand...


Nearly 30 years? 1997 was only 19 years ago.
 
MrPryck2U said:
Nearly 30 years? 1997 was only 19 years ago.
Click to expand...

image.jpg
 
Axver said:
For anyone who can't be bothered figuring out where the relevant points are, in the first video go to 1:12:45 and 1:12:15 in the second.

Geez you can see why the band took a bit of a hit to the old ego, having this after ZooTV - and, well, the success of Popmart in most European markets. That Jacksonville one is pretty unfortunate.
Click to expand...

Wow that's my first time seeing that video of Jacksonville.

Not to jump to conclusions but I think that kind of stuff really such with the band and shaped their mindset ever since.

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Whose bright idea was it to play big stadiums in soft markets like Jacksonville, Clemson etc anyway?


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Wow I knew they were under attended but seeing the visual rally puts it in perspective. The places were half empty, and to be honest, half empty is being generous.

On a side note... damn, the Big Sombrero was a shitty stadium.
 
Part of the problem may have been, if i recall, the tour was getting shitty reviews here in the states for some reason. Maybe it had something to do with album sales or the lead single as well, who knows. I do know that by November we saw them in St. Louis in a half empty TWA Dome, and despite the attendance the concert was out-fucking-standing. It was mind blowing and amazing. I would give my left nipple to go back in time and live that moment over again.
 
The first single flopped, they had zero ratings for that ABC show, and the first couple of shows got awful reviews because they weren't adequately rehearsed.

It was a mess from jump street. There was no recovery, at least in smaller US markets. Elsewhere win the world it was a bit.
 
That "Discotheque" video turned U2 into a laughing stock, and pretty much sealed Pop's fate before it was even released. Many old fans rejected this version of U2, and young people didn't respond either. I was in high school at the time, and I got made fun of hardcore for wearing my POPMART t shirt to school. People didn't give the album/tour a chance because of 1 minute of them dancing around like the village people.

I seem to remember HMTMKMKM as being pretty popular among my age group in 1995. People bought the Batman soundtrack for the Seal song, and as a result a lot of people really liked that track, because it was more in tune with what was going on musically at the time (aka power chord driven riffs, etc). The general public was still on U2's side in 1995. It wasn't until Discotheque that the backlash began.






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The section of the video that shows the empty seats is gonna be like the Zapruder Film or something.

"Oh my lord, empty seats in Jacksonville! You see! I told you that lead single was no good!"
 
I'm not saying a better lead single would've lead to a sold out show in Jacksonville. Zoo TV U2 would've probably only filled it about halfway. But on Popmart they only got 14,000-ish people in there.


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I always wonder what U2's world would have looked like without the Village People bit in the Discotheque video.

I'm still under the opinion that Discotheque is a fantastic song. I don't know that it ever would have been a big hit, but I still know people that mention how "shitty" that song was and they probably couldn't even hum it.
 
That's 14,000 more people than they'll get for all shows in 2016 combined.
 
mikal said:
I always wonder what U2's world would have looked like without the Village People bit in the Discotheque video.

I'm still under the opinion that Discotheque is a fantastic song. I don't know that it ever would have been a big hit, but I still know people that mention how "shitty" that song was and they probably couldn't even hum it.
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I think Discotheque still would have done some damage - the boom-chas would've been a lightning rod for criticism - but I agree, the video is what really seems to have left a bad taste.

If Gone had been the lead single and given a good video, I can't even begin to imagine how much more different, and positive, the narrative around Pop would have been.
 
The POPMART tour flopped in the US for pretty much every reason given above. From my personal perspective - who I'd grown up with, shared music, etc - the music itself was the biggest problem. It's just didn't connect. It was a big style shift and the majority of people were turned off. All the reasons above just compounded that problem.

The shift from the 80's to Achtung was a huge style shift but the music was great and theme solid, and could connect with the majority. You could be a U2 fan and be cool.

POP was a massive change in style and it turned people off.

My peak of obsession with U2 was around 95-97. I lived and breathed the music and live official releases. If I was listening to music, 95% of the time it was U2. And yet, when POP came out I had to force it on myself like trying to get a kid to like Brussels sprouts. I would never tell my friends that though. I'd put on POP and try to persuade them how great it was.

Then came The Video, and the snowball effect. Zero of my friends liked it and I'd spend all day defending them. They'd taken such a beating everywhere in the media, and seeing that partially empty stadium for shows in Jersey made me think they might pack it in.

But if I'm honest, that's exactly why 20 years later they're still my favorite band and I check this forum every damn day to see what's happening. The determination to pull themselves out of the basement and get back to the top with another run locked me in for life.
 
Axver said:
I think Discotheque still would have done some damage - the boom-chas would've been a lightning rod for criticism - but I agree, the video is what really seems to have left a bad taste.

If Gone had been the lead single and given a good video, I can't even begin to imagine how much more different, and positive, the narrative around Pop would have been.
Click to expand...

Or Please.

Honestly, it's moot at this point. Their gutlessness in not standing by it speaks volumes in all the years since. It's not like anyone held a gun to their head and forced them to make POP. They were really into it, and rightly so, even if it did all kind of get away on them in the end.
 
Well I assume that Rolling Stone have been writing their 5-star reviews of U2 albums for the last two decades without listening to a note of them.
 
1997 is also the year that gave us the Spice Girls, The Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees and Hanson... with the mainstream rock charts being dominates by the likes of Third Eye Blind, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sugar Ray, Wallflowers and Matchbox 20.

Toss in the Notorious B.I.G. being killed the same week Pop came out... Puff Daddy's debut soon after, My Heart Will Go On and the Princess Diana version of Candle In The Wind.

They never stood a chance even with a perfect execution. That they butchered the release and tour kickoff only made it worse.
 
[Verse 1: David Brent]
A rose, you never used your thorns
The ones you loved abandoned you
Your angel face made hearts so warm
You helped the sick but who helped you ?
Then rushing through the Paris night
They hounded you, you lost control
We prayed that you would be alright
The news came through - Your body cold...

[Chorus: David Brent]
Good night, my sweet princess...
Sleep tight, my sweet princess...

[Verse 2: David Brent]
The Queen of Hearts, you used your power
To comfort those in their darkest hour
You hugged a man with full-blown aids
To show the world you can't catch it that way
It only spread via blood, by sharing needles that are infected
Another way is having anal sex with strangers, unprotected

[Chorus: David Brent]
Good night, my sweet princess...
Sleep tight, my sweet princess...

[Riff]

[Chorus: David Brent] [x4]
Good night, my sweet princess...
Sleep tight, my sweet princess...
 
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