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https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/rare-u2-dublin-concert-footage-revealed-1.3861291?mode=amp " For the first time in nearly 40 years, extended footage of U2 shot when they played the roof of an inner-city Dublin community centre in 1982 is to be released. There is hardly a more scrutinised or well-documented band in the history of rock music than U2 and footage, especially rare footage from the early years of the band, is prized. Taken in Sheriff Street, the footage was shot by Dublin filmmaker Sé Merry Doyle on Saturday, July 17th, 1982, a month before singer Bono married Alison Stewart. The band, at that point, were between their second album, October, released in 1981, and War, which propelled them into the mainstream in 1983. Doyle filmed the band’s concert while making a documentary about the demolition of tenement housing in the Gardiner Street/Summerhill area and during the Inner City Looking On community festival. U2’s appearance had been kept secret, so only a small number of the 300 or so people who saw them perform were followers of the band – the rest were locals. It was a chaotic scene, with local youths clambering up on to the roof of the community centre and grabbing at the band’s equipment. A still from the film U2: An Cat Dubh showing the band playing at a community festival on Sheriff Street in Dublin in July 1982. Photograph: IFI/Merry Doyle Twice during the band’s 45-minute set a swarthy local man stumbled on stage looking to sing, taking the microphone from Bono before a crew member recovered it. The man wanted to sing a Chubby Checker song, Let’s Twist Again, so Bono calmed the situation by singing it a-capella before the band started into An Cat Dubh from their debut album, Boy. Bono even managed to fit in a brief homily about the underprivileged area before the band, three of whom were born-again Christians, played Rejoice from the October album – when the buildings around them come crumbling down, the singer told the crowd, one word could save them: rejoice. Mr Doyle included 45 seconds of the footage in his 1982 documentary Looking On, and a short excerpt in his 1997 follow-up documentary Alive Alive O. “It was an amazing gig. There was one journalist there, Bill Graham from Hot Press, who often wondered would they ever get back to [the level of] that gig on Sheriff Street. “It really is the beginning of the U2 sound. They are raw and they are rough and they are dangerous. It was a great night. I was lucky to catch it.” Collectors Mr Doyle said he kept the footage under lock and key since 1982. “A couple of private collectors tried to buy it off me but because they can’t control the music, the natural home for it is the U2 organisation,” he said. “Bono is aware of the footage and loves it. Aside from the little fragment that was in the actual film, it has not been shown before.” The footage is being made available to the public online through the Irish Film Institute (IFI), which has digitised the material from Mr Doyle’s Loopline Collection. The other documentaries which are digitised include Alive Alive O, which examines a time when street traders were coming under increased pressure from legislators. Essie’s Last Stand, perhaps the most timely piece in the collection, examines an elderly woman’s fight to stay in her home as it is earmarked for development. Also going live will be Loopline documentaries focusing on the life and career of artist Patrick Scott, architect James Gandon and sculptor John Henry Foley. In addition there are 30-minute interviews with writers including Margaret Atwood, Richard Ford, Gore Vidal, Colm Tóibín and Doris Lessing. See ifiplayer.ie Direct link to footage: https://ifiplayer.ie/looking-on/

Will Pride be the first U2 song to reach 1,000 live performances? Will it be during the eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE Tour? I do not have the answers to these questions but I do have many others. Check the links. It could be un Belfast I but, wouldn't it be great to celebrate the 1000 performances in Dublin? It's possible. Not counting yesterday's performance, we're at 974 and this leg has 32 shows. . https://viajarxviajar.wordpress.com/2018/08/31/13-datos-sobre-u2-que-probablemente-no-conocias/ . https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/13-datos-sobre-u2-que-probablemente-conocías-iulen-ibañez-baños . #data #bigdata #dataanalytics #dataanalysis #musicdata #music #songs #livemusic #u2 #u2eitour #rstudio #tableau #dublin #belfast #ireland #hotticket #pride #inthenameoflove #prideinthenameoflove

Morning U2 Heads! I feel for the band this morning based on what happened last night in Trafalgar Sq. As you would expect I am a seasoned Fan and been to so many U2 Gigs - we all know the special feeling in the crowd and the energy that is created between the band and the fan. Its great that MTV have eventually recognised the band but this being aired worldwide tonight will not demonstrate the pure essence of what a U2 Gig is all about. I was with a friend who hadn't seen them live since POP 20 years ago, and I was dissapointed for him and any other U2 fans that attended. When the band march on stage to the opening chords of Sunday Bloody Sunday we all know what (normally) happens next!! Well that didn't happen - nothing happened that you would expect from a U2 cried the whole way through. i get that having a free ballot allows a cross section of people to attend this spectacle and I know it was originally a David Guetta Gig and the event was shared with him. But the crowd was totally dead (apart from a handful of die yards right at the front) - it was a collection of curiosity hunters and passive observers. If MTV wanted to really showcase what U2 are all about tonight they would be better suited showing footage from the recent tour. i feel sorry for the band on the back of that. It just re-enforces for me though the special bond between band and fan and how lucky we are all to have that at the proper U2 Gigs we live and enjoy. Bring on the Songs of Experience European Tour 2018! Walk on! Billyboy

On U2's current tour, each show is a feat of engineering, construction, and precision–and there can be no mistakes. The cornerstone of the production is the world's largest mobile video screen. A link to a great story about the work behind the scenes during the Joshua Tree Tour 2017. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/audio/a27913/u2-tour-every-night-perfect/

U2 has been my preferred band for about 35 years but we are not in an exclusive relationship; there are other bands I love and follow. One of those is the Counting Crows, who do a fantastic job (better than U2 to be honest) at mixing up their set-list and interpreting their songs in different ways. A few years back they did a show in New York where they played their debut album in full from start to finish and they later released it as a live album. So you have the original studio album from some 20 odd years earlier and a live version. With speculation that this anniversary tour could see all tracks from the Joshua Tree played, wouldn't it make a fantastic and unique member subscription gift in 2018 to give the dedicated fans a complete live version of The Joshua Tree. A little like U22 only better? Where do we start the petition?

Here's a video of a fan in Turin requesting Acrobat. Bono says "We looked at it yesterday actually." https://www.facebook.com/U2.360gradi/posts/1035863576454200 Spread the word. Maybe we can get it played if the community really gets involved in this. Thoughts?

I don't post here often, but I felt I had to share these.... I always hoped that better footage than the old Rattle and Hum outtakes would become available. These are excellent. Enjoy!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NnA6P5qE8 Thanks so much to whoever found these

What are the chances U2 will do what Bruce Springsteen does and put recordings of the shows up on the site for us to download the show that we went to?

I managed to sneak out of work, run home just before 10am and jump on the computer. Paid off... got two GA tickets for the 25th October in London. My wife will hopefully be joining me... trying for another baby... hhhmmmm that could be really bad timing!! hahaha Anyone else going to London??

Hi everybody! My name is Claire from France. I'm a print journalist and I've been following U2 carreer since I was 12 (and let me tell you it is almost 25 years i'm not that age anymore;)! ). Here is a post about my project around U2 fans. At the moment, it is named "U2 : I will follow project" and intends to gather testimonies from U2 fans all other the world and publish a book. Sorry if this post is a bit long (that's an understatement;)!) but i wanted to explain everything. Here we go! "While tickets for the next U2 tour 2015 were again snatched after a few hours, why is the Irish band still so popular around the world 35 years after its debut in Dublin? Why do people love U2 in Paris, Vancouver, Sydney or Buenos Aires? What kind of relationship do admirers have with the band? What do they feel when they listen to its music? The "U2: I will follow project" is to collect testimonies from fans around the globe to answer all these questions and edit the output through a book (financed by a call for donations on a participatory platform). In order not to go in all directions, a list of dozens of questions was established (see below). Then you are free to share other impressions of the group, telling stories, asking more questions ... Who I am? Claire Talgorn 37, print journalist for 15 years in a daily regional press in France. Passionate about music, of course! Why am I interested in U2 fans? Probably because I am one of them! I entered the world of the four Irishmen one afternoon in 1989. I was 12 years old. I heard "Pride" on the radio and the world stopped. Their music never left me. When I listen to it is a mixture of revolt, rage, and tenderness, sweetness I feel every time. It took me 16 years to see them on stage in July 2005 at Stade de France in Paris. And just a month to leave to attend another show in San Sebastian in August of the same year! Why? Because U2 live is something indescribable. People often have difficulty expressing what they felt for two hours faced with this influx of continuous emotions. The heart that beats faster, the tears well up in the eyes, the desire to revolt, having broken voice, chills, goose bumps, sadness after it's finished. And if it did not return? U2 made me travel literally and figuratively. Paris, San Sebastian, Dublin, Amsterdam, Berlin ... Each time, the on-site meetings are amazing! For the anecdote, in Paris, I almost fought with a drunk guy who wanted to take my irish flag on "Sunday bloody sunday"! It is for you now! Here is the questionnaire 1) How long have you been listening to U2 music? (remember the first time you heard it, what you felt, tell) 2) How do you feel when you listen to their music? 3) What is the song that speaks to you the most and why? 4) To what do you attribute the longevity of the band? How has the group changed (for those who have been following it for a long time)? 5) What is the most extraordinary, unusual, funny, weird thing have you done or experienced because of your passion for U2? 6) How would you describe your relationship with this band? Have you ever met them, tell us. 7) Have you seen U2 live? If so, tell us your best live moment (where, when, feeling ...) 8) How many times have you attended a U2 show? (where, when, why?) 9) What do you like most about them? And what don't you like? 10) What is the word that best sums up the band? 11) Please provide your name or a nickname, and especially the city or country you live in The project can become true only through your contribution. If you are interested in participating, take twenty minutes to complete the questionnaire and return it to the following email address: u2iwillfollowproject@gmail.com Thank you very much in advance! Claire PS : I'll come later on to tell you if the call has been heard... or not!

U2 always said they were a stadium-only band but it seems they have changed their minds recently so I was wondering what you guys were thinking about an unplugged-only tour next year.

Mich40 started a petition for U2 to play Gloria on the next tour, which is a very good idea. So I thought I would start my own petition. I love Fez-Being Born and I'd love to hear it live (they must play it at least in Paris ). I know they never played it live (correct me if I'm wrong), so that's another good reason for them to do it, isn't it? If you think that this song deserves a live performance, please sign this petition. 1-lionwehr240579

Can you say which song you prefer live and why?