Live Aid - 25 Years On

It's the 25th anniversary of Live Aid today.  Still now I can remember the horrific BBC news reports that shocked the world and inspired Live Aid.  It was the first of its kind, there have been many similar events since but none has had the same emotional impact.  The nurse who featured in one of the reports, Claire Bertschinger, recalls her expereinces here .  Live Aid did make a difference.

A whole new generation has grown up since the concerts and a couple of young men, not born when Live Aid happened, have made a film to commemorate the anniversary.  They spent two weeks in Ethiopia earlier this year and have made a film called Twenty 5 chronicling the country today, where there is a lot of hope and dynamism, though the famine is not forgotten.  It's good to s the next generation doing something like this.  Read about the film - premiered today - here Twenty 5

U2's performance was one of the highlights of the Wembley concert.  I was familiar with the band then and quite liked them, but this performance made me realise the band was special and I've been a true fan since that day.  Bad was the song that did it, Bono's performance was stunning, moving and inspired.  It was a brave song to perform, most people will never have heard it before, but it worked.  It caught up the emotions of that day, the pain, but also the hope.  Even now, everytime I hear Edge's opening notes to Bad shivers run down my spine.   Remember twenty five years ago today once more below.

U2 15th August at Wembley Highlights On BBC Radio 2

There I was, sitting warm and snug in my living room, curtains closed against the bitter cold and snow outside, as I listened to the highlights of U2's 15th August 360 Tour show at Wembley Stadium on Radio 2.  I was swept back to the blue skies and sunshine of that day in London - the day I saw one of the best U2 gigs of my life.  All the feelings came back and I had that silly grin on my face that I get when I am entranced with U2,  I felt the rollercoaster of emotions, the pride. 

It wasn't exactly a greatest hits set of highlights which surprised me, good to hear Magnificent, Crazy, there was no One, or Streets, and I would have loved to have heard No Line On The Horizon, Bad  and The Unforgettable Fire.  But that didn't really matter, as the atmosphere of the gig was what was most special about that show and I was able to relive it once more.  I remember well how the crowd spontaneously took over the singing on Still Haven't Found.... a magical moment amongst many special moments.

I've been a bit pissed off with U2 recently, but when I heard the highlights of that gig tonight it reminded me why I am a fan,  they are great live.  And, every now and then their music can take you to a place way beyond yourself, where you are at one with the rest of the audience and the band, and a stadium becomes as intimate as a small room.  That is special indeed....

Anyone who hasn't heard it yet can listen to it here

U2 On BBC Radio 2

A one hour radio broadcast of highlights of U2's 360 Tour date at Wembley Stadium on 15th August 2009 will be aired on Monday 21st December at 7pm GMT.   You can hear it by clicking on "Listen live" on the top right of the page here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pf3tf

U2 360 Ramblings.....

It's been over a week now since my last U2 360 show and I've had time to think back to the gigs, and look at them a bit more objectively than when I was in the midst of it all. I'm not going to go it too deeply (U2 gets analysed to death sometimes) but I'll just write about my personal feelings about the whole experience.

Overall I would say this is a great tour, though not truly 360 degrees, they would have to be in the centre of the stadiums to achieve that and boy that would be brilliant! The claw is best viewed from a distance, you missed lot of the lighting effects if you were close to it and sometimes they are really beautiful. Willie really is a genius with his lighting effects. U2 don't really need anything like the claw, the music speaks for itself, but these days concerts tend to need to be theatrical, the casual concert goer wants spectacle as well as good music and the claw certainly was stunning.

At present I feel they do not utilise the walkway enough, in fact in the early shows if you were not in the inner circle it felt almost like a barrier as it was used so little. But gradually they are using it more and that's something they need to keep working on, it's a large area to cover but between them they could manage it. Doing a set of songs there would be nice. Also they, and especially Bono, needs to give equal "viewing" to people on all sides, sometimes he favours one side far too much.

The band were very tight musically and Bono's voice fabulously strong, I love the way his voice sounds nowadays, it has matured well (like the man himself!). His energy simply amazing, I wish I had a quarter of it LOL!

No one was taken up on stage in any of the shows I saw, though I know it has happened occasionally on this tour. I missed that because it was always symbolic, Bono had each one of us on stage with him in that person. Maybe the band felt that was becoming a cliche or something, but for fans like me it is an integral part of what U2 are all about and was missed.

The repeated theme of the show is time, clocks in various forms appear on the video screens throughout the gig, even the robotic-voiced poem prior to Ultraviolet is called Stop All The Clocks.... Time has been mentioned a lot in their most recent lyrics too. Maybe it's inevitable that when the band is approaching 50, a major point in anyones life, their thoughts would turn to getting older, change, endings, new beginnings, different pathways. It's interesting for fans like me who are a similar age and are going through a lot of the life changes the band are, we can definitely relate to it.

Each show was different, but two stood out for me. The first Dublin one for the sheer, raw emotion. The crowd showed their love for the local lads and Bono was almost bursting with emotion at being back home. It created a powerful and electric atmosphere.

The second show was Wembley 2, which is without doubt my favourite show of the six I saw. It was one of those special u2 shows that takes you to another place. There was lots of fun and chat, lots of emotion and wave upon wave of energy sweeping back and forth between the band and audience. It was one of those emotional roller coaster gigs, that leaves you stunned at the end - we all could not talk for a while afterwards, you know it's a special show when that happens!

The best sound was in Nice, it was crystal clear there. I think that is because it was a stadium with a low tier of seats and so sound was able to drift away and not reverberate back from the building. The sound wasn't bad for any of the gigs I was at (maybe lucky in where I was) but in some places there was a slight echo.

Favourite songs? Simply love No Line On The Horizon, especially the bit when they all crash in at "Traffic cop"! I love the abandon of that song, there's a rawness about it that I always love in U2's music.

The other new song I love, grew to love, was Crazy. Initially I wasn't sure about the remix version but each time I heard it I loved it more and more. To me it seems like Bono is gradually creating a character in this song, a mad, almost out of control person, sleazy, dangerous to know. He's getting badder and badder.... maybe he'll have eyeliner on in the US? Love the bit where he screams, "RIOT!"

It's heaven to hear Bad again, what more can I say? Good to hear Ultraviolet too, not too sure about the "suit of lights" though.

I miss all the madness, the gigs, travelling, friends, pizza at 2am, going to bed at 5am, up at noon, queues a mile long, being with people who know what you mean when you say, "It's not a hill it's a mountain." But, hopefully, we'll be lucky enough to do it all again next year - just get that album out on time boys!

U2 360 Tour - Wembley 2, 15th August ..... Magic!

Got up at noon, met up with Dianne and went to pick up our Red Zone tickets. We then decided to wait for the band arriving. Not many fans were waiting and it was pleasant in the warm sunshine. At 3.30 a silver people carrier came in, someone noticed Bono's security man in the front so we knew Bono was probably in the back but of course we could not see because of the blacked out windows. The car stopped a few yards down the entry road and out got Bono and headed towards us. That's always the moment your heart stops and you can't believe what you are seeing that's Bono walking towards us!


The fans were well behaved and formed a line which Bono went along chatting and shaking hands with people. He looked well, dressed in denim shirt and trousers and a black tee shirt. He stopped when he got to Debbi and I, he recognised us which was lovely to see. He said hello and shook our hands, his hand was warm and very soft, his eyes very blue through the gently shaded glasses (they look really dark in the photos).

Debbi said that his voice was really good at the moment to which he replied, (something like this
anyway)"Thanks, I thought I was singing good." He then asked us how the sound was "Because the sound was bouncing back at me". We told him that it was good where we sat. He asked whereabout we were, Debbi said that we were in seats to the side of the stage to which I added, "On Edge's side in the lower tier." Bono nodded and said he was glad the sound was ok for us because he "Was worried about that." He then shook Julie's hand and waved at people above who were shouting down at him, before going back inside.

I looked round at my friends and, like me, they all had big grins on their faces. It's amazing what an effect Bono has on people! We were thrilled to meet him again as it had been quite a while since our last meeting and there haven't been a lot of fan meetings so far on this tour, so we were very lucky too.

We went back to our hotel and had a meal, we were all giddy and over-chatty, I wonder why? LOL! Then we went back to the stadium to the red zone. We got on the barrier towards back of the side of the stage if that makes sense. It was a good position, no one in front to block the view as the security pit around the walkway was in front of us.

We had three hours to kill before U2 were on. We sat for a while, went to the toilets set aside for the red zone (two portaloos). We chatted and time passed. The support bands came on, first was The Hours who I really enjoyed. Then Glasvegas who sounded very like Elvis Costello and were not very impressive in my opinion.

Another early start - 8.15 - David Bowie's voice rang out and the show was blasting off. Being close to the stage in the red zone, we felt part of it as the dry ice flowed out of the claw's legs and from under the stage. Kingdom rang out, the green ticking clocks appeared on the video screens, Larry came on stage and sat at the drums, then played the intro to Breathe, Adam, Edge and Bono came onstage and the show was on!

Bono seemed very relaxed and talked quite a lot during this show. He told a story about Joe O'Herlihy visiting Wembley when the new stadium was being built, and while there he placed one of Edge's plectrums in the foundations. So now Edge is always part of Wembley. Sounds a bit of an Irish tall tale to me, but it got a good reaction from the crowd!

It was noticeable that the band used the walkway more tonight, which was exactly what we felt was needed. Hope they keep that up, that will stop it being a barrier to a "connection" between band and audience.

Bono sang much of The Unforgettable Fire on one of the bridges that was close to us. At the end he put one leg over the bridge as if he was going to jump over, but of course he didn't. At one point, as the bridge was moving he looked round for Edge who was a long way away on the other side of the walkway. Bono could not see him, he shaded his eyes and you could see him saying "Where is he?" as he peered round and laughing. He got off the bridge, took a deep breath and in his own ungainly style ran halfway around the walkway and hung onto Edge for a while before finishing the song. It was very funny and the look on both their faces was hilarious. That Edge is making Bono run for his money!

Actually when you are so close it does make you realise that the walkway is a very big area for a person to cover, and that could be one reason that it has been underused in the shows I had seen previously - except for this night. But it did mean the guys covering large areas.

Bono was very gracious towards Britain, saying we were a generous country, "You stand up for right things, you should be proud of it." It was nice to hear that for him, as in my experience any compliments he gives the UK are usually negated by some comment he adds on the end. But it is true that the UK has been generous in the fight against poverty and has been a pivotal force in leading that fight and influencing other countries. Good to see Bono acknowledge that, we need to hear something good about ourselves in these difficult times.

He also said that it just occurred to him that U2 was older than Wembley Stadium, "130 years or whatever it is...." He used the quip he had used in Dublin, only changed the wording slightly, in another statement "You're a good looking crowd - in your own way." Again he got a big laugh with that. There was a lot of fun in this show, a lot of energy, so powerful it swept over you in waves, it was amazing.

They played Bad, I have always wanted to hear Bad at Wembley because it was seeing that performed at Live Aid that captured me and put me under U2's spell. And here I was 24 years later hearing Bad being performed in the same place. The song was changed slightly, but it was as wonderful as ever. I felt really emotional I wanted to really cry, sob my heart out, but I just shed a few tears, why does that song make so many people cry? It's pure U2, no one else could ever sing that song. And even here, in London, the crowd sang each word along with Bono.

Vertigo was great, with the screen coming low and spinning relatively close to us, a great effect! It's not a particular fave of mine but this performance of it is stunning.

Where we were you could feel the bass in your chest, I haven't felt that anywhere else so far in this tour. Also it was great to be close and not in a crush, there was no shoving and pushing which was just wonderful!

Bono thanked the fans as usual for "Giving us a good life" and then thanked people in the U2 organisation. He also said that once the tour is over London could negotiate to buy the claw for the Olympics! LOL!

It was just one of those special shows that happen with U2 every now and then. It's a spiritual, emotional thing, beyond the music, it takes you to another plane, it's so hard to explain, but any of you U2 fans that read this will know what I mean if you've experienced the same magic. It left us emotionally drained, but happy, U2 at their best are simply THE best. Maybe they did come from another planet in the spaceship claw? They certainly take you somewhere out of this world with a show like this.

U2 360 Tour - Wembley 1, 14th August

I never look forward to going to London, it's so big, noisy, fast, but I was excited this time because I was off to see more U2 gigs! The Red Zone auction that we'd entered was finishing at noon that day and none of us was available to keep an eye on it so it was in the lap of the gods if we got it or not. I kept checking my emails on my mobile and at 1pm I got my confirmation I'd won my two tickets! Deb was bidding for three at the same price so I assumed she'd got them but then I got a frantic message that she was having a problem with her order! To keep it brief, for a while it looked like we might only have two tickets for five people. By time I got to London I nearly had no credit left on my phone as the texts had been flying to and fro.

I met up with Debbi at Euston station and was relieved to hear that it had been sorted, she'd been liaising with a very helpful Ticketmaster customer services person, phew big sighs of relief!
We got the Tube to Wembley Park. The trip took an hour because we had to travel to Waterloo south of the river to get to Wembley way north of the river! It takes so long to get everywhere in London. It was around 5pm by time we arrived at Wembley Park and a lot of people were around. We asked a policeman the way to our hotel, he directed us a way that avoided the crowds but it was a lot longer walk. It was hot and we were getting weary, but eventually we found the Wembley Plaza hotel which was right beside the stadium, perfect!

Julie was already there, and other friends Dianne and Sharon were in another place nearby. We left quite late for the stadium as we had seats, these turned out to be very similar to the Dublin 1 seats, so were really good. The new stadium is massive and very nice.

U2 came on at 8.15, very early, curfews are getting earlier and earlier nowadays! As usual the first four songs from the new album were brilliant, I just love No Line so much! During Still Haven't Found there was one of those magical moments that sometimes happen at a U2 concert. Bono sang the first line and a half with the crowd singing along, he stopped singing and the audience just kept singing at the top of its voice, it was beautiful and moving and you could see the band found it amazing too. It reinforced once more that special spirituality that comes from some of U2's music, a feeling that binds, warms and crosses barriers. Simply beautiful, and strangely not long before that moment Bono said he thought "Something special is going to happen tonight" - he must be psychic.

Crazy rocked, Edge pogo-ing as he played, just love that version now. They had changed it a little I thought, the chorus of the original was more obvious, which was an improvement. Bono was very strong vocally all night.

The claw and Wembley arch

Debbi amazingly sussed what is being said by the robotic voice at the beginning of Ultraviolet, it's the poem Stop All The Clocks, Cut Off The Telephone by W H Auden. Very in keeping with the theme of clocks/time that runs throughout the show. During Ultraviolet Bono was hanging onto the mic with one arm and walking along the very edge of the stage, then spinning on it like an acrobat.

Bono dedicated Moment of Surrender to Brian Eno, saying "Get well soon" and that he was a "National treasure."

I've read reviews that said the sound was really poor at this show. Well, where we were there was a slight echo, but no more than that, the sound was fine, seems it depended whereabouts you were sitting how you heard the gig.

We hung around for a while after the show, meeting up with other friends, but there was no sign of the band. It was great to walk just minutes along the road to our hotel! We ordered room service food - pizza - and washed it down with wine. Got to bed at 4am-ish.