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  1. Anyone else ever read this, I honestly thought it was a good read?

    Opinions???
  2. Excellent overlooked read... I forget how old this book is!

    "U2 has always been a band shrouded in mystery. Now, for the first time ever, comes a painstakingly detailed and honest account of the remarkable band from Ireland whose political, spiritual and personal music has touched the hearts and minds of its countless fans"
  3. I bought the hardback of this from back in the day, just pulled it off my shelf - still haven't read it /hangs head in shame. So many words and not enough pictures to colour in.

    A distant memory comes back to me about some sort of controversy over this book and Eamon Dunphy - weren't the band a bit unhappy about it for some reason?
  4. Originally posted by Caledonia:I bought the hardback of this from back in the day, just pulled it off my shelf - still haven't read it /hangs head in shame. So many words and not enough pictures to colour in.

    A distant memory comes back to me about some sort of controversy over this book and Eamon Dunphy - weren't the band a bit unhappy about it for some reason?
    The band felt Dunphy delved a little too deep into their past. I too thought it an excellent read and for me is by far the best account of U2's early years, especially during the Shalom Fellowship period.

    "A good friend of mine from Dublin had a friend that was heavily involved with the Shalom Fellowship too and went to the same meetings attended by Bono, Larry and The Edge. There was a wedding in 1980 in which my friend was there and both Bono and Larry were there too. Bono was so out of it he couldn't utter any words at all. One or two others were trying to goad him. There were the makings of a brawl in which Bono might have gotten "battered" - who knows though, I heard he could always handle himself anyway." lol

    It's a good read especially the chapter dealing with that famous 1983 Red Rocks performance. I always wondered why there were some red streaks on the original VHS recording. I can't recall which songs off hand but the book details why this occurred.

    Cheap copies avaialble on Amazon
  5. Sounds fascinating, I knew I remembered a little unease about it at the very least. I've got some downtime this next couple of weeks, so think I will make a start on it, can't believe I've never gotten round to it.
  6. Originally posted by Caledonia:Sounds fascinating, I knew I remembered a little unease about it at the very least. I've got some downtime this next couple of weeks, so think I will make a start on it, can't believe I've never gotten round to it.
    You should definitely. I think I just might dust it off and revisit it!
  7. check it out from a library.word on this book is it is full of inaccuracies.
  8. I remember not caring for it but cannot remember exactly why. Read it when it came out.

    I seem to recall it overdid how righteous some of the band members were or tied to religion very deeply. Maybe put them up on too much of a pedestal.

    Of course that era became all about self-righteousness and pretention, so maybe it fit.

    I enjoyed Killing Bono far more.
  9. Originally posted by daymo1202:[..]
    The band felt Dunphy delved a little too deep into their past. I too thought it an excellent read and for me is by far the best account of U2's early years, especially during the Shalom Fellowship period.

    "A good friend of mine from Dublin had a friend that was heavily involved with the Shalom Fellowship too and went to the same meetings attended by Bono, Larry and The Edge. There was a wedding in 1980 in which my friend was there and both Bono and Larry were there too. Bono was so out of it he couldn't utter any words at all. One or two others were trying to goad him. There were the makings of a brawl in which Bono might have gotten "battered" - who knows though, I heard he could always handle himself anyway." lol

    It's a good read especially the chapter dealing with that famous 1983 Red Rocks performance. I always wondered why there were some red streaks on the original VHS recording. I can't recall which songs off hand but the book details why this occurred.

    Cheap copies avaialble on Amazon
    streaks are caused by the old light filter in the video camera this was before ccd.
    any other reason given is false.
  10. Yes, it was full of holes, minor errors, and some false information but it captured the spirit of the band at the time. A very enjoyable read. I think Edge's criticism of it was that he had "oversimplified" everything, but it's still an interesting read.

    The band and Neil McCormick shredded it, but it was the band and Paul McGuinness that commissioned Dunphy to write the book!
  11. Originally posted by revjisok:[..]
    streaks are caused by the old light filter in the video camera this was before ccd.
    any other reason given is false.
    Yes, that sounds right!
  12. Originally posted by revjisok:[..]
    streaks are caused by the old light filter in the video camera this was before ccd.
    any other reason given is false.
    "burn-in"