"U2 inspire me with their music and their performances. For me, U2 is a feeling. And U2 is only U2 to me when Bono, Edge, Adam AND Larry are together!"
Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for
a living?
Hello! I'm Frank, 48 years old and I live with my family in Germany. I have been married to my beloved beautiful wife since 2005 and we have three children. I have been working in an emergency call center for over 20 years now.
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
I first became aware of U2 through "With Or Without You". After that i bought "The Joshua Tree" album and that's how it all started... My second album was "Under A Blood Red Sky" and before the "Love Town Tour" I had a cassette with one of the two Munich 1987 concerts. Dublin New Year's Eve 1989 taped myself and at the time I started buying bootlegs. "The Fly" was the first single i bought on the day it was released and i also bought "Achtung Baby" on the day of publication.
Does anyone in your family or one of your friends like U2? If so, did they introduce you to U2, or did you "convert" them?
My wife likes U2 but doesn't want to go to the concerts. But when we flew to Dublin 2009 and Rome 2010 it was my wife with me because we took a short vacation there. Otherwise, all the shows I've been to have been one and the same friend of mine with me and now and then other friends. My friend and I became U2 fans at the same time.
Your first U2 show took place in Dortmund, on the Zoo TV tour. Tell us about that first experience, what do you remember from it?
Before the show I made a big mistake: I was only at the second Dortmund show. We had good seats in the lower tier to the left of the stage. Our view and the sound were great and the atmosphere was fantastic. If I could experience a concert again, it would be this one! A few days after the show I got both Dortmund and the Frankfurt show as video and audio directly from the taper. The Taper was a friend of a work colleague and I listened and viewed the recordings over and over again.
The year after in 1993, you went to 5 more shows, starting a journey of seeing U2 all around Europe. Tell us some of your highlights.
Every show was a highlight! It was just fun to be on tour. We only have the tickets for the first Rotterdam show ordered two days before by phone without knowing whether they will arrive on time. But everything worked out and the Zooropa premiere show was great. Also the following shows in Frankfurt, Bremen, Cologne and Nijmegen were great. The Nijmegen Show was only announced after the tour started. At the time of the Rotterdam concerts there were already rumors that there probably another show in the Netherlands as a surprise should give.
What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
I only have the official releases on CD or digitally on the PC. I don't collect anything else. But I have almost everything from all shows as a download gives on my pc. Thanks to u2start and u2torrents! A big thank you to all those tapers!!!
What do you think of Songs of Surrender?
When I first heard about it I thought it was interesting and was looking forward to it.
But once I heard the first snippets of it I got on the project scolded and was afraid to listen to it. But it turned out better than I feared. And I'm listening to it now and then. I'll wait and see if i will listen to it more often in the future. At first I didn't want to go to the Bono Show in Berlin, but we are glad we were there and found it very good!
What do you hope for an album of new songs?
I hope a new album has Larry on drums and I hope for good new songs. And I really hope that the album will be produced more raw and not so polished. For example, I was a bit disappointed with the sound on "Songs Of Experience". Because I liked the rough and raw sound in "The Blackout" video better than on the album.
How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
First and foremost, U2 inspire me with their music and their performances. For me, U2 is a feeling. And U2 is only U2 to me when Bono, Edge, Adam AND Larry are together!
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
I listen to a few different genres of music. And my other favorite bands and favorite artists are: Pearl Jam (seen 17 shows), R.E.M. (really deeply miss them!) Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley! I also like going to other concerts. I like watching movies, series, news, documentaries and music on TV. I love my family. Enjoy spending time with them and with our friends. I usually enjoy going to my work. And I'm on u2start, u2songs and u2torrents daily. Thank you to everyone involved!!! And I would like to thank everyone who has done something for the U2 community and will do in the future!!!
Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
Sorry to hear that. What a loss.