"Seeing Bono's silhouette in front of the Euroflag on the screens and the first tones of Zoo Station I went really wild. I was singing and jumping all night long. I remember to have voice problems and muscle strain for a couple of days. "
Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
My name is Martin Sprong. I'm born and raised in a small village in Holland, called Kinderdijk (it's famous because of it's windmills and Unesco heritage). Since a couple of years i moved to the city Breda in the south of Holland. I work at an insurance company as Claims Examinator at the Accident and Health Department.
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
A friend of my brother (now one of my best friends) was a huge U2-fan back in 1984. He infected my brother. I remember that my brother got Under a blood red sky and Wide awake in America as a birthday gift from my parents. He played it over and over again. Instead of getting annoyed, i really liked it. Later he bought all the albums. The first album i bought for myself was Achtung Baby. For me that was something really really really special. And when i went to my first U2 concert Bono's birthday party in 1993 the job was done. I was a real fan from that point.
You have seen U2 on every tour in The Netherlands since Zoo TV, how were your first experiences back in 1993?
First we had to get tickets. You had to stand in line beside the ticket offices in those years. No such thing as a presale code then. So we went to spend the night at Ahoy in Rotterdam which was the largest selling point in our area. It was freezing cold. But there were thousands of fans and a great atmosphere. At the time the boxes opened i remember to be very nervous. When it was our turn to buy tickets, the first gig was already sold out, but sales for the second was just opened, so a big relieve.
The concert itself was overwhelming, not only because ZooTV is still overwhelming, but also seeing the guys for the first time at the top of their game. I was with a girl who was kind of my first girlfriend. She was very small, so we had seating tickets, because she couldn't see anything if we would stand at the field. It was my first and only time to be seated until Berlin 3 of EI tour. It started with support act Einsturzende Neubauten. They were really bad. The crowd started throwing things at them and at one point the band started to throw things back. The were quickly taken off the podium. When it was U2 showtime, i was (again) very nervous. Seeing Bono's silhouette in front of the Euroflag on the screens and the first tones of Zoo Station i went really wild. I was singing and jumping all night long. I remember to have voice problems and muscle strain for a couple of days.
How did U2 evolve over time, in what sense have they changed over the years?
That's a difficult question. In my opinion are the albums great, but live is were the songs comes really alive, so evolvement for me are live performances. Since my first concert was in 1993, i can't say anything about what they did before. Off course i've seen footage, but it's different to being actually there. I mean...a lot of you guys love LoveTown, but for me...it lacks something. I think Pop and Popmart are equal to AB and Zoo. After that, it began to go downhill. I don't like ATYCLB. HTDAAB was slightly better. NLOTH i love half of and hate the other half. SOI has some nice songs, but it's not high on my list. SOE i don't even want to talk about (except for Little Things). But as usual, i'm still looking forward for the next one.
What has been your highlight tour, and why?
That depends on what day you ask me. Every tour had something. Today, i will say it was Popmart. I really love those unfinished songs and by the time they got to Europe the show was really balanced. But JT19 also was special for personal reasons. Getting to the other side of the world (Seoul) with one of my best mates was quite an experience.
What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
My goal is to buy every release in all formats possible. But i'm getting to that point that it's impossible to get it ever completed. For new releases it's not that hard, cause almost all releases are the same. But in the earlier days every country had it's own release. So now, i'm focused on getting different releases, but only when it has something really different, like other single b-sides or other covers. But i still buy cd and vinyl.
When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
Achtung Baby
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?
As i said, my brother introduced me. A lot of friends like U2, but are not a fan like i am. When they play Holland or Belgium we often go with a group of around 10 people. One friend (the one who introduced U2 to my brother) is also a real fan and collector. I live with my girlfriend 2018 and she really can't stand U2. So i still have a job to do here
How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
I like quite a lot of bands. As long as there's guitar in it. I don't like dance music. But other bands, i buy the albums and go to there concerts when they are around, but no travelling for that and i don't mind to skip a tour, what for U2 is impossible.
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
I like football. The local amateur footballteam in Kinderdijk is called De Zwerver (that's where my nickname is from) and although i live some 40 km away, i still go every saturday to watch them. I'm a Formula 1 fan as well. Last weekend we went to Portugal to see the race. And last but not least i'm a photographer (not a good one, but it's fun) and before Covid i fell in love with urbex photography.
The picture is me in Seoul after the U2show.
Thanks for this interview Zwervervriend!
Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
