"I cried and mourned to their songs, and I fell in love and married to their songs—almost the whole circle of life."
Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
Hi! My name is Stephan, I’m 51 and I live in Hannover, the capital city of Lower Saxony, with my wife, Stephanie (my „i+e” and the best thing about me).
I work as an „Amtsanwalt,“ that’s a public prosecutor for minor crimes which are heard in the local courts. My typical cases are theft, fraud, assault, and traffic offenses like driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Most of my work consists of reading files, still on paper, and usually once a week I negotiate in court.
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
My interest in popular music started early. My father had a large record collection which introduced me to rock’n’roll and blues. In elementary school, I was a big fan (I still am) of the Beatles, and around the age of 10 or 11, I only listened to music of the ’60s or ’70s as I didn’t like the „modern“ stuff on the radio.
Of course, I watched Live Aid in 1985, and I did remember the performance of U2 later, but I watched it for acts like Paul McCartney or The Who.
A little later, I almost lost interest in music completely as I thought I listened to all worth listening to.
In October 1988, a friend came by with a new album from U2, Rattle and Hum. I looked at the tracklist and wanted to hear how they were covering my old love, The Beatles.
Track 3, “Desire,” got me from the beginning. A few weeks later, I had bought every U2 album available, and my love for music was back.
You have seen many shows over the years, tell us about the first in 1989.
U2 was only my third concert after „Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung,“ an Austrian fun band I watched with my mum, and the Beach Boys.
I remember ticket ordering was a lottery if more inquiries than tickets available would come in, which was the case of course, but I was lucky.
It was hard to convince my parents, and I was almost ready to run off from home just for the show, but in the end, they agreed and understood what it meant to me.
In front of the Westfalenhalle, I remember lots of fans without a ticket, mostly Dutch, and I was offered 500 DM for my ticket. That was the annual income for me, but I never thought for a second of selling it.
I attended the show with friends from school, and we had tickets for the „Rang,“ which was seating, though nobody sat, of course.
I still remember “All You Need Is Love” being played over the PA, interrupted within the song and the intro for “Streets” starting. Red light, Larry, Adam, Edge appearing in the shadows, and finally Bono greeting, “Hallo, Dortmund.” Me and all the people around me screamed and shouted the words to every single song they played, and the energy was just insane.
Yes, that was a life-changing moment, I knew back then.
I was disappointed as they left out “40”—not knowing I would have to wait 26 years to hear that song live, which was a very special moment for me on the i+e Tour.
How has U2 evolved for you over the years in live shows?
The biggest evolvement was from Lovetown to ZOO TV. A complete new level in live shows. From then on, they stayed strong, but to me, they did not reach that high level again.
I like that from ZOO TV on, they never had „just a stage,“ like Depeche Mode or Bruce Springsteen, for example, but always specific stages and concepts developed for every tour. But of course, playing arenas and stadiums is somehow limited, and they can’t present something completely new every time.
Sphere was also interesting as its stage and technical possibilities are tied to the building, but from what I experienced live from U2 and watched on YouTube from other artists, U2 have made the most of it until now.
What has been your favorite tour and show, and why?
Zooropa ’93 in Bremen. ZOO TV is to me by far the best concept they ever had. Musically, they were on top; the concept, the screened videos, and MacPhisto had the right balance of entertainment and message. The energy of the crowd was great, too.
A day or two later, a local newspaper complained about bouncing cups in the cabinets around the neighborhood of the stadium because some guy called Adam Clayton was playing bass too loud. Great show.
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 told above, I was introduced to U2 by a friend from school, but soon turned into a bigger fan than he ever was. My wife knew U2 already when we met, but stayed more a „casual fan.“ And the friends I made because of U2 didn’t need to be converted.
The closest to a conversion would be a colleague, a little older than me.
She talked about wanting to see U2 sometime a lot, but only went to concerts in the local area around Hannover. In 2015, when I was going to i+e in Berlin and back on the same day with a friend, I saw a seat offered by a fan I knew for face value. I told my colleague, like, „You have the ticket, I’ll be your transport. Now or never.“ She came with us.
Quite impressed, she also went to The Joshua Tree Tour in Berlin 2017, and most surprising for me, she went to e+i Dublin in 2018, all on her own, with her husband telling her she would be „mad.“
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, no doubt.
What are your expectations for U2’s next album? Do you think it will be their last?
As they have so many albums in the making, I don’t think the next album will be the last.
„You’re always gonna doubt yourself when you’re in the middle of a record“ is a quote I remember from Larry on Achtung Baby. And for the last records, with lots of producers and changing plans, I sense that doubt took over a little too much.
I wish they had the self-confidence and trust they had in the ’90s and would just follow the chosen path a bit straighter.
The idea of going back to basics, four in a room and playing together live, sounds exciting to me.
But I don’t have any specific expectations. I’m happy that there’s more to come and Larry is getting better.
How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
Well, as I said, they brought back my love and passion for music. With their own development in the early ’90s, they opened my ears to different genres. I don’t listen exclusively to U2 music, but I listen to music because of U2.
They are definitely the band I’m most connected to emotionally. Like many of you, when you’re a fan for more than a third of your lifetime, I feel like they are the soundtrack of my life. I cried and mourned to their songs, and I fell in love and married to their songs—almost the whole circle of life.
There’s just this special thing I cannot describe that other great artists don’t have for me. Sometimes over the years, when I heard a new U2 song for the very first time, I wondered how they—or especially Bono—seemed to know exactly what I was feeling.
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
At home, listening to music and watching movies. I used to collect CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs and still have a decent collection, but for years I only add special releases physically, like The Cure’s Songs Of A Lost World deluxe edition or the HTDAAB box set recently.
I do some sports and try to make a run up to 5 times a week in our city forest, the „Eilenriede,“ which is larger than NYC’s Central Park.
I enjoy traveling, whether it’s for a concert or not, whether it’s with my wife or friends. Right now, my wife and I are excited to travel to New Zealand for 7 weeks starting in January.
And there’s me, desperately trying to look cool at Zabriskie Point while my wife is annoyed taking pictures of me:
