Every month we put a U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month March of 2026 is user ajny4. Read along for the interview we had with this U2 fan.
"Across the decades, the constant, never-changing aspect of seeing U2 live is the energy and connection they create and exchange with the crowd from the rail to the last row in a stadium"
Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
My name is Anthony and I am a school teacher in New York.
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
When I was about 12 years old a friend’s older cousin gave him a homemade cassette with Boy on one side and War on the other. He made a copy of it for me and I played it on my Walkman to drown out whatever my parents listened to on long car rides. It was the first music that felt like it was “mine” and didn’t belong to the adults around me. While I listened to the albums that followed, hearing the opening notes of Achtung Baby years later was when I realized that I would follow this band that was willing to “cut down the Joshua Tree” pretty much anywhere, artistically.
Did you ever have a special U2 experience like a live concert? Can you tell us something about it?
My first U2 concert, the Madison Square Garden stop of the ZooTV tour in March 1992, was a special experience because it also happened to be the first concert I attended with the person I later married. We were teenagers then and had no way of knowing that over 30 years later we would see the U2:UV show at The Sphere with our son. That felt like a “full circle” experience and those shows will always be important to me.
We were also lucky to be in the audience for the day-long taping of the “Bono: Stories of Surrender” AppleTV production at The Beacon Theater in New York City. It was so much fun being there with so many other super-friendly and excited U2 fans. Because we were in the first few rows, we are visible for about a half second here and there during the documentary, but you would need a quick finger on the pause button and good eyes to pick us out.
You have seen shows over multiple decades. How have you seen U2 evolve over all those years?
I know I haven’t seen nearly as many shows as some other fans and I missed a few tours altogether. It might be cliché to point out U2’s relationship to technology and stagecraft, but that is probably the evolution that is most obvious to me from the shows I attended.
With ZooTV U2 put its finger on the pulse of media, politics, and commerce and nearly broke our brains. Today, that tour looks almost prophetic. The “giant lemon” from the PopMart tour was possibly an exclamation point that marked the beginning of the end of a certain kind of irony in pop culture.
The SoI and SoE tours somehow made the arena-dividing “barricade” and its massive screen into more than just a gimmick since it was used creatively by the band to tell a very personal story in a grand way. The JT tour maximized screens to match the epic sweep of the music with epic visuals that served the music without distracting from it.
The Sphere shows were mind-blowing visually and sonically. U2 used the venue’s ability to cast nearly 3D visuals and cutting-edge sound to make themselves, who appeared so tiny on the Brian Eno-inspired turntable stage, accessible and connected to the audience and I am not sure many other acts will be able to do the same in that room.
Across the decades, the constant, never-changing aspect of seeing U2 live is the energy and connection they create and exchange with the crowd from the rail to the last row in a stadium. This holy triangle of themselves, the fans, and the music makes their shows feel like more than just concerts. They are experiences and operate on a level much deeper than mere spectacle. I wish I could explain how it works. Maybe alchemy.
What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
I am not much of a collector. My wife and I like to buy event posters from shows we attend, so we have a few from U2 tours. A personal favorite is the Trabant graphic poster from the U2:UV shows. I also have U2’s album discography on vinyl, including a few singles, promo releases, and fan club items. I have tour T-shirts that I enjoy wearing but, sadly, my shirts from the pre-SoI tours are long gone.
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?
Luckily for me, my wife is also a big fan and U2’s music has been a large part of the soundtrack of our life. Our son is also a fan and we like to remind him that “The Miracle (for Joey Ramone)” was heard on repeat from behind his closed bedroom door for weeks when he was younger. Many of my friends are U2 fans to one degree or another and I’ve also been able to connect with a few other U2 fans on recent tours and I am grateful for their friendship, too.
What U2 lyric would you get tattooed next and where?
My U2 tattoos are not lyrics, so this question sent me to scan the U2 lyrics website. There are so many lines from their songs that have meaning to me, but I don’t know that I can choose a single lyric for a tattoo.
I already have three U2-related symbols tattooed. They are the Space Baby from the Achtung Baby/Zooropa era, the suitcase + heart logo from the All That You Can’t Leave Behind era, and the line illustration of the turntable stage from the U2:UV logos.
What do you think about Days of Ash and what is your favorite song?
Now that I’ve had a few weeks with it, I find Days of Ash to be a solid collection. I really appreciate that the songs definitely sound finished, but not overly edited or over-polished. My favorite song on DoA is “One Life At A Time”. Larry’s drumming and Edge’s guitar at the 2-minute mark are epic. On the other hand, the chorus from “The Tears of Things” gets stuck in my head more than anything else on the EP.
Easter Lily was recently released, too, and I think I prefer it over DoA. I think it contains some of U2’s best work in a very long time. “Resurrection Song” attached itself to me. It feels like U2 sonically looking backwards and forwards at the same time. The lyric “If I sound ridiculous, I’m not done yet” makes me laugh because I think those who know me well know how fitting it is that I immediately liked that line.
How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
Some of my musical choices can be quite different from U2, but U2 is my “baseline” sound for what I tend to enjoy most. I’m reaching an age where I’m fighting against the habit of listening to only the same artists that I liked when I was younger and the streaming algorithms paradoxically make it harder, not easier, for me to find new music sometimes. I’m appreciative that my son has great taste in music and my job puts me into contact with young people, so I am able to discover artists that I might have missed and I keep an open mind when they recommend songs or albums to listen to.
Most recently, I find myself drawn to bands like Fontaines DC, Sprints, Cardinals, Murder Capital, The Scratch, Wunderhorse, and the like. It seems like there are a lot of promising young bands that are creating great music. I would say these bands’ connection to U2 is their post-punk spirit and sound, to varying degrees.
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
Seeing live music is something that I enjoy with friends and family whenever I can. I also got into photography as a teenager and I still enjoy taking photos and how the process focuses my attention and forces me to ignore the apps on my phone that desperately want my time. I also enjoy reading and I try to have a fiction and non-fiction work going at the same time. When I have time, I enjoy long walks with a good podcast or music.