1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month December 2010 is user KieranU2. Kieran is living in Scotland and one of our most contributing members. Enjoy!


    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    My name is Kieran, I turn 16 in early January, and I currently live just outside the city centre of Edinburgh. I'm currently in my fifth year of high school, which is a very tough year if you want to get into university. University is something I'm hoping to go to. Currently considering my options on which one to go to. I'm going to be doing a journalism course at uni and then try to persue a career in it.

    In your opinion, what has been U2's defining moment and why?
    Personally, I think it's Achtung Baby/ZooTV. Achtung Baby was such a landmark in U2's musical career. It is always usually difficult for a band to change musical direction but they executed it brilliantly and came out with a record which was marginally different from the last. ZooTV was an amazing way to support a sublime album. It was crazy, but effective at the same time. It would be one U2 tour that I would die to see.
    But honestly, Joshua Tree would be their defining moment because of the massive rise in fame it gave them. It rose them to rock superstars. If it wasn't for The Joshua Tree, we wouldn't have such classics as Streets or I Still Haven't Found. They songs made U2 super famous.

    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?
    It was really my brother who introduced me into U2. It was at an early age of 5 years old, so that would have been 2000. My dad originally had The Joshua Tree on cassette. My brother had been listening to it before ATYCLB came out. He then bought ATYCLB. Then after that, my mum was buying us both CDs and DVDs of U2. We both started collecting more albums, DVDs, singles etc. My brother then went off U2 and went onto Pink Floyd as his favourite band (which is still his favourite). I have managed to convert some of my friends to liking U2. Some like the occasional song, but some have full albums, all thanks to me.

    What is your favorite U2 bootleg, and why? Do you often listen to bootlegs?
    I used to listen to alot of bootlegs, maybe 1 or 2 everyday. But now I usually can't be bothered. I now listen to studio albums of U2 or mainly other artists. I must admit, I haven't been in a U2 mood recently, been in a pop-punk mood instead.

    My favourite bootleg has to be Popmart Santiago. The performance is excellent, the audience are top notch (usually are in South America) and the sound is astonishing. It's also a bootleg I've always went back to and one of the few I've kept on my iPod. My favourite song on the whole bootleg is Bad. It was so great and under-rated on Popmart, in my opinion. It's the best Popmart show I think. Some people like to disagree though.

    What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
    My U2 collection isn't exactly huge. Well, compared to some people's collection on the forums, it's absoutely tiny. I have all the albums, of course. They are all in order in my drawer. I have Boy, October and War in deluxe edition and The Joshua Tree box set. I'm yet to get The Unforgettable Fire box set which I really want. I have all of the DVDs, except from Red Rocks. And also, a couple of singles. I don't have anything that's incredibly rare. I'd like to buy something which is really rare so I can say that I've got something that not many people have.

    You are one of our main torrent contributors, what is your vision about sharing U2 material on the internet? Any suggestions for us?
    I think sharing U2 material on the internet is a fine thing to do. Especially when it's free of charge. I like U2torrents idea of sharing it through torrenting. In my opinion, torrenting is the best way to download something. But I do think the "don't convert to lossy" thing is annoying. Only because (don't want to rant away here) some people like having their music in lossy format. It takes up less space than lossless as well.

    I think the U2start torrent section is very useful. The reason why is because my ratio has never been good on U2torrents. I download things here as well so my ratio doesn't decrease on U2torrents. I think the system is brilliant and I am very thankful of Remy and Chris for creating it.

    From what we see on the boards, F1 is one of your biggest hobbies. How long have you been a F1 fan? What do you like the most (and the less) about that sport? Have you attended any race ever (and if so, is it better on TV or live) ?
    Yeah, I'm a huge F1 fan. I've been a fan longer than I've been a U2 fan. What I like about F1 so much is how it is so competitive. I love it when the races are packed full of action and incidents. It can occasionally be boring which is frustrating (especially if you get up at 6 in the morning to watch the race). I've never attended a race, unfortunately. I don't know if I would ever be able to stand a race. I've watched over 100 races live on TV and it's really good that way. Because you can see everything that's happening live. If you are there at the track, then you don't see everything that happens. All you see is cars pass ever so often.

    When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
    I'd say Achtung Baby. It's my favourite album and I can listen to it time after time without getting bored. It has a great collection of songs which combine together to make one masterpiece of an album.

    What do you think of Bono's charity works?
    It's not something I've thought extensively about. I mean, the man does a good job for the busy schedule that he has, but it's annoying when he starts bringing up when he's on stage. It's a rock show. I think the reason why we're waiting years and years for an album to come out is because Bono is too busy with his charity works, which is irritating as a fan.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I'm quite an outgoing person. I go out alot in the weekend with friends. I play guitar and have just started a band with a few friends. I play football sometimes. I also play basketball and dodgeball at my school. When I have nothing to do, I'll play my xbox or watch tv programs such as Top Gear and The Simpsons.

    Thanks for choosing me as fan of the month and thanks to the crew for your hard work on this site!

    Thanks for this interview KieranU2!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. Amazing interview, congrats Kieran, I totally share your opinion on sharing U2 bootlegs and on Popmart Santiago. That Bad is really emotional. Great
  3. Congrats man, gonna have to up my game to get FOTM next year Well deserved though and a good read
  4. Congrats, Kieran! And a great read, too. Always a blast to read a new perspective each month
  5. great interview man, gave a *bump* to the F1 thread to celebrate
  6. great read !!!
  7. Great interview, nice bit regarding the bootleg sharing! And also great opinions about Popmart, you don't see much Popmart love around that often! Great, congrats
  8. great interview Kieran!
  9. Nice one Kieran
  10. Well deserved !

    Liked your answers to the interview as well
  11. Cool interview Kieran!
  12. Aha, another deserved Fan Of The Month
    Interesting interview Kieran