1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month February of 2020 is user Sydney_MIke. Read along for the interview we had with this U2 fan.

    "For me, The Unforgettable Fire era is the era of U2 that I remember most fondly. They were so incredibly raw, energetic and passionate in their performance and unashamed about lacking in musical proficiency. They embodied the punk ethos of ‘anyone can do this’"

    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    Despite the abbreviation in my screen name, I’m Michael and I’m married with 3 adult children and 3 adorable grandchildren. I’ve spent my entire career working within the life insurance industry and, although I’ve called Sydney home for 40 years, I was actually born and raised in a small mining community in the North East of England.

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    It all happened in 1983; when I first heard New Year’s Day and Two Hearts on the radio. I bought the War album because of those songs but it was only when I saw the video for Gloria that I explored their earlier albums. What really converted me though was hearing and taping (who remembers doing that?) a radio broadcast of the Boston show from 1983-05-06. I thought they sounded amazing live and some 37 years later, they remain my number one band.

    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 two brothers and brother-in-law all became fans at a similar time to me and we attend shows together but none of them have embraced U2 to the same extent.

    As a good parent, I’ve “educated” my children when it comes to good music and the elder two saw U2 as their first ever concert. Sarah, my eldest, saw Vertigo at the age of 14 and is now a “veteran” of 3 Australian tours and 4 concerts. Matt was 16 when he saw 360 from inside the circle – an awesome first experience of a band live. To my dismay, the youngest hasn’t experienced U2 live and chose Coldplay for her first concert.

    Your first U2 show happened in 1984 for the Unforgettable Fire tour, what was U2 like back in those days?
    For me, this is the era of U2 that I remember most fondly. They were so incredibly raw, energetic and passionate in their performance and unashamed about lacking in musical proficiency. They embodied the punk ethos of ‘anyone can do this’. While I have enjoyed all of the subsequent eras and seeing them evolve, those early shows were special because they lacked the complexity and technology the band has become renowned for. It was simply up to those four men and their instruments to impress you, and they absolutely did.

    The show intro on that tour was ‘The Theme from Harry’s Game’ and hearing the haunting sound of Clannad boom out over the PA sent shivers down your spine. Looking back now, the set lists were something we’d all die to hear again. If you thought the first five songs of this latest tour were powerhouse tunes, check out the 1984-09-09 show in Sydney which started with Out of Control, Twilight, An Cut Dubh, Into the Heart and then The Unforgettable Fire. PLUS we also got to hear Electric Co, Gloria, I Will Follow and more before finishing with 12,000 people singing 40 - totally mind blowing!

    That tour happened a month or so before the album was released and while I can vividly remember The Unforgettable Fire I have no memory of Pride. It didn’t leave an impression and wasn’t the cherished anthem it is now.

    You have seen them in Sydney almost every tour since, can you tell us a bit about your experiences and your memories over time?
    Actually, with much regret, I have to admit that I missed Popmart in 1998. I wasn’t a fan of Pop at the time and couldn’t justify the expense of seeing the show when I had a young family to support and money was tight. But apart from that omission, yes, I have seen every tour to Australia.

    In addition to witnessing those early shows, I was there the night they recorded the legendary Zoo-Tv concert. At the risk of speaking heresy and being expelled from the forum, I need to be honest and say I left feeling underwhelmed at the time. You need to bear in mind that a lot of the songs were unfamiliar and there were three covers in a 22 song set list; plus it finished with a sombre encore. The acoustics were also terrible, with lots of reverberation around the stadium; much of which is less evident on the DVD. The passage of time and clearer audio makes the experience much more enjoyable these days.

    Another memorable experience was being there on the night of the bomb scare during Lovetown; resulting in one of the rare shows from that era when Streets wasn’t played. On that tour, I was also very fortunate to witness them opening the show with Hawkmoon 269.

    What was it like to see U2 finally come back to Australia in 2019, how did you experience this tour?
    Having U2 return to Australia after a 9 year absence was cause for celebration and much anticipation, particularly given the disappointment of none of the three previous tours didn’t making it here and after they had promised to bring JT30 but hadn’t. I can’t complain too much, however, as I was able to attend the first night of JT30 in Vancouver in 2017 and catch both e+i shows in London in 2018.

    As some of you know from first-hand experience, once you’ve travelled to see a U2 show it’s hard to stop and so for the first time on a local tour, I not only saw the shows in Sydney, I went to both shows in Auckland, the one in Melbourne and also in Perth. For the first night in Auckland I was just behind Larry on the b-stage and it blew my mind that I was so close I could hear his sticks hitting the kit. For my last show in Perth I was on the rail of the main stage with fellow U2Start member Chrissie. For various reasons, I had to have seats for the other shows and every night was fabulous but those two left me with incredible memories of meeting so many fans from around the world and witnessing an amazing show so close to the action.

    Of course, the first night in Sydney, on the anniversary of the death of Michael Hutchence was incredibly moving and all the more special for being in my home town.

    What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
    Probably best described as a little bit of everything. I still have all of the original vinyl albums up to The Joshua Tree, plus everything since on CD and lots of singles too. I also have those early albums on CD and again as anniversary editions, as well as all of the concert DVDs. I’ve recently got back into collecting vinyl, picking up some RSD releases and reissues on coloured vinyl. There’s also an assortment of t-shirts, tour programs, books and various magazines going back to the mid-80s, including the famous edition of Time with “Rock’s Hottest Ticket” on the cover. No method or reasoning to my collecting; if I like it I tend to buy it.

    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 is my favourite album but if I’m going to be stranded on a desert island, I would take The Unforgettable Fire with me, if only to listen to Bad on endless repeat. That song touched a nerve when it was released and it means a lot to me. Hearing it at each of the six shows I saw last year was pure bliss, especially with the different snippets each night, and I may have shed a tear or two.

    How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
    Similar to some and different to other is the short answer. My musical taste spans many genres and five decades as I’m constantly wanting to discover new music. Blondie was the first band I was really ‘in to’ before U2 filled a void, and my collection includes similar bands from the 80s like R.E.M, Simple Minds and INXS. But then I also like harder music like Garbage, Placebo and Wolf Alice; as well as indie artists like First Aid Kit, The Airborne Toxic Event and Sydney band The Jezabels. These days, I’m listening to a lot of young Australian female singer-songwriters like Alex Lahey, Stella Donnelly, Ali Barter and Alex the Astronaut. They all have some wry observations to make about life and are worth checking out on Spotify.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I like live theatre and also musicals, classic and new. I’ve seen something like 25 different musicals, including Les Miserables 9 times. My winter is spent attending Australian Rules football (AFL) games, with the Sydney Swans being my team. I also like photography and cooking but don’t find as much time for these as I’d like.



    Thanks for this interview Sydney_MIke!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. Great interview Mike. Nice and seems familiar to me that you became fan in 1983. Same to me.
  3. Nice one Mike.
  4. Thanks Maarten. There can't be too many around like you who have attended 10 different tours.
  5. amazing mike , lovely story
  6. great interview, and teach the kids some good music
  7. Great read, thanks Mike. Agree that those UF setlists were marvellous.
  8. Thanks for sharing Mike.
  9. Originally posted by Remy:
    In addition to witnessing those early shows, I was there the night they recorded the legendary Zoo-Tv concert. At the risk of speaking heresy and being expelled from the forum, I need to be honest and say I left feeling underwhelmed at the time. You need to bear in mind that a lot of the songs were unfamiliar and there were three covers in a 22 song set list; plus it finished with a sombre encore. The acoustics were also terrible, with lots of reverberation around the stadium; much of which is less evident on the DVD. The passage of time and clearer audio makes the experience much more enjoyable these days.


    Sydney had 23 songs (over 2 hours) and only 7 or 8 minutes of covers. But yeah, I got your point.. at first I wasn't too happy the official release had all those Zooropa songs while most of Zoo TV had a bit of a different setlist. So I guess those who were there must have felt a bit of the same.. maybe for Australia they should've sticked to the 'original' setlist.
    Nice interview btw!!
  10. Good read! Interesting to hear about your impression of the Sydney show, but it makes sense!
  11. Nice interview, Mike! Good to know you a bit more
  12. Good interview!