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U2: Stage And Studio
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U2 Magazine - No. 10
U2 MAGAZINE No: 10 - February 1984 U2 are at present at home in Dublin, working on ideas and recording material
for a new album due out in the summer. As far as I know there aren't any songs that have been completely finished yet, but
Bono is reportedly very excited about how it is working out. At one stage U2 were hoping to fix that elusive Australian trip
and play some festival dates end of January/early February, but it would have completely disrupted the recording schedule,
so it remains something to fit in later in the year. With the new year, Adam had some comments on how he saw things changing. 1983 - People
are re-evaluating what they're going to be doing, where they're going - trying to get more of a firm direction. It's been
very much a year of re-assessment. A lot of bands are coming and going, particularly bands that have done three or four albums
and have gone as far as they can go in that formats Paul Weller and The Jam, The Beat, the Clash. U2 certainly intends to
make a change from what we've done so far. 1984 - I think music will become a lot more vital, maybe a bit rougher, not as
smooth and produced as it has been. It may go in a more political way overall. The synthesizer bands are already having problems:
they can't really tour, and they're very reliant on that floating market that buys hit records. They have no more longevity
than their next song. A lot of those bands may well disappear. The vanguard of the new direction is certainly the Alarm and
Big Country. In the recent Hot Press Reader's Poll, U2 were clear leaders in just about every
possible category, with awards running: No.l Best Polling Act. No.1 Group, No.1 Male Vocalist for Bono, No.1 Album 'War',
No.2 Album 'Under A Blood Red Sky', No.1 Live Band, No.1 Irish-based Act, No.1 Instrumentalist for The Edge, No.1 LP Sleeve
for 'War', No.2 Single 'New Year's Day', No.2 LP Sleeve 'Under A Blood Red Sky', No.2 Songwriter Bono/U2, No.2 Video 'New
Year's Day', and No.2 Love Of The Year. In the New Musical Express Poll: U2 were voted No.2 Best Group, No.3 Best Album with
'War', No.6 Best Single with 'New Year's Day', No. 3 Best Dressed Sleeve for 'War' and No.20 Best Dressed Sleeve for 'Under
A Blood Red Sky'. Bono scored in several personal categories - No.19 Best Dressed Male, No.8 Best Male Singer, No.11 Best
Songwriter, and No.9 Most Wonderful Human Being. The Edge was voted No.1 Best Guitar and Adam No.7 Bass. U2 did equally well in the 'Sounds' Poll - No .3 Best Band, No.15 Best LP for 'War'
and No.18 Best LP for 'Under A Blood Red Sky' No.9 Best Single with 'New Year's Day', No.9 Best Male Singer for Bono, No.2
Best Guitarist for The Edge, No.12 Best Drums for Larry, and No.17 Best Keyboards for The Edge! The Edge also got a special mention for Musician of the Year along with Stuart Adamson
From Big Country, in 'One, Two, Testing' magazine. In the poll for 'Rip It Up' in New Zealand the band did very well also - No.1 Best
Group of '83, No.1 Album with 'War', No-5 Best Single with 'Two Hearts Beat As One', and No.1 Best Vocalist for Bono - no
mean feat considering the band haven't yet had the chance to tour down there. U2 ended a very hard-working year by headlining a show called 'The Big One', a charity
show for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The band don't often get the chance to do shows like this, and it did come
in the middle of working on material for the new album, but they felt it was very important. A lot of people had offered their services for the concert, so to fit everything
in the sets were kept fairly short and included fine performances from Mari Wilson, Ian Dury, Hazel O'Connor, The Alarm, Style
Council, Elvis Costello, and Costello and Paul Weller sang a duet of 'My Ever Changing Moods'. After all this it was quite late when U2 came on as headliners, but there was no
doubt in the minds of the audience as to who they had come to see. And U2 left no doubt in anyone's mind what sort of message
they wanted to put across. They played an excellent set, including such favourites as 'New Year's Day', 'I Will Follow', 'll
0'Clock Tick Tock' and of course 'Sunday Bloody Sunday'. The fact that the concert was taking place the night after the Harrod's
bombing in London didn't go unnoticed by Bono - he felt that made the show all the more important. The set came to a close with Mike Peters from The Alarm joining the band on stage
for a powerful version of 'Knocking On Heaven's Door'. The encore was "40" with everyone joining in, and the chorus of 'How
long, how long to sing this song' echoing out into the night. U2 had made their point. (There are some plans for an album and a video from this show apparently, but no
details have been finalised yet.) The new album is likely to make quite a break with the past. After the War tour,
Bono said, "Everyone feels a weight off their shoulders. We feel like we're in a new group now. I can't sleep at night with
thoughts about the next record." "It would be wrong for me to say, yes, we can change the world with a song. Hut every
time I try writing that's where I'm at. I'm not stupid. I'm aware of the futility of rock 'n roll music, but I'm also aware
of its power. We're only coming to terms with our trade. We've yet to become craftsmen. Well, maybe we should never become
craftsmen. It's great fun being in this band." "You can't parody yourself", Bono states. "There were so many groups sounding like
us at one point that when we'd play a song we'd say 'that sounds a bit like U2 hold on a second we are U2!' (laughs)
that was happening. You nearly parody yourself and you've got to stop. That was what Edge had to do anyway. "People all over America say 'what about these people who are robbing your sound?'
and Edge's reply to that has always been, 'well look, y'know fine, take the sound - but it's not a sound that makes music
good - it's where that sound comes from and why it's coming out of a person and they can't copy that. "And it is definitely The Edge. The crew have a joke about it. They have to set up
his amps and put the guitar on and I've put my fingers where Edge puts his fingers and I've had his amps and his machines
and the settings that he has them on and I've played and it sounds like - no good: And it's him it's truly the way he plays
and I think whatever instrument he plays will always have that distinctive quality. But there was a time he was so distinctive
he was running into trouble. So he stopped playing it and got into rock 'n roll guitar and he got into acoustic guitar". When Bono says that "everyone has their own theory about this group - what it is
we really are", he's scarcely being self-indulgent. For a band who have so openly and honestly expressed themselves from the
outset, U2 have paradoxically had to deal with an inordinate amount of misinterpretation and even prejudice. At the very least,
there have been a lot of misconceptions. Bono catalogues a few of them. "First of all we started out and made 'Boy' which is 'a sexual LP and we changed
the cover in America to stop any concern there might be about paedophilia and the like because it was our first album. But
import copies got in and, as you know, in America a lot of music is broken first in gay clubs and so we had a gay audience,
a lot of people who were convinced the music was specifically for them So there was a misconception if you like. "Then in London there was the whole conception of 'Paddies' maybe. 'What are they?'
They thought of the Boomtown Rats, Rory Gallagher, Van The Man - 'Irishness' was even a box people tried to put us into, but
that's a box we're quite proud to be in because our music is Irish. Then after 'Boy' we made 'October' which is a spiritual LP and a lot of people went:
'what the hell is going on here' - especially in England where people wouldn't be aware of how much religion is part of everyday
life here in Ireland and how much stick people get here. They're not aware of how deep that runs. So they went off' on that
one for a while. "So then 'War' came out and to some people in America again, it was 'the political
band' and they loved it and they failed to see that 'War' was an emotional LP rather than a political one. So there have been
misconceptions all the way and it's like chasing your tail. So I just stopped. But I find it interesting to see the amount
of controversy that surrounds a group. I mean, I have heard amazing stories, about myself that I only wish were true. (laughs) "People talk about taboos in rock 'n roll. They talk about all this and it's totally
conservative. They talk about music and how it should open up to new areas. Look, there're few singers, few musicians, few
painters who aren't aware of the third part of their being - the spirit. And I just expressed that in the music and a few
people pressed the panic button. Because if I lie the music will choke on itself. That's the choice. And I was going through
that on 'October' - what is the choice, write about Johnny and Mary or what? Would you like me to ram love songs down your
throat, love songs that I don't believe in? People used to say that U2 have never written love songs - well what do they want
instead of that? I mean, do people prefer lies? I think that's the question people should ask. "As it is the lyrics are autobiographical - and there are four people in this group
not one. Our music is not just inviting people to my own nightmare or daydream. It's much more than that. It is, when it comes
down to it, very aggressive rock 'n roll music - very aggressive. I think it's aggressive in its insight as well as in the
music. And I think you feel you're doing something right when you get plus and minus reaction like we've been getting. "People say that a U2 concert and a Clash concert are similar in terms of reaction,
but I think they're worlds apart. I like the Clash and I like Joe Strummer, I think he's an honest man and I don't want to
be hard on them. But sometimes people go to a concert, any concert, and they're nervous. There's tension there and, at some
concerts I've been to, the tension is still there at the end when people walk out. A U2 concert seems to be different, and
that's the healing thing, the washing thing. I really believe that rock 'n roll is very powerful. There's unity for an hour
and a half - musicians can do what politicians can't do and I think those feelings, those communal feelings are quite addictive.
You feel that warmth and you go after it. Rock 'n roll should be a release. If the Garda Siochana realised that at our concerts
in Gaiety Green car park, there was a real explosion, a real release, the steam pouring from the valve... Rock 'n roll is
for that and it's best expressed in music, which is a positive thing, than to express it all over somebody's face in a blow. "I want to inspire people and fire up people. You know that thing: 'Lie down in your
own mess'. our music is not something to lie down to, to get out of to, to die to, to commit suicide to. It's not a soundtrack
to a nervous breakdown. "People would not react if I went out and carried on like Elvis Presley or Mick Jagger
or David Bowie. People do react if I go out and car-y on like Bono. And I like that. That's the best indication that I'm right
for my time." "Half of me says 'I know I can't change the world' and there's another half of me
that, everytime I write a song, I want it to change the world. I don't know if that's naivety or stupidity in me but I do
know that music has changed me and I know that in Vietnam music helped change a generation's attitudes. I don't try to change
the world, I don't even try to change people - but in the same way I've changed I think other people change too. That's what's
important - the individual, that's where you start. In 'Rolling Stone' I said that revolution begins in your heart, in your
refusal to compromise your own beliefs, and I think that expresses it. It's music to fire people up so that maybe they will fight back, not again, with
sticks and stones but in some other way, some other channel. And I think that's a fact, that's real. I know that a lot of
good things have happened. Sometimes with U2 you can end up talking about U2 in the abstract but the music is very real." "People are quite aware that there's no stage big enough for me - I like to stretch
the stage and I've often found myself singing from the back of the hall rather than the front. I'm always trying to get across,
to communicate. At the US Festival, I climbed to the top of the stage to get to the people at the back - there were 300,000
there - and I put a white flag at the top and it counted as a symbol, a broadstroke to that mass of people. "But another time I went into the audience in L.A. at a big sports complex - there
were about 12,000 people there - with a big white flag, and the flag was torn to shreds and I was nearly torn to shreds I
got onto the balcony and found myself looking down and then I found myself jumping about 20 feet into this sea of people,
and they caught me and passed me along from the back until eventually I got up onto the stage nearly naked, wondering 'what
have I done, what's happened?' Because although the people caught me some other people jumped off the balcony after, and there
was, but there may not have been, people to catch them. And it was at that stage I had to think - responsibility. I mean,
the place had gone beserk - what if somebod had died. "My ambition for U2 has always been to push it to its limits - the most aggress-
ive music ever made and, at the same time the most sensitive, different levels. I woke up a few months ago and found out I
was Irish (laughs and that has made an impact and it's going to make an impact on the music. Because this is an Irish group
and I'm realising that the very weapons you need are all around you. "I can't tell you where we're about to go but I know that I can't sleep at night
with the thought of it all. I'm so excited about this idea that we've just begun - the way I feel is that we're undertaking
a real departure. I can't stop talking about it. It would take about ten men to hold me down at the moment. "People say we take ourselves too seriously and I might have to plead guilty to that.
But really I don't take myself too seriously, we don't take ourselves seriously, - but we do take the music
seriously." I waited patiently for the lord I will sing, sing a new song You set my feet upon a rock I will sing, sing a new song Music and lyrics by U2. I know a boy, a boy called trash, trash can I have a heart, a heart that's been a son And if you dance then dance with me To contact other friends and fans of U2, send in your name and address and we will
include it here. You can also include U2 items that you're offering to swop if you wish, like the early deleted singles, etc,
but please keep the listing fairly brief. Sophie Heath, 23 Clifton Terrace, Brighton. E. Sussex BN1 3HA Under A Blood Red Sky This Irish band's incantatory power is no more vividly demonstrated than in concert,
and this eight-song mini-album, culled frown their last tour, gives ample evidence why people have been calling U2 the best
live band of 1983. Producer Jimmy Iovine and his chief engineer, Shelly Yakus, have toned down the distorted guitar-and-drums
sound of the band's previous boardman, Steve Lillywhite, without sacrificing die sheer rock & roll energy and slashing
attack that have already made U2 popular. Iovine 's approach uncovers U2's secret weapon: the versatile, elastic playing of
bassist Adam Clayton. Clayton's steady bottom creates the space for guitarist the Edge's dazzling fretboard wails throughout
the record. "Gloria", which in its studio version sank under the weight of its overwrought piety, here turns into a blaring
rocker, while the Edge's lonesome keyboards bring forth a "New Year's Day" that outstrips its original. But the high point
is "Sunday Bloody Sunday" It may not be a rebel song, as Bono tells a presumably baffled German audience, but it is practically
everything else: an anguished, thoughtful synthesis of religious and political beliefs, backed by the bone-crushing arena-rock
riff of the decade. This is "Stairway to Heaven" for smart people-even if it is played a tad too fast-and it kicks Under a
Blood Red Sky over the rainbow. Through it all, Bono is his ineluctable self, whether he's getting carried away (the
"Send in the Clowns" interlude in the otherwise admirable "The Electric Co.") or carrying us away, as on the sweetly elegiac
"40." I once saw U2 play "I Will Follow" three times in one set, establishing a never-to-be-broken major-band record for repetition.
If I can still enjoy the version on this album, imagine how much you'll like it. - CHRISTOPHER CONNELLY U2 - On the right lines? The 24 lines below are all quotes of lyrics from songs by U2, each line is from a
different song. When you have the titles of the 24 songs you will be able to find their names hidden in the diagram below.
They run horizontally, vertically or diagonally - many of them are printed backwards, but always in a straight line with the
letters in the right order. Put a line through the names as you find them. Answers next time. 1. To claim the victory Jesus won Y A D N W O D L L A F I R S J O L THE EDGE: Guitars - Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Explorer, Epiphone Lap-Steel, Washburn
Acoustic 6-string. Piano - Yamaha CP70. Amps - Vox AC30, Roland JC120 Combo. Effects - Electro Harmonix Memoryman Echo, MXR
Compressor, Furman Parametric Equaliser. BONO: Guitar - Fender Lead II. Amp - Roland JC120 Combo. ADAM: Guitars - Fender Precision Bass, Fender Jazz Bass, Ibanez Musician Bass. Amps
- Ampec SVT Stack, Harbinger 516 Cabinets, BGW 750 Power Amplifier, Alembic Stereo Pre-Amp. Effects - Ibanez Stereo Chorus,
Ibanez Digital Delay. Roland Phase Shims LARRY: Drums - Yamaha 9000 series. 24" bass drum, 18" floor toms, 16" floor toms,
14" rack toms, Yamaha 6z"x14" wooden snare, 31"x 13" Ludwig Piccolo snare. All stands and fittings by Yamaha. Cymbals by Paiste,
Rude Cymbals and 2002 series. Assorted Latin Percussion. U2's stage manager Steve Iredale passes on the following advice: "Buy the best equipment you can afford. If possible stick to well known names you're
already familiar with, and you should also make sure that the equipment you buy can be serviced, and parts replaced locally." This issue was delayed as I had hoped to include all the new details on the 'U2 Live
At Red Rocks' video, but as the details still aren't completely finalised I can't really hold the magazine up any longer.
It is due out in about a month's time. I don't have a full track listing yet, but if you've seen the previews on TV you'll
have a good idea of what to expect! By next issue we should have a lot more news on the recording of the new album, and
the next phase of U2 will start to unfold itself. All the best, Compiled and edited by Geoff Parkyn. Published by U2 INFO SERVICE, P.O.Box 48, London
N6 5RU. England. Please remember to include return postage for personal replies to any correspondence. Special thanks to Paul McGuinness, Anne Louise Kelly, Neil and all at Island Records,
N Stewart and Blue Mountain Music Photography by Anton Corbijn Andrew Catlin, Didier Buriez, Yoshinori Okano, Kos Hasebe,
Youichi Saitoh. Thanks also to Alice Jackson, Barry Cross, Mami Omata And thanks to U2. If you wish to write direct to the band personally, we can pass your letters on,
or write direct to Sister Sister, 39 Chestnut Grove, Kingwood, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin, Eire.
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