Re: U2's defining moment


The Conways ([email protected])
Tue, 20 Oct 1998 14:07:55 -0400


Mike and I car-pooled today and got discussing this whole thread. 'Sweetest
Thing' came on the radio and got us chatting U2. Anyways...

We got into a semantics debate about "defining moment" vs. "re-defining
moment", so that's something to consider.

>On Mon, 19 Oct 1998, Katsiri Maria wrote:
>significant days/events in U2's career. You could also add the moment when
>"One" finally clicked during the Berlin sessions. The band has gone so far

That's a good one! When "One" jelled and the whole AB thing was a
__re-defining moment__ to me. They changed and grew and redefined themselves.

>I also don't think you can undersell the day they signed with Island.

That's my second choice. Sure they knew where they were headed and were
pretty clear on their goals, but no other label would have given them that
freedom AND support. They could have just gotten eaten up and spit out like
so many other artists and it could have taken them years to finally make
the kind of music they wanted to.

But my first choice is...

>And a couple people emailed me to say Live Aid was the most significant
>day of their career. That's the day the world learned who U2 was. That set

Sure, it's when the rest of the world caught on to them and that could be
seen negatively. But it was such an amazing moment. Bono just held that
stadium in his hand. Here he had been struggling to figure out how big
should/would they get and if he could still connect with people. And he
took this global audience, many of which hadn't a clue who he was, and just
mesmerized them. I remember just watching the whole thing in AWE. And the
rest of the guys held it together musically as he climbed around and
danced. And the press just ate it up. I still have magazines and newspapers
that feature photos of Bono reaching across the crowds. And they weren't
anywhere near the featured performers, heck they were stuck in an afternoon
slot.

Karen



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