Saturday 12 July 2008

1993 August - Wembley Zooropa 2 and Sunflowers

August 12th. We had a lie in today after yet another very late night the night before, all this touring is tiring! After we got up we wandered around the local area and did some shopping. In the afternoon we all headed off to the stadium, once more it was a gloriously sunny day and the walk was leisurely and pleasant. Soon ahead of us the white towers of the stadium gleamed in the sunlight.

We met up with friends there and soon headed inside the huge stadium. Our seats were from Propaganda and they were not good and we wee not happy! So we moved to the unreserved seats that were much closer to the stage. Even then due to tall people in front of me I had to stand on my toes to see and kept getting cramp in them! thank God for the big screen though, I could see them perfectly.

This Zooropa show was brilliant, much better than last nights show, the spark was definitely there, plus the sound was spot on. At this show was one of the new live performances of Babyface during which Bono got a girl up out of the audience to film him. He lay on the catwalk and encouraged the girl to sit on him while filming, he seemed to enjoy that a lot! But even after seeing it played live I still didn't like the song.

Bono became very upset during the Sarajevo link-up and was crying during it, and the last two UK shows I saw, Leeds and Cardiff, the link-up didn't happen though I don't know if it happened at other shows afterwards.

MacPhisto tried to speak to Princess Diana, "I just love her, don't you think she's funky?" he said with a gleam in his eye. Of course he didn't get through to Diana and was cut off, he sang I Just Called to Say I Love You" which segued into a stunning Ultraviolet this was becoming my favourite song of the gigs. It was so impassioned and theatrical as MacPhisto gradually disappeared and Bono came back to us.

After the show we went round to the stage door again, there was lots going on as the stage was being dismantled and loaded into lorries ready to head for the next venue. There were also a lot more fans there. While we were waiting we got talking to one of the security guys there, a huge black man who was so funny and entertaining that he should have been on the stage! I think he thought we were all mad waiting there. Karen and him got into a banter of mock insults, "Lady, if you were my wife I'd trade you in for a mountain bike" he'd say and she'd retort. Again he would say, "Lady, you must be on drugs", they were well matched and it was all done in good humour and kept us all entertained.

Edge was the first band member to come out to sign auto graphs. He was very polite and pleasant and signed for everyone who wanted his autograph, but he didn't talk a lot. There's a little shyness about Edge that I always find so endearing, he is so different from Bono.

Adam and Larry left quietly without coming over shortly after Edge finished signing.

The crowd were more boisterous than the previous night and when Bono came out it got a little rowdy and there was some jostling. But it never got out of hand and our friendly security man was keeping an eye on things. Bono was carrying a huge sunflower when he came out and held on to it all the time he was with the fans someone asked him about it and he said, "Doesn't everyone carry a flower?"

"I haven't time to sign things I've just come to say hello," Bono said. Then a girl near us asked him to sign something! "Ok but I can't sign for everyone" he said. Then someone else asked, and someone else and someone else - and he obliged. He finds it hard to say no, he's so kind and patient, even when people don't listen to him. We didn't ask for anything from him and it gave the opportunity just to watch him interact with the other fans.


U2 fans are really, very, very lucky that they can meet the band members relatively easily and that the band are so obliging and friendly - not many people that are so famous are that accessible. U2 are the best!

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