2001 September - Elevation Tour, Glasgow - The End Of Our U2 Road

The 28th August saw Julie and I sitting on a plane en-route from Ireland to Newcastle. We picked up my car there and drove back to my place in Cumbria, had lunch and then set off north to Glasgow - ahh this jet set lifestyle of U2 fans eh?

We arrived at the SECC at 3pm and one of the first people we saw was our friend Karen. She told us that the queue for the heart enclosure was just up the hall and that we could still join it. I said that we only had seated tickets and she said they were selling standing tickets now at the box office. We didn't have to think twice, we bought tickets and quickly sold our seated tickets for cost prices to grateful fans.

We joined the very organised heart queue. One of the things I love about the Scottish shows is that they are always well organised and most of the more obsessive fans who are at the front of every queue tend not to get that far north!

We were let into the heart at 6.20pm in an orderly manner. After going in we couldn't go out into the main hall, but there was no need to as there was a merchandise stall, refreshments and toilets just for the heart crowd, absolutely brilliant almost like being VIPs!

The support band was a local band The Cosmic Rough Riders which I enjoyed and who the crowd loved. Then it was U2 and the audience went wild! There was plenty of room to move about and even though we are both small we could easily see everything on stage.

Bono seemed very tired, I think all the physically and even more the emotional and psychological strain of the last few weeks were catching up with him. But he still put all he had left into the show. The crowd were great, you can always feel the special Celtic bond between the audience and U2 when in Scotland. Glasgow was a last minute addition to the tour as well and I think the crowd really appreciated that too.

It was quite a short show, no New York or In A Little While. The song that really got to me that night was With Or Without You. Bono said, "This is for my dad - and this is for you" to us. Later he said that the audiences at shows during that time helped him get through those difficult personal times, and by singing that song at Glasgow he was telling us that. It was a very emotional performance and there were quite a lot of tearful people in the crowd including me.

Mysterious Ways was special that night, it wasn't playful and earthy like in London, it was spiritual, that's the only way I can describe it. Bono totally lost himself in the music. He had said earlier in the tour that music is magic, well we saw a bit of that magic in Glasgow that night.

It's always a bit sad at the end of the last U2 show you are going to see on tour. This UK leg of Elevation had been very special because of the illness and death of Bono's father. I was quite emotional myself and related a lot to Bono, because my mother too was terminally ill at the time and died a few months after his father.

Bono shared stories about his dad with us and gave us an insight into what he was like, and it struck me that in many ways Bono was very like him. All this created an intimacy about these shows, a closeness, as we supported Bono emotionally as he poured his heart out to us in each show. It could only happen at a U2 show and I feel really privileged to have been part of it all, they were truly special times that I will never forget.

2001 August - Elevation Tour, Slane, The Long Trek!

Julie and I were driving along the motorway that encircles Dublin on our way to our next gig at Slane Castle. Bono was being interviewed on the radio, it wasn't a very nice day and he'd made up a little poem. "The rain in Slane falls mainly on the ..... crowd. We'll be dry, but they'll be cool". We laughed, Bono is so funny! We'd decided not to go to the show for the full day, but wanted to see Coldplay and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, so it was mid-afternoon when we got there

We parked in a field that was one of the many being used as car parks. Only later we realised that we could have driven on and found parking much nearer the venue. We set off to walk to the gig site. We passed dozens of buses, coaches, cars following a snakelike line of people up and down hills. When we got to the top of a hill we hoped to see where the show was being held, but no, on we went up another hill and trekked on and on and on. Eventually we crossed a bridge over the River Boyne and saw an impressive stone archway which was the entrance to a leafy lane - little did we know that we still had a mile to walk! As we got close we heard Coldplay, we'd missed them, so disappointing.

Eventually we got into the venue, which was a huge natural amphitheatre. Slane Castle stood to the right of the stage, I'd never been to such a huge show. We stayed high on the hill not too far from where we had come in. The stage was a long way off but there was a big screen that we could see fine.

It was now a pleasant, warm afternoon. The Red Hot Chili Peppers came on and I found them disappointing.

U2 took to the stage at 8.30pm. There was a massive cheer and the crowd went crazy. Bono's father had died a few days previously and had been buried the day before this show, and it was obvious Bono was naturally a bit fragile and emotional at times. When he dedicated Kite to his father thousands of lights came on, lighters, bits of paper, plastic cups - it was very moving and magical. Bono said his father was now free of his illness and would live on in him and his children and their children. During One Bob Hewson's picture was put up on the screens, it was like we were all paying our respects to him and saying goodbye.

A big surprise was the band playing A Kind Of Homecoming. They didn't perform it all that well, Bono forgot the words but it didn't matter because it was the sentiment of the song that was the most important thing. U2 also played a little of Thin Lizzy's Dancing In The Moonlight.

Being so far from the stage we found the sound wasn't that good and we did feel a little bit away from the heart of the concert. I'm not sure I'd go to another concert at Slane, it is just so big and unless you head there really early you are going to be a long way from the stage and so lose some of the atmosphere. Plus there are huge queues for everything and the toilets quickly descend into a health hazard!

At the end of the concert there was a wonderful firework display, which we watched as we headed out - we were near the exit and we wanted to get quickly. Even so it was a bit hairy at times with all the pushing and jostling, especially along the narrow way out. The walk back didn't seem as long as the walk there, but it must have been three miles each way. We initially walked past the field where our car was but soon realised and doubled back. Once in the field it was so dark we had difficulty finding our car but eventually discovered it by getting the lights to flash by pressing the remote! We were really hungry and devoured some croissants we'd pinched from breakfast at our bed and breakfast and washed them down with Coke. As we had got out of Slane quickly we avoided the worst of the traffic jams and were soon on our way back to Dublin.

2001 August - Elevation Tour, London 2, Into The Heart And Soul

Next day we said goodbye to Marian and Julie who had to miss the today's shows due to other commitments. Dianne, Jane and I had standing tickets this time so we headed to Earl's Court really early as we hoped to get into the front heart enclosure. All venues had different ways of organising this and we had no idea how it would pan out.

The whole queue was being organised by one staff member, a chatty Cockney guy, who did a brilliant job of keeping everything in order. We were given wristbands mine was 159. We had to wait in the queue because later we would get our "proper" heart wristbands. It was ok waiting, I spied my German friends Chris and Jenny and chatted with them for a while. The time went fast, at 12.30pm we were put into pens and by 2pm we had the precious heart bands. We were told we could stay where we were in the queue so we could get good places or we could go off and come back later and still get into the heart. We decided to leave, we'd had enough waiting that day and were hungry.

After having a meal we went back to Earl's Court and waited for the band to arrive. The first three Mercedes cars that the band come separately arrived but none stopped. Quite late the last car arrived and it stopped, as the cars had blacked out windows we had no idea who was in this one, it turned out to be Bono. He looked tired and initially sat side on in the back seat with the door open, I had the urge to hug him as he looked so weary, I also felt a bit guilty wanting something from him at this difficult time in his life (he was still returning to Ireland after every show to be at his father's bedside). But then, if he didn't want to meet fans he wouldn't have stopped. Eventually he stood up and just like in Birmingham steadily brightened up as he chatted to fans.

As he signed my CD he looked up, he recognised me and said. "Hi," and gently touched my hand. My heart gave a jump! It was busy and I moved back out of the way to let others have their time with him.

After he had gone into the arena we headed inside our selves. we easily got into the heart by showing our wristbands. It wasn't very crowded in there and it was easy to move about, no crush or pushing and where ever you were you wouldn't be far from the band. We were thrilled to be in there!

P J Harvey was the support, she was ok, but I was impatient for U2. I'd found a great place about four yards from the stage where there seemed to be lots of small women so I could see the stage easily.

Come 9pm U2 were on, and right from the beginning Bono was lively and chatty, so different from the weary man we'd met a couple of hours earlier. He spied an Irish flag near the catwalk.

"Throw the flag down". He said a few times but the fan just kept waving it. Bono smiled and shook his head. "Aren't them Paddies thick?" He said.

He also talked about his father, saying that for most of his life they he and his dad did not get on well, but that in the last few years they had made "a kind of peace" and he was glad about that. It was very moving, then he sang Kite and there were many tears, including mine. Being so close it was easy to see that Bono was choked up too and at times struggled to compose himself. It was both difficult and fascinating to watch. Difficult because I felt almost voyeuristic watching this man's personal pain. But it was also fascinating because few performers can be so open and honest about their emotions as Bono, he laid his heart and soul bare for us all to see.

Having written that, the show was generally very "up", celebratory and full of fun. During Mysterious Ways he tried to belly dance and entertained with pelvic thrusts when the dancing failed. Someone handed him a fiver and he stuffed it down his trousers, more money was offered and Bono took it laughing. He then teased the crowd as he played with the zip of his trousers. All good fun.

At one point Bono took a drink from a bottle of water and then threw it into the crowd. There was a mad scramble for it and suddenly it slithered in my hand - and I wasn't even trying to get it! An Italian man pointed at his watch and said. "I give you my watch, I give you my watch!" I turned him down .

Inside the heart it felt separate from the rest of the audience, it felt that U2 were playing just for the small amount of people in the heart. There was a lot of eye contact with band members and the heart crowd, especially from Bono and Adam. It was also so good to be able to see all the facial expressions of the band, and the communication between them during the show.

The star constellations projected during With Or Without You seemed to envelop you within the heart, you became part of the show. The lighting on this tour has been spectacular. During the final song, the rousing Walk On a similar thing happens with the handwritten lyrics that spread out over the audience.

It was one of the great U2 shows, it was a U2 party and we'd been right in the centre of it!

2001 August - Elevation Tour, London,

August 18th saw me in London along with my friends, Dianne, Jane, Julie, Sharon and Marian. It was really nice to see Marian again, she is an old school friend of mine and we hadn't met in person for years.

Marian, Sharon and I got a taxi to Earl's Court followed by Julie, Jane and Dianne in another taxi. We got there fairly quickly and waited for the others. We waited and waited and they didn't arrive. We were starting to get really worried when they turned up, apparently their taxi had been involved in a minor crash! They were all ok though thank heavens.

We went to the stage door area and waited and it wasn't long until the first band member arrived, it was Larry. He was very pleasant to all the fans there and willingly signed autographs. Not long afterwards Adam arrived and again met with the fans, it was raining heavily by now and Sharon held her umbrella over him as he signed autographs.

As we had seated tickets we didn't have to queue up so we went to eat nearby before going into the venue. The show was good, once more Bono dedicated Kite to his father and the support for Bono could almost be felt. I really enjoyed Mysterious Ways once more, I love the way they did it on this tour. Edge's guitar is amazing and Bono really prolongs the ending and ad libs a lot which really add to the song for me. The audience was very responsive, sometimes in London the crowd can be a bit unreceptive but that night they were great and very enthusiastic. This show was a bit like the Birmingham show we saw, good, and well worth seeing, but it was not one of U2's great shows.

2001 August - Elevation Tour, Birmingham, Deja Vu and Meetings

Immediately after the last Manchester show Dianne, Julie and me headed north to my home, as I had to work for one day. Then on the following day, 14th August, we got the train to Birmingham for the next show of the tour. It was hectic to say the least! But I love all the madness and travelling involved when on tour.

It was a lovely, warm summers day and, after dropping off our luggage, we headed to the NEC Arena close by. We wandered around the back to see if we could catch the band arriving, there were already quite a lot of people there. I got a touch of deja vu - nothing much had changed since we had last waited there, met the band and got into the sound check during Zoo TV in 1992. It was hard to believe that was nine years ago it didn't seem that long ago, how time flies.

Our timing was impeccable, we'd barely got settled and then the first band member arrived - Larry. He came across to the fans, he was very quiet and did not seem at ease, he also looked unhealthily thin. But he spent quite a long time signing things for fans.

Adam and Edge arrived in separate cars at the same time and they too came over to the fans. They started their meet and greet at opposite ends of the line of fans. Both were charming and patient, Edge sweet and gentle in his manner, Adam the perfect polite gentleman as ever. They signed things, chatted and posed for photos.

It was quite a while before Bono arrived. He must have just arrived in the UK from Ireland as he was going back home after every show and staying by his father's side in hospital. I didn't expect him to come across, but he did. The airport was only about three miles from the venue so that made it convenient for him.

Two excited Italian fans came around the barrier shouting. "Italy Bono, Italy."

Bono's security man smiled and said. "Italy, behind the barrier." The young men complied.

Bono started dealing with fans at one end of the line and worked his way along. He looked tired and had deep lines etched in his face and he was quieter than normal, he didn't look at people as much as he usually did. It amazed me that he had time for fans at this difficult time in his life. But as he moved along the line of clamouring fans he gradually became more effusive, it was as if he was taking on the energy from the fans and it was pumping him up. He started talking more and even chatted and joked to someone on a fan's mobile!

After dealing with the main group of fans he headed back towards the arena, he stopped by a small group of people that were beside a car park station pay point. He chatted to those people and paid special attention to a lady of very advanced years - who probably had no idea who he was. We could see her absolutely beaming as he chatted to her, his Irish charm obviously working. He kissed her on the cheek as he left leaving her with a huge smile on her face.

The show was a good one, but in all honesty not a great one. There's nothing special I remember about it, after all the heightened emotion of Manchester every one's senses needed a rest I think! I do remember Bono joking about Adam's legendary problems with wind!! I wasn't disappointed that the show was just "good", and it was still worth going to.

After the show Dianne, Julie and I went back to our hotel and had a drink in the bar which was full of other U2 fans so there was a good atmosphere. It was a good way to end the day.

Next morning it was back home for me, working for three days before picking up my suitcase once more heading south on the train to the next gigs in London - what a jet-setting life being a U2 fan on tour is!

2001 August - Elevation Tour, Manchester 2, The Dark Energy

This was the gig that I had a photopass for. I had actually recently produced the last issue of my fanzine Eirinn - I'd always said I'd stop doing it when it became too much work and it had now got to that point. Also, the Internet was now the place for fansites and paper 'zines can't compete with that. But, luckily I was still able to get a photopass. I met up with Mick, who was the husband of Jackie who along with Debbi did a fanzine called The Real Thing, who was using their pass as Jackie was unable to do so for health reasons.

We went to the Box Office as we had been told to, no one knew anything about photopasses - here we go again! The staff there did call Amanda from RMP, U2's publicists, and we were told to go round to the backstage entrance. We got in surprisingly easily and were told to sit in a small waiting area. Time passed and passed and passed. It was surprisingly quiet in this area, we could faintly hear Kelis on stage, it was hard to believe there were 20,000 people only a few yards away. Kelis finished and eventually Amanda returned with our passes, she was very nice and helpful, told us where we could go where we couldn't when we were in the pit - basically we could wander anywhere within the gangway around between the catwalk and "heart" enclosure.

Amanda left and another Irish girl called Louise took her place, she was very sweet and chatted away to us, there were only two other photographers that night.

At 8.35pm she took us the short distance into the arena. As we left the peaceful sanctuary of the backstage waiting area the noise and heat increased and as walked under the catwalk into the arena proper and the gangway area the energy from the audience was a physical sensation, amazing. I have no wish to perform on a stage, but that experience of walking into an arena full of people gave me some idea of the buzz it must give the band.

We wandered around the gangway, I saw my friends Serena and Linda in the heart area. The heart looked a great place to be, close all the action and not too crowded. There was black material covering the area under the catwalk, this was attached by Velcro - as I found out when I got stuck to it! I saw the drum kit Larry used in Desire underneath there. I was surprised at how much the catwalk sloped, it was quite steep where it met the main stage. I stood at the tip of the heart and looked out over the crowd and up the steep banks of seats all around - what a marvellous sight it was!

Marvin Gaye, the Stevie Wonder came over the speakers - Next it would be U2 live! Elevation started with the house lights still on. It was wonderful to be able to wander freely and be so close to the band - I had to remind myself to take photos instead of just dancing and singing along!

Next it was Beautiful Day, then Until the End of the World. The "duel" between Bono and Edge happened right in front of me. Bono "fell" quite heavily and lay on his back, he was so close I could have easily touched him but I resisted! Edge looked menacing as he stood over Bono playing his guitar solo and Bono's kicked out at the guitar with real force, he seemed really angry. Finally he stopped the guitar by putting his hand and mic over the guitar strings, causing it to make a horrible noise. Edge tried to get him off, but he hung on, all very theatrical but effective. It felt almost like a private show for me as I was just beside them and I kind of forgot there was also an arena full of people there!



Unfortunately that was it and we had to leave. It was really dark after the song and we were led out following the beam of a torch to the backstage area - again it was so quiet there. I could hear New Years Day being played as Louise led us up some internal stairs and out onto the main concourse.

I found the seats where my friends were and settled for the rest of the gig. It soon became obvious that Bono was quite wound up. After Gone he kicked the mic stand and it flew into the crowd at the front of the heart. During an amazingly powerful Out of Control Bono's fingers were tapping the mic ferociously, he paced around like a caged animal seemingly ready to explode, never was a song more appropriate!

Wake up Dead Man was entirely sung with Bono lying on his back on the heart catwalk. He lay completely still as he sung, very moving and powerful in its simplicity.

Bono and Edge sang The Beatles' Rain very nicely, saying that it had been raining so much that we'd "Have to get the buckets out soon." Manchester is the wettest city in England and boy was it living up to that today!

Again there had been technical difficulties at times, during One, after singing for a short while Bono stopped, went to the side of the stage and shouted at one of the techs. The others played on and he eventually came back to the centre of the stage and sang more of the song, then said. "Thank you, goodnight" and almost ran off the stage. The others continued playing for a while before also saying goodnight. No Walk On, a very strange ending to the show that left you waiting for more.

It had been a strange show, driven by Bono's anger, it felt like he could explode at any moment, he was like a coiled spring. Wh yhe wa slike this who knows? Maybe because of teh technical problems, maybe the more personal stress of his father's terminal illness. All I know is that it gave the gig a dark energy and an almost scary power, that for me was fascinating to watch, yet at the same time also felt intrusive.

2001 August - Elevation Tour Manchester 1, Humanity and Communication

The start of the Elevation Tour for me! Dianne, Julie, Jane, Sharon and I had met up in Manchester the previous day, lovely to see them all again. That evening I also met up with my German friends Chris and Andy (who the others didn't know) and went for an Italian meal with them and caught up with all their news too. One of the things I love about U2 tours is seeing all my U2 friends once more.


On 11th August we went to the Evening News Arena, which conveniently, was only a five minute walk from our hotel at about 7pm. Due to the very steep seating in the arena we could see very well from our seats. Unfortunately we had to endure Kelis who seemed to scream through every song, we should have gone in later!

U2 started the show with Elevation, it was very powerful, and though never a favourite of mine, it was a good song to open the gig with. Beautiful Day, Until the End of the World, Discotheque/Staring at the Sun followed in quick succesion getting the gig off to a rousing start. Next to be performed was Kite and Bono dropped a bombshell before he sung it.

"I want to sing this song for my father, it feels like he wrote it" he said, continuing, "I thought I wrote it for my kids but I think he wrote it for me and he's only got a few days left in this world - this is for Bob Hewson."

The surprise in the arena was palpable, Julie and I just looked at each other speechless, we 'd heard a while ago that Bono's father was very ill, but had no idea of the severity. Bono went on to sing the song so beautifully, so full of emotion, tears ran down my face. At that time in my life my mother was also very ill (she died not long after Bono's father) so it really resonated with me on a personal level, as well as feeling for Bono. You could feel the sympathy and caring of audience towards Bono, it was such a highly charged performance, I think we all just wanted to give him a caring hug, but I think in a way, that's just what we did.

After that emotional song I didn't think I'd be able to come "up" again, but such is the power of U2's live performances that the show did reach highs after this. It was fabulous to hear Bad again, still my favourite so rarely performed nowadays, but always a highlight when it is.

Streets was exhilarating, the red stage, the lights, the crowd jumping up and down, Bono running a circuit around the "heart" front enclosure before starting the song, full of vibrance and energy.

The Fly made a welcome comeback, completely re-worked. Initially when it started I wasn't sure what song it was as it was so different. But I loved the new version which ended with Bono racing around the heart again and then crashing hard into one of the yellow screens at the back of the stage, staying there for a while, The Fly drawn to the light and splattered against the screen, very effective and quite funny.

The show ended with the beautiful Walk On, the perfect way to end the show and we left the arena in silence, completely emotionally wrung out. This show had taken us on such an emotional journey we were lost for words.

It may not have been the best show technically (there had been some problems), but it was a triumph of humanity and communication. Bono bravely bared his soul and shared his pain and that brought him closer to the crowd on a very personal level. I think he needed to do that and needed our response to give him strength. In later interviews he did say that continuing to do the shows and having the support of the fans when his father was dying helped him cope. And that's exactly one of the things that makes the relationship between U2 and their fans so special.