ACHTUNG Y’ALL!

We know we went crazy cos the crowd went crazy last night…

A big thank you to the awesome crowd that gathered at Conkers last night to witness the first night of the U2UK autumn season show.

The band are very excited to be bringing ZOO TV back into the show, with new moments recreated from the sell-out U2 tour, The Fly enjoys flicking through the stations to see whats on TV, and now has a telephone on stage to make a phone call to someone important to tell them the important message: “Watch More Television”. Bullet the Blue Sky has also made a welcome return to the set alongside a brand new Ultraviolet. Breaking down the barriers between the audience and the band now comes possible courtesy of the track "Crazy Tonight" with all four members of the band going for a wander around the crowd with their instruments in true ‘360’ style. The show came to a finali with a special version of Sunday bloody Sunday lead by Izee Baker on the violin, the crowd stood in admiration and sang along the a beautifully melodic acoustic version of the emotional song, before it cracked back into the full powered drum driven track we all know and love. The band would like to thank Izee for her hard work and collaboration in making such a memorable finali to the evenings entertainment.

The band would like to express its deepest apologies to the crowd who were left shouting for ‘more’ for a good 10 minutes after the show had ended, they were planning on playing the new track "Moment Of Surrender" last night, but the band had been clamped on by the 11pm curfew at Conkers and were unable to play any later. But they were however listening to you’re appreciation all the way back to the green room.

Photos and video clips of the Conkers show will be available to view on YouTube and on the website in due course.

Thanks for a great night and see you all soon – U2UK

Time we caught up a bit...

Royal Windsor and Lingfield
Crowds of up to 5000 people, some of the largest crowd capacities recorded for these annual races, turned out to enjoy a summer days racing and late evening entertainment courtesy of U2UK this July at Royal Windsor and Lingfield Park. Playing to a summer sunset the crowds were dancing and singing along; whether pleased at their day’s winnings or downed by their losses, everyone from young to old was enjoying the outdoor rock and roll show at the end of a beautiful day.
Our sincerest thanks to the events team at ‘YES Events’ for looking after us with consistency and professionalism throughout our racecourse summer tours.



Marvellous Festival
A family oriented festival in the heart of Wellington Country Park in surrey, the marvelous festival is a full two day event featuring some of the countries best festival tribute acts. The crowd was stretched out across the whole length of the park with chairs and picnic blankets on a hot summers evening. Around the park food stalls were keeping the festivals goer’s energy levels up as the concert made its way into the late evening. By the time we had taken the stage the crowd was in fine voice and roared the opening verse to “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” a la 360 tour, and bouncing along to Vertigo and I Will Follow. Reaching out for Tony as he climbed across speaker stacks to the crowd barrier, the crowd were shouting and cheering in scenes which were reminiscent of the Zoo Tv tour.



Bionic Bono
One of our private events for July was for Noel Fitzpatrick (The Bionic Vet – BBC). He had invited us to come and play at his annual ‘Vet Fest’. A big fan of music – particularly irish music – Noel, a huge U2 fan, had us playing after the original Saw Doctors in a huge tent he had built onto the side of £10 million pound veterinary practice in Surrey. U2 couldn’t make it, so we were the next best thing.
Also present at the event that we had the fortune to meet were BBC superstar and radio 2 presenters Chris Evans and BBC’s impressionist master, Alistair McGowen, who gave a 30 min impressions and stand up set before we went on. It was also great to talk to Matt Connor who helped design and build the state of the art practice and works closely alongside Noel in the TV series.
Both Matt and Noel were hugely appreciative of our time and came backstage to thank us again after the gig had finished, although we kind of knew Noel had enjoyed himself when he appeared onstage having got changed out of his suit into a U2 360 t-shirt and belted out a few lines of ‘With Or Without You’ with Tony to the crowd.
Noel is a man with a big heart, and the dedication of himself and his staff is testament to human endeavor. If you get the chance, support the cause that is revolutionizing medicine. Noel is a world leader in his field and regularly does world first procedures on animals that are changing the world of science and medicine. You can find out more information at his website.



Esme Pellecchia
Earlier in August Simon and Sarah added another Pellecchia to the family, in the form of baby Esme. Simon and Sarah would like that thank everyone for the cards, gifts and messages or congratulations. 



Cyprus
In true rock and roll style the band landed in Cyprus at midnight and headed straight out into the centre of Iyia Napa, just up the road from the hotel they were staying in. After partying till the small hours of the morning they were picked up by the tour bus (thankfully air-conditioned) and driven over to Nisi Bay to set up for the afternoons show. The crowds gathered at the “Shark Beach Babe Bikini Contest” rocked out in the summer sun to U2 hits courtesy of the band between the rounds of the competition. It was only a flying visit for the band, but there’s only so long you can wear leather in that kind of heat!! Our thanks to George at Nisi Bay for letting us use his air conditioned room whilst we were waiting to go on stage. 

Dankje Belgie

An amazing night was had by all who visited Tourhout, Belgium last Saturday evening. After being on the road for 12 hours, we arrived at St Hinricus and found a warm and relaxed atmosphere at the venue. Children’s entertainment was being laid on and we took a moment to enjoy the sun and a couple of cold ones before getting set up for the night. The venue for the night would be a packed circus tent, inside it a stage with a long catwalk, perfect for a U2 show. True testament to the dedication and professionalism of the Belgian crew was evident when the lighting operator for the night lost the end of his finger in an accident with one of his truss lifts; and then returned a few hours later having been to hospital to run the lighting show for the night. We all wish Kurt well and thank him for an unprecedented level of commitment to the night’s events.

The first act to take the stage that evening was a local Chill peppers band. They did a great job at getting the party started and got the crowd dancing and singing. You can visit their website here

Next up was the phenomenal Iron Maiden tribute “Hi-on Maiden” – now these guys are something special. The only tribute band to be officially endorsed by Iron Maiden themselves. Now in their fifteenth year, Hi-on Maiden have firmly established themselves as probably THE most recognised and explosive Iron Maiden tribute there is. They had the crowd chanting and head banging and screaming for encores. We were so excited about what we from the side of the stage we went down the front and soaked up the atmosphere ourselves. You have to check these guys out, visit their website here

Our set that night was a straight through 90mins; starting with a 360 opening of “Breathe” and “Get on your boots” into a packed set of all the popular favorites which in next to no time had the audience singing at the top of their voices; which is always a moving sound.

We originally weren’t sure about the billing of U2 and Iron Maiden on the same show; but it was great to see the devoted maiden fans down at the front rocking out to tracks like ‘Vertigo and ‘Until the end of the world.’ It was a brilliant night where music truly brought people together in the great Belgian summer sun.

Our thanks to Marnick Bolle and all the staff for making our evening so enjoyable, and we look forward to visiting you all again soon.