U2-A Diary

I love finding little nuggets of information that can be added to U2 – A Diary … if and when we ever publish an update.

Like today, Bono did an interview on 2FM (I wrote about it here on @U2), and near the very end, host Ryan Tubridy asked Bono if he remembered the day he asked Ali to marry him. Bono said he did:

“It was Good Friday on Bull Island down there near Dollymount.”

Now, we know they were married on August 21, 1982. (Happy 28th anniversary!) Good Friday happens in March/April, two days before Easter Sunday. I’m going to assume he proposed either four months before the wedding (April 1982) or 16 months before (April 1981). Because really, how many people get engaged and wait more than two years for the wedding?? No way it could be 1980, I say.

Finding the Date

So I head over to the trusty perpetual calendar that helped me answer so many questions for U2 – A Diary, and I discover that Good Friday in 1981 happened on April 17th. Well, on page 43 of the book, it says that U2 played a concert in Cincinnati, Ohio, on that date. No go.

But, Good Friday 1982 was on April 9th. And on page 58, the only thing I have for the entire month of April 1982 is that U2 shot the video for “A Celebration” in Dublin.

Bingo!

So, if and when we ever publish an update, you’ll find that I’ve listed April 9, 1982, as the day Bono and Ali were engaged to be married.

A couple weeks ago, Caroline posted a YouTube video on U2log.com that I just now finally got around to watching.

WOW!

This is an interview from when Bono was appearing on Dave Fanning’s radio show to play the band’s first three songs, and Fanning’s listeners were being asked to vote which one of the songs should be the A-side to U2-3, which was released a month later.

There are lots of clues in the interview that have me thinking it happened late night (after midnight) on August 20, 1979, but I’ll have to listen again to make sure. The whole interview is pure gold and I’m stoked to write this up for a possible future update of U2 – A Diary.

Do you all know the super-old U2 song called “Be There”? It’s appeared on a couple bootlegs, I think. Good song.

From what I’ve been able to find, U2 finished that song in March, 1982, during a studio session with Blondie producer Jimmie Destri. I’d never heard anything about how/when the song first came to life, until just now as I’m reading this Spin magazine article. Here’s what Bono says:”

“…there was one song, written in Holland, that came like that. This roadie handed the Edge a guitar that was supposed to be in tune, but was actually in a different tuning than usual even though it was still harmonious. Edge struck the guitar. Once. I just immediately stopped the band and asked Larry to play a beat, and we just went into it. The tape recorder was rolling, and five minutes later there was a song with verse, chorus, lyrics, theme — everything. It was called ‘Be There.’ Our manager just freaked.”

Unfortunately, “written in Holland” isn’t enough to go on. By the time the song was finished in March, 1982, they’d already played Holland countless times.

Oh, well…life goes on. As does the research!

Are you in the mood for another “I wish they would get their stories straight!” post? Coolmetoo. Play along with me:

1.) Open your copy of U2 SHOW to pg. 19, where Paul McGuinness is being interviewed. Here’s the quote to note:

When I saw them in the Project I agreed to be their manager on the spot.

2.) Put that aside, please, and open up your copy of U2 by U2 to page 56. They’re talking about that first meeting — Paul and the band, May 25, 1978. Check the left column, this quote from Paul:

I thought, well, this could be the band, but we spent a few weeks, maybe months, kind of skirting around each other, inspecting each other and having meetings and just trying to find out whether the other people were smart or committed or on the same wavelength.

So I ask again: How’s a guy supposed to get the story right if it keeps changing?!? :)

For the record, I’m going with the second version (from U2 by U2) in my book.

Reaction: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! :)

No, it’s going well and I feel like I’m on schedule.

I’m still going through Aaron’s discography on U2Wanderer to make sure U2 Diary matches up and has all the important release dates. Did all the albums first, and I’m quite pleased with the structure I’m using for each album entry — well, 1-2 differ slightly, but most of the album release date entries follow a common structure. I think I’ll post one of them here on the blog as a sample one of these days. (Anyone have a preferred album to see in advance?)

Now I’m going through all the single releases and since it’s 1:11 a.m., I’m taking a break for the night. I’m up to “Numb” in 1993, so about halfway through the singles.

After I’m done with the discography stuff, I get to dig through a big box of goodies that a friend just sent — old magazines, clippings, photos, etc. Can’t wait to tackle that stuff.

Oh, here’s a picture of me from a couple weeks ago while writing the book. Those are a couple issues of Hot Press open on the desk in front of me.