U2-A Diary

I find it very easy to get lost in the details of this book. I can spend an hour or two hunting down some obscure date or fact before realizing … It’s okay if you don’t solve that mystery. It’s not that important.

I force myself to limit those wild goose chases by focusing on the “big picture” of this book, and making decisions about how I want to present the most important dates and events of U2′s career. You won’t notice if I’m unable to find the exact date Bono recorded “Dreaming With Tears in My Eyes,” but you will notice if I do a poor job of presenting U2′s appearance at Live Aid.

Do you agree? I’m curious about your expectations for U2 Diary.

Here are some decisions I’ve made about what matters most:

• Every album release has to be presented fully, with as much detail as I can find. Single releases will be included, of course, but won’t be presented as the “big deal” that an album release is. (I’m purposely not telling what I mean by “big deal” because you need to be surprised to some degree if/when you buy the book!)
• The opening night of each tour, if possible, should be presented in great detail, because these shows often represent our first look (as fans) at U2′s latest incarnation.
• U2 at Live Aid deserves a significant entry.
• September 25, 1976 — the very first day together in Larry’s kitchen — deserves a significant entry.
• U2′s sessions at Hansa Studios for Achtung Baby should get significant explanation.
• etc.

I’d like to hear from you about your expectations: What are the events and dates that you think require a lot of attention? What are the events that, if I don’t write enough detail, you’ll say … Matt, you really missed the boat on that one. … ?

My account of 1995 just improved tenfold thanks to Brian Eno.

I’m in the midst of reading all the old Propaganda magazine articles that we have in the @U2 news archive, and I just got done with this:

Eno’s Dear Diary

It has a lot more detail on the phone calls and visit from Luciano Pavarotti, and how that collaboration happened. If only he’d published a diary from 1984, 1986, and 1990, too…..

You’ve probably heard the news that opera legend Luciano Pavarotti died Thursday morning at home in Italy. I thought I would share the U2 DIARY entries that mention Pavarotti; together, they paint a picture of the friendship U2, and particularly Bono, developed with the star tenor.

September 12, 1995

Bono and Edge are joined by Brian Eno and opera singer Luciano Pavarotti at the latter’s “Pavarotti and Friends” concert in Modena, Italy, to perform the new song “Miss Sarajevo,” featuring vocals by Pavarotti. U2 later performs a version of “One” complete with classical orchestra. The concert is an annual event hosted by Pavarotti and is a benefit to raise money for the children of Bosnia.

Miss Sarajevo is also the title of a documentary directed by Bill Carter, who had appeared via satellite from Sarajevo during U2′s Zooropa tour concerts in 1993. The 31-minute film is produced by Ned O’Hanlon and Bono, and is partially financed by U2. When the program airs on TV, it begins with an introduction by actor Liam Neeson provides and introduction, and closes with U2′s video for the song “Miss Sarajevo.”

December 21, 1997

Bono appears with Luciano Pavarotti at the opening of a cultural center in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

April 8, 2003

The U.N. confirms that Bono and Luciano Pavarotti will perform together at the Italian tenor’s annual charity concert near his hometown of Modena, Italy. This year’s concert, to be held May 27th, is slated to benefit Iraq war refugees. Bono and Pavarotti sang together in 1995 to aid children in Bosnia.

May 25, 2003

Bono arrives in Italy in advance of a performance with Luciano Pavarotti in Modena. Today, they rehearse “One” with a full orchestra, and then practice a new version of Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”

They do a news conference after rehearsal, and then Bono and others have dinner at a restaurant that Pavarotti owns in the country. There, Bono joins the house band to sing a bit of “Unchain My Heart.”

May 27, 2003

Bono makes a solo appearance at the Pavarotti and Friends concert in Modena, Italy. His performance includes “One” with an orchestra backing, and a duet with Pavarotti on “Ave Maria.” Bono has written new lyrics for the song that reflect the ongoing situation in the Middle East:

Ave Maria
Where is the justice in this world?
The wicked make so much noise, mother
The righteous stay oddly still
With no wisdom, all of the riches in the world leave us poor tonight

And strength is not without humility
It’s weakness, an untreatable disease
And war is always the choice
Of the chosen who will not have to fight

The concert raises an estimated £1 million pounds for Iraqi war refugees. It’s Bono’s second performance at Pavarotti’s concert — he performed with Edge and Brian Eno during the 1995 concert.

December 13, 2003

Bono and Edge, with their wives Ali and Morleigh, respectively, are on hand for the wedding of Luciano Pavarotti to Nicoletta Mantovani in Modena, Italy. Initial reports suggest that Bono sung for the couple during the reception, and London’s Evening Standard eventually reports that Bono sang “All I Want Is You”, changing the lyrics to the more topical “When the pasta has run dry/And the wine no longer gets you high/All I want is you.”

July 16, 2005

On the third of three nights in Amsterdam, U2 surprise the 50,000 on hand by performing “Miss Sarajevo” for the first time since 1997. Bono sings the operatic verses that were handled in the studio by Luciano Pavarotti.

August 21, 2006

A day after visiting Sarajevo, Bono visits Luciano Pavarotti — who sang with U2 on the song “Miss Sarajevo” — at the tenor’s home in Italy. Pavarotti is recovering from surgery for pancreas cancer in July.

Does anyone have all of the Propaganda magazines?

It occurred to me a little while ago that I should at least make a brief mention in the book of the month & year when every edition of U2 Magazine and Propaganda was published. The book, U2 – The Best of Propaganda has a nice spread showing the covers of every issue of Propaganda, but the images are too small to discern a date. And since I sold all my copies of both magazines, I’m in the dark here.

Here’s what I need: Publishing dates for the full list of 29 Propaganda magazines. The cover of each one should say “Month, Year” or maybe “Season, Year” — whatever it says, I’ll take it. :)

Thanks in advance!

You know that story about U2 being offered $23 million by a car company to be able to use “Where the Streets Have No Name” in a TV commercial? The band have told the story many times over the years, including this 2004 interview. But something just occurred to me:

I have no idea when that offer and rejection happened. Has anyone ever read more details about it? What car company? When?