A day-by-day history of U2, now in its second edition.

What I Learned: U2 in Hershey, PA, 1992

By on July 1, 2007 in The Things You Learn with 9 Comments

U2 in Hershey - newspaper scanWe all know that U2 spent about a week in the Hershey, PA, area doing rehearsals for the Zoo TV Outside Broadcast Tour in August, 1992. That much is common knowledge.

But up until last night, for that 7-day period, U2 Diary only had two entries: One for August 1st, the day the band arrived; and one for August 7th, the day of the rehearsal gig.

Then a U2 fan named Stacey S. emailed me a bunch of scans from the local newspaper’s coverage all week long of U2’s time in the area. How did that help? Here’s a list of what I learned:

  • U2 rehearsed every night except their first night, which I would’ve guessed, but it’s great to have confirmation.
  • They stayed at the Hilton hotel in Harrisburg, PA.
  • They stopped to chat and sign autographs with fans every day outside the hotel.
  • About 200 fans per night hung out near the stadium to listen to rehearsals.
  • Local police received about 200 calls during the week from people complaining about the loud noise, and one guy even filed a complaint against Hershey Entertainment (owners of the stadium).
  • During a break in rehearsals one night, Bono and Adam did an interview with the local newspaper.
  • The rehearsal was announced and tickets went on sale the same day that week.

There are some good photos in the newspaper scans, so I’ll be in contact with the paper to see about getting permission to use 1-2 of those in the book.

Beyond all of this, there are also some stories in BP Fallon’s U2 Faraway So Close book, so what used to be two basic entries for that week is now a much more detailed and comprehensive look at what happened while U2 was rehearsing in Hershey, PA.

Thank you, Stacey!

If you think you might have scans or clippings of other unknown appearances and such, please contact me with details. Thanks, folks.

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There Are 9 Brilliant Comments

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  1. scott says:

    I was there that week…we all were chanting “tear down the hefty”. They had all this “garbage bag” looking material up to block us from seeing them practice.

    Scott

  2. Kerry Kenney says:

    My friends and I hung out outside the fence that week and listened to the show. I was 19. Bono would address us sometimes, I remember him saying “we are trying to get you in for a show” and we cheered. The tickets were $15.00 for the concert. It was The Edge’s birthday and Bono sang a special modified happy birthday to the Edge “Trying to throw your arms around The Edge”
    Beautiful week, beautiful memory. Totally cool. I am sure there were more than 200 people there. We knew we were lucky to have them for a week. The paper scans were probably from the Harrisburg Patriot News, the biggest local paper.

  3. Kelly Leonard Weaver says:

    U2 is my favorite Band of all time! I was one of the privileged fans to see that concert. My sister, Sue worked at Hertz Car Rentals at the Harrisburg Airport at the time. She heard the announcement on the radio and was right on the phone to get tickets for her, her husband, our cousin and myself. It was a night to remember! It was also my first concert I was ever too! I still think about it often and remember the great time we had. I want to say thank you to the Band for an awesome night and fond memories that will last a lifetime. I hope I get to go to see them again!

  4. Ralph says:

    Is this thread still alive? Lol… I was there close to stage. They opened with SBS with Bono in full Fly gear plus a top hat. That was never an opener on Zoo TV. They played half of Wild Horses then restarted, the vibe was real loose. Sang happy birthday to edge. Tickets were cheap, like $15.00. My brother caught a zoo dollar during Desire/mirror ball man… THEN he helped hershey clean up and wait for it… met Bono & Edge. He described the smell of leather, smoke and Heinekens. Bono signed the dollar, still framed to this day šŸ™‚

  5. Tommyboy says:

    I was there and Sedgwick birthday so a Bono brings girl on stage and says happy birthday edge while he sings to him. I was maybe 10 rows back and in middle where a long center stage came out. My ticket was $15 and the best concert ever!! I had just graduated high school and what a great night! Cars coming over too and huge screens it was awesome!

  6. C.S. says:

    Did some digging and found the set list!!!

    Sunday Bloody Sunday
    New Years Day
    Pride (In the Name of Love)
    Zoo Station
    The Fly
    Even Better Than the Real Thing
    Mysterious Ways
    One
    Until the End of the World
    Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
    Van Diemen’s Land
    Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World
    Angel of Harlem
    Happy Birthday to You (Edge’s Birthday sing along)
    When Love Comes to Town
    All I Want Is You
    Bullet the Blue Sky
    Running to Stand Still
    Where the Streets Have No Name
    Pride (In the Name of Love)
    Desire
    Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
    With or Without You
    Love Is Blindness

  7. MS says:

    Hi! The Hershey Gig was awesome. Iā€™m the girl that was on stage. It was the best concert ever!! Wishing Edge Happy Birthday was awesome. Wish there was video, seems no one can find it. The audio is great. What a great set. We were all lucky to be there. Iā€™ve read many fans wish they could see video too, including me. Remember Edge sang ā€œVan Diemenā€™s Landā€, which was not common and so cool. Iā€™m listening on U2 Sirius XMā€” what a great station!!

  8. Kristen A Beam says:

    I was one of the folks hanging out outside the hotel every night! Met Bono, The Edge, McGuiness. It was amazing

  9. Andrew Olarte says:

    It was not sold out. or they only sold XYZ amount of tickets but I remember having the option of sitting in the bleachers section or roaming the GA area at will. Opening with SBS, a song that had not been live for a couple decades – despite the rehearsal part of the show, they put on a classic U2 gig. With the farmlands of Hershey as a backdrop, I still feel sorry to this day for fans who missed the opportunity to see this band for $15 on such a calm summer night.

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