What I Learned: U2 in Hershey, PA, 1992

July 1st, 2007

We 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.

The Things You Learn | Comments | Trackback