Fact #164901
When:
Short story:
U2 play at The Clarendon Hotel, Hammersmith, London, England, UK, Europe. Full article:
Bill Graham (reviewer, Hot Press) : The audience have come to measure U2 against their building reputation as ‘at least this week’s thing’ and won’t be willed into enjoyment.
Nick Stewart (A+R man, Island Records) : That was a slightly worrying gig, and I started to wonder briefly if it might not be harder than I’d imagined to get this band across.
Bono (singer, U2) : It was cold – it was a peculiar place upstairs in a hotel, a large dancefloor with light-shades, at the same time bare. It was the unknown, and the unknown is always very interesting.
Bill Graham : Despite a small crowd bopping around the front, Bono just can’t feel the audience. Suddenly, out of the unsettled climate wafts a moment of sublime dignity. A sequence of guitar chords – the linking passage between two new songs – An Cat Dubh and The Heart If A Child steadily spirals upwards and for once the acoustics assist. Soothing, a peace offering, this vision of unwanted youth transforms the mood and when the song is over there’s a muted, sighing cheer of recognition.
Neil Storey (press officer, Island Records) : Even then, they had a unique way of drawing an audience in to what they were doing. You could always tell if a gig was going well because Larry would be smiling.
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Nick Stewart (A+R man, Island Records) : That was a slightly worrying gig, and I started to wonder briefly if it might not be harder than I’d imagined to get this band across.
Bono (singer, U2) : It was cold – it was a peculiar place upstairs in a hotel, a large dancefloor with light-shades, at the same time bare. It was the unknown, and the unknown is always very interesting.
Bill Graham : Despite a small crowd bopping around the front, Bono just can’t feel the audience. Suddenly, out of the unsettled climate wafts a moment of sublime dignity. A sequence of guitar chords – the linking passage between two new songs – An Cat Dubh and The Heart If A Child steadily spirals upwards and for once the acoustics assist. Soothing, a peace offering, this vision of unwanted youth transforms the mood and when the song is over there’s a muted, sighing cheer of recognition.
Neil Storey (press officer, Island Records) : Even then, they had a unique way of drawing an audience in to what they were doing. You could always tell if a gig was going well because Larry would be smiling.