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Archive-name: music/U2-faq/part4
Alt-fan-U2-archive-name: fan/U2-faq/part4 See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge 2.4 ZooTV - Achtung Baby and Zooropa 2.4.1 What characters does Bono use in shows? [M] Bono has played three different characters on stage. They are The Fly, the Mirrorball Man, and Mr. MacPhisto. The Fly is supposed to represent the typical "rock star" with his black, shiny leather clothes and his bug-eyed glasses. His excess and posing for the cameras is to make fun of the way rock has become impersonal and fake. The next character is the Mirrorball Man, who is a Television Evangelist. He wears shiny, sparkling clothes that look like, what else, a disco ball. The last character, who was seen in the Sydney concert, is Mr. MacPhisto, an aging thespian/rock star. Both the Mirrorball Man and Mr. MacPhisto are representations of, if not the devil, then very evil characters. The Mirrorball Man was only seen in the US and MacPhisto was created for the rest of the world. This was done because it was felt that European and worldwide audiences would not be able to relate to the evangelist character. 2.4.1.1 Who's in the picture on MacPhisto's dressing table in the Sydney video? [CB] Mario Lanza. [MJS] I second that. Mario Lanza was an American opera-style singer in the 1950. He had no formal training but sang in a light operatic style in several MGM musicals. He was touted as "the American Caruso." In fact, Mario was a truck driver from Philadelphia and could handle neither the stress of fame nor MGM's insistence that he sing like Caruso but weigh only slightly more than his leading ladies. He died of a heartattack in his mid 30's. Bono said in an interview with Spin magazine that Mario Lana's singing impressed him as a child. 2.4.2 What is Automatic Baby? Will there be an album? [SL] In January 1993, when the USA were celebrating the inauguration of Bill Clinton's office, there were several 'Rock&Roll Inaugural Balls'. On the 20th, REM's Michael Stipe and Michael Mills joined U2's Larry and Adam in a performance of "One". This is recorded and some bootlegs actually include this rather unique reunion. The union of these artists was immediately labeled 'Automatic Baby' (as in 'Automatic for the People' and 'Achtung Baby', their latest albums). [SS] The song has/will be released officially on various discs including the Childline disc. 2.4.3 Who is Wim Wenders? [SR] Wim Wenders is a German movie director. He started working with U2 for his movie called "Until The End Of The World" whose soundtrack includes the U2-song of the same name. I think Wim and the boys became friends and their meet is probably due to the fact that the band stayed in Berlin during the recording of Achtung Baby. However the next WW movie, called "Faraway, So Close" also includes the U2 song of the same name. [SL] Wim also directed the video for "Stay", and the images of Bono climbing up some statue are an allusion to the movie "Faraway, So Close" which is a follow-up to "Wings of Desire" [MPZ] Wim Wenders will be directing "The Million Dollar Hotel", which Bono wrote the screenplay for. 2.4.4 Who is Charles Bukowski? [JC] The movie 'Barfly' with Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway is based on the life of Charles Bukowski. I've only watched a half hour of it. It depicts the lives of two alcoholics, Rourke playing the Bukowski role. Despite his alcoholism, Bukowski was somewhat of an 'urban poet' and some of his work was published. For more answers, see the movie. [RA] Charles Bukowski was an internationally famous contemporary poet and prose stylist. He was born in Andernach, Germany, and came to the US at the age of 13. He has published 45 volumes, both novels and poetry. Unfortunately, Mr. Bukowski passed away a couple months ago at the age of 74. He wrote with a very raw and honest style. A good sampling of Bukowski's work can be found in "Septuagenarian Stew: Stories and Poems" or "Love is a Dog From Hell", both published by Black Sparrow Press. 2.4.5 Who is William Gibson, and what is Neuromancer? [IM] In case you don't know this yourself, Bono based a lot of stuff from Zooropa on this person's work. William Gibson wrote a book called Neuromancer which is about cyberspace and virtual environments. (This might explain the Virtuality helmet that appears on the inlay card of the Zooropa CD.) 2.4.6 What's all this fuss about the 'Lemon' video? The video is a takeoff on an old experiment using motion photography [pat38@aol.com] The photographer is Edward Muybridge who did hundreds of motion studies during the late 1800's. This started as a bet between two rich guys and Muybridge was hired to settle the bet with his invention of a series of many still cameras set up with wire triggers rigged to expose film as a horse ran past. The resulting set of time-lapse prints formed the first 'photo flip book'. He proved that a horse indeed has all four legs in the air at a point during a run. If you look up these photos at your local library you will see where the styling for parts of the Lemon video came from. 2.4.7 What does Vorsprung durch Technik mean in Zooropa? [MJS] It is a German phrase meaning roughly "lead by/through technology." A more elegant translation is "A step ahead through technology." It was an advertising slogan used by a German car company, Volkswagen or Audi, just like many of the other phrases in the song. 2.5 Beyond the Zoo 2.5.1 Passengers In 1995 U2 and Brian Eno collaborated to produce an album of "soundtracks," songs and instrumentals for motion pictures. A few of the movies described in the linear notes actually exist. The rest likely are the result of large quantities of demon alcohol. 2.5.1.1 Who's C.S.J. Bofop? etc. [Under construction] 2.6 Pop Goes U2 [Under construction] 3.0 The Spoils of Success 3.1 Awards [MJS] This area is still under construction. 3.1.1. Grammy Awards 1987: Best Album - JT; Best Rock Group Vocal - JT 1988: Best Rock Group Performance - Desire; Best Music Video, Short Form - Where the Streets Have No Name 1992: Best Rock Group Performance - AB 1993: Best Alternative Album - Zooropa 1994: Best Music Video, Long Form - ZooTV Live From Sydney 3.1.2 Brit Awards 3.1.3 MTV Awards 1985: Nominated: Best Group Video - Pride 1987: Nominated: Best Video, Best Group Video, Best Overall Performance, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography - WOWY Won: Viewer's Choice - WOWY 1988: Nominated: Best Video, Best Group - WTSHNN, ISHFWILF; Best Concept - ISHFWILF; Best Stage Performance - WTSHNN Won: Best Video From a Film - WLCTT 1992: Nominated: Best Group, Best Editing - EBTTRT Won: Best Special Effects - EBTTRT 1994: Nominated: Best Video MTV Europe - Stay 3.1.4 Rolling Stone Magazine [MJS] Rolling Stone Magazine's Music Awards are given annually, based on a readers poll and a critics poll. The top 5 picks are listed for each category, but I've only listed U2 wins here. If you want to see each U2 placing in the awards, check out U2: The Rolling Stones Files. 1985: Readers Picks - Band of the Year; Best Performance at Live Aid; Critics Picks - Band of the Year 1987: Readers Picks - Artist of the Year; Best Album - JT; Best Single - WOWY [Streets and Still Haven't Found came in 2nd & 3rd];Best Band; Best Male Singer - Bono; Best Producer - Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno; Best Songwriter - Bono; Best Video - Streets [WOWY was #2]; Best Album Cover - JT; Best Live Performance; Best Guitartist - The Edge; Best Bass Player - Adam Clayton; Best Drummer - Larry Mullen Jr.; Sexiest Male Rock Artist - Bono Critics Picks - Artist of the Year; Best Band; Best Producer - Daniel Lanois; Best Guitarist - The Edge 1988: Readers Picks - Artist of the Year; Best Album - R&H; Best Single - Desire; Best Band; Best Male Singer - Bono; Best Songwriter - Bono; Best Video - Desire; Best Album Cover - R&H; Best Bass Player - Adam Clayton; Best Drummer - Larry Mullen Jr. 1991: Critics Picks -Comeback of the Year; Best Drummer - Larry Mullen Jr.; 1992: Readers Picks - Best Single - One; Best Band; Best Male Singer; Artist of the Year; Best Album - AB; Best Songwriter - Bono; Best Album Cover - AB; Sexiest Male Artist - Bono; Best Tour - ZooTV; Best Drummer - Larry Mullen Jr.; Comeback of the Year; Critics Picks - Best Band [tied w/REM]; Best Tour - ZooTV; Worst Tour - ZooTV 3.1.5 Other Awards [MJS] Under construction. 3.2 Tours 3.2.1 The Measure of Success? Strictly looking at the numbers, in the US the band's ZooTV tour was the 4th highest grossing of all time. The 1987 JT tour is in 13th place. 1985: 18th highest of the year, 30 cities 1987: Top grossing, 79 shows in 50 cities 1992: Top grossing, 73 shows in 61 cities 3.2.2 Injured in the cause [MJS] Think touring is easy? HA! 3.2.2.1 How did Bono get that scar on his chin? [MJS] During the rehearsals for the JT tour, Bono fell while carrying a light up some stairs on stage. I believe this was in Arizona, but I'm not positive so I'll look it up. I have heard Bono say in an interview that the scar got him a lot of sympathy during the tour. 3.2.2.2 How did Bono break his arm? [MJS] He didn't. He popped part of his collarbone out of socket at RFK stadium in Washington, DC when he fell on a wet stage. Unfortunately, this was not properly diagnosed until a week later in Boston. He had to wear a brace and sling for the remainder of the US tour and could not play guitar. He later said at a press conference that "the others find it a real pleasure" that he couldn't play in concert. [MPZ] In reference to Bono's shoulder dislocation in 1987, I was at their 9/29/87 concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC and Bono most definitely played guitar for a couple of songs in the latter part of the concert. He made a show of ripping off the sling and said something to the effect of how he wasn't supposed to be playing, but that he was going to do it anyway. He did look like he was in pain a little while he was playing though. This concert was about ten days after he suffered his injury. 4. Discography [MJS] With a great deal of sadness, I will be retiring this section of the FAQ after this version. There are other (and better) sources of this info widely available on the web. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this section over the years. The final version of it will be placed on the Wire FTP site. 4.1 What studio albums have been released? Boy: I Will Follow \ Twilight \ An Cat Dubh \ Into The Heart \Out Of Control {LP}\ Stories For Boys \ The Ocean \ A Day Without Me \Another Time, Another Place \ The Electric Co. \ Shadows And Tall Trees [Steve Lillywhite \ November 1980] October: Gloria \ I Fall Down \ I Threw A Brick Through A Window \ Rejoice \ Fire{LP}\ Tomorrow \ October \ With A Shout \Stranger In A Strange Land \Scarlet \ Is That All? [Steve Lillywhite \ November 1981] War: Sunday Bloody Sunday \ Seconds \ New Year's Day \ Like A Song...\ Drowning Man {LP}\ The Refugee \ Two Hearts Beat As One \ Red Light \Surrender \ "40" [Steve Lillywhite \ February 1983] Under A Blood Red Sky [mini-album]: Gloria \ 11 O'Clock Tick Tock \ I Will Follow \ Party Girl {LP}\ Sunday Bloody Sunday \ The Electric Co. \ New Year's Day \ "40" [Jimmy Iovine \ November 1983] [U2's only commercial live album] The Unforgettable Fire: A Sort Of Homecoming \ Pride (In The Name Of Love) \ Wire \The Unforgettable Fire \ Promenade {LP&Tape} 4th Of July \ Bad \ Indian Summer Sky \ Elvis Presley And America \ MLK [Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois \ September 1984] Wide Awake In America [mini-album]: Bad (live) \ A Sort Of Homecoming (live) {LP}\The Three Sunrises \ Love Comes Tumbling [U2 except A Sort Of Homecoming produced by Tony Visconti \ May 1985] The Joshua Tree: Where The Streets Have No Name \I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For \ With Or Without You \Bullet The Blue Sky \ Running To Stand Still {LP&Tape}\Red Hill Mining Town \ In God's Country \ Trip Through Your Wires \One Tree Hill \ Exit \ Mothers Of The Disappeared [Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno \ March 1987] Rattle And Hum: *Helter Skelter \ Van Diemen's Land \ Desire \ Hawkmoon 269 {LP}\ *All Along The Watchtower \ *I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For \ =*Freedom For My People \ *Silver And Gold \ *Pride (In The Name Of Love){LP&Tape}\ Angel Of Harlem \ Love Rescue Me \ When Love Comes To Town \ Heartland \LP\ God Part II \ ==*The Star Spangled Banner \ *Bullet The Blue Sky \ All I Want Is You [Jimmy Iovine \ October 11, 1988] [*live][The 1st 30 sec. (approx.) of guitar on Watchtower is NOT live.] [=*performed by Sterling Magee and Adam Gussow] [==*recording of Jimi Hendrix] Achtung Baby: Zoo Station \ Even Better Than The Real Thing \ One \Until The End Of The World \Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses \So Cruel {LP&Tape}\ The Fly \ Mysterious Ways \ Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World \ Ultra Violet (Light My Way) \ Acrobat \ Love is Blindness [Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois] Zooropa: Zooropa \ Babyface \ Numb \ Lemon \ Stay (Faraway, So Close!) {LP&tape}\Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car \ Some Days Are Better Than Others \ The First Time \ Dirty Day \ The Wanderer [Flood, Brian Eno, & The Edge] [July 5, 1993 \ Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Europe] [July 6, 1993 \ US, Canada] Pop: [To be released March 4, 1997] [CL] Incidentally, the first U2 release was U2:3, an Irish-only EP which had Out Of Control, Stories For Boys, and Boy/Girl. The first two songs were later redone and put on the Boy album. 4.2. Contributions to Tributes or Charity Compilations Band Aid 7'/12': Do They Know It's Christmas (Mercury, Dec 84) Notes: With Bono and Adam, among the huge number stars who recorded this to raise money for Ethiopia. Artists United Against Apartheid 7'/12': SunCity (EMI, Nov 85) Notes: Bono sings on the track "Sun City" and also plays "Silver & Gold" (written by himself), together with Keith Richards and Ron Wood. Various Greenpeace Rainbow Warriors (1989) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" Various Earthrise (1990) "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Various Peace Together (1993) "Satellite of Love" U2 with Lou Reed 4.3 Solo projects/collaborations. Once again, the volume of information requires some sort of categorization. The entire section is under going re-construction. 4.3.1 Solo The Edge - LP: Captive (Virgin, Sep 86): Original soundtrack, written by The Edge, with Michael Brook. The track "Heroine" is sung by Sinead O'Connor, and Larry plays the drums. Also released as a single (7'/12') 4.3.2 Collaborations [UNDER CONSTRUCTION] [MJS] This is now defined as U2 or members thereof, singing on playing on the work of another. Special thanks to Matt McGee for alerting me to the U2 Collaborations list compiled by: ULISSE PEROTTA Jah Wobble - LP:SnakeCharmer (Island, Apr83): Edge plays the guitar on the tracks "Snake Charmer", and "Hold On To Your Love". The latter was also written by the Man himself! Clannad - LP: Macalla (RCA, Nov 85): Bono sings with Maire O'Brennan on the track "In A Lifetime", also released as a single. T-Bone Burnett - LP: Behind The Trap Door (Demon, Nov 85): Bono co-wrote "Having A Wonderful Time" Paul Brady - LP: Back To The Centre (MCA, Apr 86): Larry plays the drums on the track "Airwaves" Christy Moore - 7': Let's Make It Work (??? 1986): Larry plays the drums. Robbie Robertson - LP: Robbie Robertson (Geffen 1987): U2 plays "Sweet Fire Of Love" and "Testimony" Various Artists - LP: A Very Special Christmas (A&M, Oct 1987): Charity record. U2 plays the song "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home", by Phil Spector. T-Bone Burnett - LP: Talking Animals (CBS, May 1988): Bono co-wrote "Purple Heart". Folkways - LP: A Vision Shared (CBS, October 1988): A tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly. U2 plays "Jesus Christ", by Woody Guthrie. Roy Orbison - LP: Mistery Girl (Virgin, Jan 1989): Bono wrote "She's A Mystery To Me", produced it with The Edge. Also released as a single (7'/12') Melissa Ethridge - LP: Brave & Crazy (Island, Oct 1989): Bono plays the harmonica on "Royal Station". Daniel Lanois - LP: Acadie (Opal, 1989): Larry and Adam play on "Still Water" and "Jolie Louise". Bono sings background on "Still Water." The Call - LP: Red Moon (MCA Records, 1990): [MK] Bono sings backup on "What's Happened to You." Neville Brothers - LP: Brother's Keeper (A&M, 1990): Bono and Cyril Neville co-wrote "Jah Love". Various Artists - LP: Red Hot & Blue (EMI 1991): A tribute to Cole Porter, to raise money for the AIDS research. U2 plays "Night And Day" Bono, Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer - LP: In The Name Of The Father (Island 1994): Original movie soundtrack. There's also a CD-single with the title track, with guest vocalist Sinead O'Connor. [MJS] Flyer - Nancy Griffith (1994): Adam and Larry play on 4 tracks - These Days in an Open Book, Don't forget about Me (also remixed by Larry); On Grafton Street (also remixed by Larry); This Heart (also remixed by Larry). [PG] Larry contributed to 'Put 'em under pressure' by the Irish National Soccer Team, for the world championships in Italy, 1990. Original Soundtracks 1 - Passengers Brian Eno, Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jnr, with Luciano Pavarotti, Howie B, Holi 4.3.3 Written Expressly For . . . 4.4 Soundtracks Movie; song; date They Call It an Accident - October [1982] The Last American Virgin - I Will Follow [1982] The Courier - Walk to the Water [1987] Until the End of the World - Until the End of the World [1990] Faraway, So Close - Stay (Faraway, So Close) and The Wanderer [1993] Reality Bites - All I Want Is You [1993] Pret-a-Porter - Lemon Remix [1994] Threesome - Dancing Barefoot [1994] Blown Away - [JH] With or Without You and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For [1994] Johnny Mnemonic - Alex Descends Into Hell [1995] Batman Forever - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me [1995] [RH] Heat - Always, Forever, Now (The Passengers) [1996] 5. Books, videos, bootlegs 5.1 What books are there on U2? [AC] STORIES FOR BOYS, Dave Thomas, (Proteus Books, 1985) since revised to include The Joshua Tree. An interesting biography. A bit brief at times. Colour. Includes a discography and a list of common bootlegs available at the time (now very outdated). THE U2 FILE: (Hot Press, 1985). Assorted articles/interviews from the Irish music magazine Hot Press Very good. Colour. Includes a discography. [P] This book was also published in the U.S. by Harmony Books, also in 1985, and under the title "U2: In the Name of Love." It's the same book, though. Inside, it says: "Published in Ireland as 'The U2 File.' ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, Bill Graham, (Mandarin Paperbacks, 1989). Covers U2's early days, during 1977/78/79. By the man at Hot Press who supported U2 from the very beginning. He is an 'insider' when it comes to U2. There's some very strange photos in this book! Get it for a laugh - I swear you won't recognize U2 in some of the photos. Black and white. UNFORGETTABLE FIRE - The Story of U2, Eamon Dunphy (Viking, 1989). The official biography of U2. Very detailed, especially when dealing with pre-1984 U2, which is good because it's hard to find info about this period. Some of the stuff in this has been questioned by the band as to it's authenticity, but overall, a must for anybody who's really interested in U2 as people. Black and white. TOUCH THE FLAME: Geoff Parkyn (1987). A well put together biography. Has a 'time line' type thing which lists important U2 events, month by month, year by year. Includes a discography along with small colour pictures of many album and 7" and 12" single sleeves. Colour. THREE CHORDS AND THE TRUTH: Niall Stokes, (Omnibus Press, 1989). Picks up from where The U2 File stops. More interviews and articles from Hot Press. By another insider and U2 friend from Hot Press. Colour. [NE] OUT OF CONTROL: A Guide To U2 Bootlegs: (Rock Bottom Press, March 1993) [MJS] RATTLE AND HUM: The Official Book of the U2 Movie, Peter Williams and Steve Turner (Harmony Books, 1988) Details and background on the making of the movie. OUTSIDE IS AMERICA: U2 in the U.S.: Carter Alan, (Faber and Faber, 1992). Just what it says, the story of U2 in America, from their first tour in 1980 to Zoo TV Inside Broadcast. Carter, musical director of WBCN-FM in Boston and a longtime U2 booster, clearly loves the band, unfortunately whoever edited this book didn't bother with fact checking so there are a few blatant errors. Worth reading. $13.95 US. U2 THE EARLY DAYS, Bill Graham, (Dell Publishing) Tales of U2 before they had a recording contract. A must for fans. BONO IN HIS OWN WORDS, Dave Thompson, (Omnibus Press) Snippets of the wisdom of Bono from his many interviews. Not for the feint of heart. BURNING DESIRE, Sam Goodman, (Castle Communications, 1993) Pictures and plenty of them, mostly in color. U2, Mark Taylor (Orion, 1993) A CD-sized book that does little aside from proving that poor coiffure decisions have plagued the band for decades. Includes an interview CD as well. ISBN 1-57899-008-4 U2, Jackie Shirley (Longmeadow, 1993) Lovely pictures, godawful prose. I suspect "Jackie Shirley" is a pseudonym, nobody can be shameless enough to put their real name on this dreck. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] User Contributions: |
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