HIGHLIGHTS 30 DECEMBER 2003
1 MIN READ
Serious Or What ?
Well, quite funny actually, as this wonderfully illuminating essay on the comic heart of U2 by Bill Flanagan reveals.
Well, quite funny actually, as this wonderfully illuminating essay on the comic heart of U2 by Bill Flanagan reveals.
This first of two exclusive extracts is taken from the newly published 'U2 The Best of Propaganda'.
When U2 became the biggest band in the world in the eighties, somehow, for many people, they also became one of the most serious. ZOO TV and the nineties U2shattered that image. Propaganda, the band's official magazine, commissioned Flanagan, then editor of Musician - and on the road with the band in the process of writing his own acclaimed book 'U2 At The End Of The World' - to explore how far the image of a band can depart from the reality!
'I once met an American tourist in Ireland who said shehad been having tea in a hotel restaurant when U2 camein and sat at the table behind her. She and her friendcould not believe how funny the four of them were -they traded jokes, quips and can-you-top-this punchlines. "Theywere like a comedy team," she said. "I alwas thought theywere serious!"
I can't tell you how many times I've heard similar things frompeople who only know U2 through the mass media. I met U2 in1980 and kept in touch with them over the years since. Threeyears ago they agreed to let me follow them around and writea book about their music and the whole wild circus thatrevolves around it. If I knew the band pretty well before, I gotto know them very well while travelling in buses, planes andautomobiles from Mexico to Tokyo, Italy to Australia. Whenpeople ask me about all the time I spent with U2, I usually say,"Well I remember a lot of great music and I remember laughingall the time."
The great music people accept, but a lot of folks raise theireyebrows when I say how funny Adam, Bono, Edge and Larryare. Maybe because I knew U2 as people I knew them throughthe media, I bring a knowledge of their humour to anything Iread or write about them. People who see them only throughthe eyes of journalists may miss that. While one can neverunderestimate a critic's ability to not get a joke, there must besomething in the way U2 operate that keeps their humour from comingthrough when the tape recorder is turned on and the notepads are out.
The band may be at the disadvantage of people coming at themwith serious preconceptions; if someone walks in and startsasking you to explain art, love and God, it's hard to say, "Thatreminds me of a funny story..." U2 probably also pay the priceof restricting most of their interviews to quick sessions inan office or studio. (There's a good reason for that - if theyspent as much time doing interviews as the press would like,they'd never have time to make any music.) Reporters don'tget the chance to observe the sort of "Hard Days Night" scenethat I witnessed in a limousine with U2 heading to the LosAngeles airport:
In the car Bono struggles to get the TV to change channels butit stays stuck on one of those half-hour self-help commercials.Finally in exasperation, Bono says, "Edge, you're the scientist,can you get this to work?" Edge leans over and tries to changethe station. Each time he does, it clicks back to the self-helpad. This is very strange. Edge gets down and fiddles with theswitches with the furrow-browed dedication of a Louis Pasteurat his Bunsen burner, oblivious as Bono to the fact that Larryis sitting with a remote control by his leg, clicking the channelback each time Edge tries to change it.At last they give up and accepts the infotainment. "Too badyou can't get cable in a car," Larry says. Then he asks if anyoneelse has seen the Fishing Channel. "Lots of talk about rods andhooks and the one that got away."
Bono says, "I prefer the 'rides bikes, likes boats and lives withthe same girlfriend for twelve years' channel."Larry groans and rolls his eyes. Edge asks what they are talkingabout. Larry explains that Bono's recapping the thumbnaildescription of him in the new Vogue cover story on U2. Onceagain a journalist who was given access to the whole band wenthome and wrote a story that was chock-full of Bono, had a fewwise parables from the Edge, and devoted Adam and Larryroughly the same number of words that go on the back of abubblegum card. Bono says euphemistically, "She paintedLarry in bold strokes."
Adam smiles and says to the sullen Mullen, "At least you'renot the one she called 'handsome in an ugly way.'"
One of the funniest things U2 do in their conversation witheach other is put on voices and play-act different characters.They sometimes kid each other by adopting 'Spinal Tap' poses.An outsider who walks into the middle of this can come awaythinking that these guys really ARE spoiled rock stars (thoughtheir parodies are so broad that the outsider would have to belacking any sense of humour himself.) Here's a scene that tookplace during the recording of Zooropa, when Larry wasinterrupted in the lavatory by a summons back to his drums:
Larry strolls in in a cocky mood, "What's so important youhad to interrupt a perfectly good crap?"
"We need you to do some drumming," Bono answers.Larry says, "Call my manager."
"We sent a letter to Mr Paul McGuinness," Edge says,"requesting your services to play some drums."
"It's the song we were playing last night," Bono says."Apparently you did a tremendous job but the rest of us ..."
Adam says, "Amazingly enough YOU were fine."
"We face a problem we have faced in the past," Bono explains."The song has no chorus."
"Aha!" Larry says.
Final part of this extract to follow soon.
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