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Into the Into the Heart of U2 Podcast is the most comprehensive dive into the history of U2 as told by folks who were there while it happened. Co-hosts, author and musician Bill See, and Melody Muraca, the founder of one of the first U2 Fanzines in the U.S., go through U2's career album by album and tour by tour, and the perception of U2 in cultural consciousness. They still care about the band, but they're concerned about their legacy. So, they're going to try and get to the bottom of wheth ...
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In our Pt 2 on U2's 13th album, Songs of Innocence, we discuss the more compelling 2nd half of the record; Bono's bike accident; the lasting impact of “Apple-Gate” on U2’s legacy & the innovative Barricage, the centerpiece of the i + e tour.
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U2's 13th studio album, "Songs of Innocence," is an album released a full 5 1/2 years after the commercial and critical disappointment of "No Line on the Horizon" with a list of producers as long as a Beyonce album. To that long gestation period Bono said, "Rumor has it we haven't made a U2 album in the last five years. We have. We've made several.…
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In our Part 2 on No Line on the Horizon, we pick things up with the three more pop oriented songs the band wrote after leaving Fez, Morocco. Did the band panic and go chasing a hit? If so, they chose a very unrepresentative first single in Get On Your Boots. Things get a lot more interesting on the final third of the record with some truly fresh ma…
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After two consecutive conventional and commercially successful records in "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb," the time was right to explore something different and go someplace else to do it. So, U2 heads off to Fez, Morocco with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, not just as producers but as songwriting partners. The…
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In this second part of our look at U2's 11th studio album, How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, we go through the second half of the record, get into the marketing partnership with Apple, the ticket fiasco for the Vertigo Tour and the tour itself. We'll also discuss some band business, which has caused the haters to gnash their teeth for the better par…
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U2 had finished up the wildly successful Elevation Tour with their iconic performance at the Super Bowl and had resoundingly risen to Bono's throw down issued on the eve of the release of All That You Can't Leave Behind; they really had reclaimed the title of biggest band in the world. Bono said, "Wow, if we could bottle this, what mad elixir would…
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In Part 2 of our look at the All That You Can't Leave Behind period, we discuss the second half of this front loaded record, and the Elevation Tour where U2 dispenses with all the artifices, arches and lemons, and go back to arenas. And front and center is Bono...THAT Bono with his heart back on his sleeve. After an already heavily emotional first …
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We kick off Season 2 with U2's 10th studio album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, a record that begins U2 Phase III after their Mach II reinvention with Achtung Baby. It's also, arguably, the genesis of the sound of all their output going forward. It's a record Rolling Stone called the band's third masterpiece and that went on to become a huge cri…
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PopMart is remembered for its McDonald’s arch, the giant lemon inside which U2 got trapped in grand Spinal Tap style, the disastrous first gig in Vegas and half empty stadiums in the U.S. U2 would go on to play some of its greatest gigs later in the tour, but its still remembered as U2’s folly. But the backstory of why manager Paul McGuinness pushe…
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It's time to dive into U2's much beloved, and also much maligned 9th studio album, Pop. It's a polarizing work among fans and critics and God knows the band's spent the last 25 years trying to distance themselves from it. But when you consider what it was intended to be and what they delivered, it is a record that could have been so much more. But …
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In Pt 2 on Zooropa we continue our song by song examination and then get into the launch of the European leg of Zoo TV which sees the band rediscovering their love of Dada. The wildly successful Zoo TV marches on to its final leg in Australia by which time the band is running on fumes.
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U2 came home after the Outside Broadcast Tour completing a wildly successful 1992 that saw the band reinvent themselves on record and as a live act. It was supposed to be a six month break before returning for the European leg the next summer. But Edge was still looking for a diversion from his marriage falling apart and convinces the band to make …
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In our third part on the Achtung Baby period we dive into Zoo TV from the conception of the tour to the financial constraints, to the moral conundrums surrounding corporate sponsorship at the time. We explore how disorienting it was for old fans to process the new U2 and the transitional challenges the band faced bringing the tour from arenas to st…
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After the contentious early sessions in Berlin, everything finally crystalizes and U2 deliver its crowning creative achievement, the unprecedented deconstruction of everything that got them to the top of the charts in the 80s: "Achtung Baby." In Pt 2 of 3 comprehensive parts on the Achtung Baby and Zoo TV period, we go song by song of the 12 songs …
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We're going in for a really deep dive on Achtung Baby. In the first of three parts, we pick things up with Bono's "gotta go away and dream it all up again" speech at the end of the Love Town Tour when things had started to get a little show-bizzy. We ask some pointed questions about what exactly happened between the end of the Lovetown Tour and whe…
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In this second part of our look at the Rattle and Hum era, we talk about the brutal criticism that came U2's way, in particular, toward Bono. The band had bad reviews before, but it was never this personal. We discuss how it got here and what led to where the band was headed moving forward. But first, they hit the road for what should have been a v…
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In the first of our two parts on the Rattle and Hum album and the film, we dive into why this period is so poorly remembered. We question what the hell the band was thinking but, more importantly, where was Paul McGuinness when a little leadership was desperately needed when it was obvious his clients were getting over its skis? We also take a look…
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In this special bonus episode, we take a very deep dive into every aspect of U2 at the Sphere. From the deal James Dolan and MSG made to get U2, the ticket kerfuffle, the technological advancements the Sphere allowed, the sparse stage design, the setlist, the visual message of the show, and what this all means for U2 and, for that matter, the futur…
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The Joshua Tree's success was the culmination of everything U2 had dreamed for but when they got to the very toppermost of the poppermost, the band struggled with newfound fame. In this episode we talk about all this as things start to get out of hand and the idea is hatched to make a film.
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U2 had stolen the show at Live Aid. Rolling Stone had named them the Band of the 80s. And the Unforgettable Fire, while something of a left turn did top the charts in the UK and was top 20 in the U.S. So, the anticipation for their next record was not only building but there was a growing feeling that it was going to be a monster. It was. But getti…
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In part two of our look at the Unforgettable Fire era, we talk about the band's change of approach on stage in contrast to the War Tour. It all leads up to Live Aid and the band's now iconic 12 minute performance of "Bad" highlighted by Bono leaping from the stage for a connecting moment. It made for great TV but the band thought Bono had blown it.…
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War was the band's first big breakthrough so obviously they go big with War II right? Nope. U2 decides to go to art school with Brian Eno. In this episode we dive into the band's time recording at Slane Castle and Daniel Lanois joining the production team, and the time crunch to finish the record before the tour was set to start.…
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It's impossible to talk about War without getting into the War Tour. In this part two episode on War, we talk about the US Festival, Red Rocks, MTV playing the Sunday Bloody Sunday video to death and turning U2 into big time rock stars and the commercial success of Under a Blood Red Sky. And Bill and Melody break down being at U2's first ever arena…
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U2 return home from the October Tour after the record falls decidedly short of expectations and face a make it or break it moment. They pool their money and rent a small cottage in Howth, Ireland. It's August 1982 and while Bono and Ali are off on their honeymoon, Edge, still full of apprehension about whether he should continue in U2 decides to st…
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In this episode we talk about the birth of U2's difficult second album, October. The one they seem uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed to talk about even today. We are going to examine the three things October is notorious for, the external and internal pressures that created such an unusual rock and roll album, Edge's crisis that almost ended the …
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For this first episode, Melody and Bill go through U2’s early demos/singles, the Big Put On at the National Stadium in Dublin that got them signed to Island Records, the making of the debut album "Boy," the Boy tour and what the band’s stature was moving forward. Be sure to go back and listen to the manifesto episode to get the details about what t…
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Give a listen to the manifesto to the all new Into The Heart of U2 Podcast - the most comprehensive deep dive into the history of U2, album by album and tour by tour, the fan experience, and the perception of U2 in cultural consciousness. Hosted by author and musician Bill See and Melody Muraca, founder of one of the first notable U2 fanzines, the …
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