THIS DAY - U2'S HISTORY - January 25

THIS DAY - U2´S HISTORY: Edge, the remarkable guitarist /  Edge and Larry the first time in Brazil / Adam and Bono at Salgueiro / Bono sings with The Corrs /  Vertigo Tour ticket presale fails before it starts / Bono in Davos / Adam and Susie in London, Burns' Night - VIP Fundraising Party  !

 "Boy" tour - january 25, 1981 - Edinburgh / Valentino´s Club. Support is Altered Images.

 "The Unforgettable Fire" - january 25, 1985 - U2 perform in Stockholm, Sweden at the Ice Stadium. Mans Ivarson reviews the concert for a Swedish newspaper: "A your-arms-around-me dance on the stage of the Isstadion in front of 10,000 overcome fans as the singer Bono asked a girl from the crowd for a dance. That was the highlight of Irishmen's U2 rock mass yesterday. Rock mass! Yes, there was such an overflow of traditional rock symbols and gestures that it almost looked like a religious ritual. The fans had lighters, sparklers, flags and an enormous enthusiasm. U2's skill to caress and bait a rock crowd is not far removed from Bruce Springsteen's. Bono makes a big effort for the people in the bad seats and he occasionally is almost down in the crowd, flattering us fro our good English and thanking us deeply for coming. Sing for John Lennon, sing for Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix -- Bono and U2 not even for a moment let us forget that they represent the good guys in rock. Sure they are pleasant even if it can get a little bit too cute. But the music is hardly cute.

It's hard, hypnotic rock with [The] Edge, the remarkable guitarist, as the leader. I don't understand how he does it, but his tones are like a never ending shooting star, forever glittering against a dark and cold backdrop."

Edge and Larry in Brazil - janaury 25, 1998 - Edge and Larry arrived, exactly 16 years ago, on january 25, in Rio de Janeiro.

 Edge came the first time in Brazil, on january 25, 1998 - at 11:15 a.m., Rio de Janeiro, and says (during this photo): "I´m waiting some passion of the fans during the shows." When he arrived at Copacabana hotel, there were around 70 fans and he was greeting them with a nice smile. 15 security guards block the advancement of the fans over the guitarist...

Adam and Bono go to Salgueiro-School of Samba - January 25, 1998 - This night Adam and Bono go to Salgueiro school-samba in Rio de Janeiro, they were seating in a VIP area, then Bono jumps to the floor where he dances with the people, while Adam (now, with moustache) is seating. A Very hot night! Bono: "I´m virgin in the samba. I´m trying to dance samba" - Sunday night, january 25, 1998. Adam Clayton and Bono had a dinner at Churrascaria Porcao, in Ipanema. With them there were around 20 persons and another tables around them with security. No confusion at the restaurant. From there they went to Salgueiro, a schooll (club) of samba, in Vila Isabel district, to see the rehearsals. Bono was at the balcony of the rhythm tamborine. He was so enthusiasm and jumped to the lower floor, with the support of the security and danced with the people (porta-bandeiras and mestres-salas). He was enjoying himself and during 5 minutes, to the gladness of his fans. Backing to the balcony, he changed his black shirt to another red (it was writen: Salgueiro). He said: "I´m virgin in the samba. I´m trying to dance samba," said him shaking his body. Their night finished at Hippopotamus dance club, in Ipanema, from where Bono and Adam Clayton out before 4 a.m. Before their entrance Bono gave US$20,00 to a little boy Marco, 8 years-old, who were salling some groceries in the street. Backing to Copacabana Palace hotel, Bono was received by 10 fans who were waiting for him. He signed autographs and made poses to photos with fans. To Marcelo Guimaraes, the meeting was a dream come true. "They are the best band on the planet," said him celebrating his 'The Joshua Tree' signed, after waiting for 15 hours... look for this scan Folha de Sao Paulo - jan 26, 1998 - Adam and Bono arriving at Copacabana Palace hotel - Bono wearing Salgueiro-shirt

Bono sings with The Corrs - january 25, 2002. Bono performs two songs with The Corrs, who are taping a live TV special for the U.S. in a studio outside Dublin. He duets with Andrea Corr on Ryan Adams's "When the Stars Go Blue" and on "Summer Wine," originally made famous by Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra. The Corrs' performance is recorded and will be released as a CD and TV special in March. Both songs with Bono are included.

Vertigo Tour ticket presale fails before it starts - january 25, 2005. What should be a time of joy for U2 fans around the world almost immediately becomes a nightmare as the online presale of Vertigo Tour tickets to paid U2.com members is a dismal failure. Tens of thousands of fans try to buy tickets via Ticketmaster and other official ticket outlets worldwide, but very few are able. Web sites crash and ticketing systems fail leaving most fans unable to even get a chance at buying tickets. The few U2.com members who are able to get past technical problems find that what were marketed as "some of the best seats in the house" are most commonly tickets in the upper levels of arenas, or far away seats at stadiums. Making matters worse is that thousands of General Admission tickets -- the actual "best seats in the house" -- are immediately listed for sale on auction and ticket broker web sites. The failure is a marketing disaster for U2, whose U2.com web site had charged members up to $40 for the opportunity to take part in the presale, selling the memberships with promises of "guaranteed priority booking" of concert tickets, and telling members of the now-defunct Propaganda offline fan club that they'd "go to the front of the line" during today's presale. Almost immediately, internet mailing lists and message boards are filled with the anger of thousands of fans who feel cheated out of $40 by the band they love. Some fans go so far as to suggest legal action against the band. U2.com itself remains largely mum on the issue, at first brushing off the problems as the result of incredible demand for U2 tickets. The uproar continues for a week, as U2 fan web sites continue to report on all the developments and push for the band to rectify the situation. It takes five days for Ticketmaster, acting at the request of U2, to begin making amends to U2 fans whose presale ticket purchases were killed by technical problems. And finally, a week after the presale failure, U2.com issues an apology for "inadvertently" giving the impression that U2.com members were guaranteed tickets. They offer a refund of U2.com membership fees to anyone who didn't use the presale password to purchase tickets.

Bono in Davos - january 25, 2006 - Bono has launched Product RED, a global brand which will raise funds to fight AIDS in Africa. It's not philanthropy, he said, but 'doing good, will turn out to be doing good business.' The launch of RED took place in Davos, Switzerland today, when Bono joined with American Express, Gap, Converse and Giorgio Armani to unveil the T-shirts, shoes, sunglasses and credit card which are the first items in the new line. A portion of profits from the sale of RED products will support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tubercolosis and Malaria, particularly programmes in Africa with a focus on women and children.

 Adam and Susie in London, Burns' Night - VIP Fundraising Party - 25th January 2006: here / here / here


My ugly city totay completes its 460th anniversary

Viva Sao Paulo