Unforgettable Fire

This was my first U2 concert. New Year’s Day, frequently played on Swedish radio, had been the ear-opener to me and thanks to my younger sister, already a U2-fan, I had access to U2’s back catalogue. Then, seeing the TV broadcast from their Lorelei-concert in August 1983 I was struck by the nerve and their immediate and powerful live performance. Although considering The Unforgettable Fire album not as good as War, not seeing them when they came to Stockholm was out of question. I was surprised by their slow and fumbling start, with 11 O’Clock Tick Tock, but the next song, I will follow, turned up the pace and intensity of the concert. It was pure joy to experience the songs from their latest album live (especially Wire and Pride) and I actually had to change my mind regarding the quality of The Unforgettable… Songs like Sunday Bloody…, New Year’s Day, Gloria and Two hearts beat… were included in the set, before ending the show with 40, where The Edge and Adam swapped guitars. Bono’s stage presence impressed me and the atmosphere in the bare and cold ice-hockey arena was warm and fantastic. To sum up, I used the Swedish word makalost (incomparable) about the concert in my diary. After the concert I bought, probably the most modest tour t-shirt ever made! A plain white T-shirt, saying U2 and The Unforgettable Fire with very small letters on the chest (see photo) - I still have it. A very sharp contrast to the over-loaded t-shirts that later were to be sold on the Zoo TV-tour. Some years later I was also happy to get hold on a bootleg recording from this concert. Next live encounter with U2 was in Stockholm June 1992, but that is a different story.