Ten Year Anniversary

It was ten years ago almost to the day when Paul Collyer put an advert in the local newspapers to form a U2 Tribute band. We originally played local pubs and clubs as U2 Pop for a year. We were advised by a friend to change the name as 'Pop' didn't represent us well as a band. She thought the name U2UK would have more impact so we changed it. We've been U2UK ever since. Through the years we have been lucky to have had great people along the way that have played the parts of various members of U2 and have enabled us to continue doing what we love for more than a decade. This year has seen us re-united with Paul after his three year break from touring. Those of you who remember him as the front man of U2UK will remember his unique ability to win over an audience without even standing on a stage. We're back with the four core members, Paul, Simon, Ady and Nathan, and the show has taken a new direction as we have developed a set this year which allows us to play all the U2 greats and a selection of some of the songs we have always wanted to play but which do not appear together in many of the major tours... It's a year for us, a year to regroup, enjoy, and to remember all the great reasons why we love what we do and why we are privileged to say that our supporters love it to. Lets look forward to the next decade, to seeing old friends and new coming together to celebrate the magic and the brilliance of U2 and their music....
- by Ady


The Assembly Rooms, Derby.

The 2012 tour kicked off in great style at the Assembly Rooms, Derby. A true celebration of U2 and all things Irish on St. Patricks Day (17th March) and the debut of our new show for U2UK's 10 Year Anniversary. As a band, we have always felt at home at the Assembly Rooms, and the friendly and anticipating atmosphere was tangible as we walked on to the stage for the first half. We had been playing around with new ways to open the show, and had decided that this year, after 10 years of taking the best parts of various tours and reproducing them as closely as we could, we would be a bit selfish and choose the songs they wanted to play, the songs that the fans who have been with us for the last 10 years have maybe wanted us to play, but it is always a gamble... and after a rich and smooth performance of the first song 'Zooropa' complete with new lighting and video sequences, we had realised that it was a gamble that had paid off. Plus a special guest for the night in form of violin player Sarah Pickin, who performed a moving stripped down version of Sunday Bloody Sunday with Edge and Bono, before Larry and Adam cracked in towards the end to get the house bouncing again.
The show was fresh and exciting again, Paul (bono) was engaging with the audience and the band was right on the money and sounding slick, controlled and stadium-esque thanks to the work of our on-tour sound engineer Paul Joyce. You could feel the electricity building in the audience as the grins crept across our faces. It was an awesome opening to the 2012 tour, complete with a chorus of Happy Birthday from the crowd at the end of the night for me (Larry) and a chance for all of us to meet with the crowd in the foyer at the end of the night and hear what you thought about the new show.
- by Nathan

Beirut, Lebanon.

The bands first time in Lebanon was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, those of you who keep up to date with the U2UK Facebook page will know what I mean by that! But although the gig was sandwiched with what can only be described as 'eventful proceedings' the gig itself at the exclusive venue 'Club Life' in Beirut, was something rather special, the short set featuring fireworks and a giant 3m wide disco ball, was a high energy taster of what the band can do in club environment. Opening up with the 'fish out of water remix' of 'even better than the real thing' the club balconies and catwalks were full of people dancing and singing along – 'who said U2 weren't a dance band..' Special thanks go out to the agent Absynth and his bodyguard Acer, and promoters Nai and Danny for treating us like kings amongst the cedars of Lebanon.

You can view a short video of the show in Beirut [HERE]
- by Nathan

The Mill Arts Centre, Oxford.

March 24th and another birthday show, this time for Barry, a member of U2UK's touring team. Barry has been a close member of the U2UK team for some years now and gets involved in all aspects of the show, from pre-rigging discussions with in house techs, site visits and promotional coordination to pushing flight cases at the end of the night. Barry was invited up onto the stage where he was presented with a birthday cake and a chorus of happy birthday from the audience and band a like. The band then followed up with two songs from the 'no line on the horizon' album – 'unknown caller' and 'moment of surrender' both new tracks to this years tour, and songs which we think show our diversity as a band.

We've got a short break from touring now to rehearse some new material, more news as it happens.
- by Nathan