Festival Fever this Summer!
As the summer approaches we are looking forward to fine weather and great music from festivals all through the next few months.

Zooropa - the Derby Assembly Rooms


Market Drayton - Rock and Bowl Festival
First festival of the summer will be the Rock and Bowl at Market Drayton – whatever the weather the Bank Holiday weekend promises great music throughout from folk and blues bands on Saturday to Rock bands on Sunday and Monday. We are honoured to be headlining the event on Sunday, our first festival of 2013. Rain or shine it’s an event not to be missed and we are really looking forward to our first outdoor show of the year!

Amsterdam - Buttonpop Festival
Following on through the summer we are very excited to be going off to The Netherlands again after five years for a show at the Buttonpop Festival, a superb tribute event located in the beautiful grounds of Kasteel Keukenhof in Randstad, centre of the famous Bulb Region. The festival began last year and was such a huge success that a second is planned for this year and we are priviledged to be invited to play at this fantastic event. We are proud to say that this weekend U2UK will be played performing their own live versions taken from last years Derby Assembly Rooms of Beautiful Day and Zooropa, across the Netherlands on national radio in preparation for the event!

The Azores Islands - Fringe Festival
In July we find ourselves in Portugal for the first time, for The Azores Fringe Festival on Pico Island in The Azores. This is a new location for us and we are really looking forward to visiting these beautiful islands and bringing a taste of the Mighty U2 to the Portuguese music lovers.

The Algarve - Annual Seafood Festival
Later on in August we visit Portugal again, this time to the mainland and the town of Olhao, location of The Algarve Seafood Festival 2013. Both of these big stages will be showcasing U2’s music to its best and we can’t wait to be a part of them!

Conkers' 10 year anniversary show double header
Our own U2UK mini festival in August celebrates our tenth show at Conkers, Moira, where we mark the decade with Nigel Atkins, U2UK’s drummer 2002 – 2003, bringing his own band Rockaholics along to support U2UK. This is shaping up to be a fantastic event and we recommend early booking to ensure you don’t miss out. It is always a show to remember, the amazing waterside amphitheatre is an awesome setting for what has come to be a superb show filled with great highlights of all U2’s greatest songs, and those closest to our hearts, from past to present. The usual format of Bar and Barbeque is planned so bring all the family to our summer mini festival at Conkers for a night to remember.

Cumbria - Lazonby Live Festival
September we are thrilled to be returning to Cumbria for a festival which is new to us, Lazonby Live. There is a brilliant lineup there and we are very excited to be joining some great bands and playing on the edge of the Lake District. We have always had a great reception to our gigs up north and Cumbria, it’s a very picturesque place and has been home to some of our best gigs so it really is special to be going back up there.

The Beachcomber - Cleethorpes
Also this year we return to Cleethorpes after a four year break in August for a show at the Beachcomber, always a sell out so book your tickets quickly, then in September we’re back to the Flowerpot in Derby for our second show there. Last year was an amazing sell out night, hot, live, loud and kicking and we can’t wait to get back there for another gig!

Wolverhampton, Bristol and more..
More new venues later in the year as we look forward to gigs at the Range in Wolverhampton, and to The Bierkeller in Bristol. We’ve always pulled a massive crowd in Bristol so hope all our fans down south will come and support us at this venue new to us, it promises to be a great night. Dates are being added all the time so keep an eye on the gig list for further details.

It's finally time...

Nearly three months waiting, meeting up and putting together the set list for 2013. We’ve been practicing the show, re-visiting old songs and throwing in new ones we have been wanting to play for the first time, and now, the time has come to dust off the guitars and get back on the road.

What better way to kick off 2013 than with our home town gig at The Derby Assembly Rooms on St Patricks Eve. We’re raring to go, counting down the days and are really excited to be touring again.

Following on from the Assembly Rooms we have a great new venue, The Palace Theatre in Redditch, and a fantastic new festival for us, the Rock and Bowl in Shropshire. Later in the year another new venue, The Range in Wolverhampton.

We’re very excited to have confirmed gigs abroad, to Holland in May, a country we have been to many times over the years and have always had a fantastic response from U2 fans, on to Portugal in June and The Azores in August, places we haven’t visited before and a looking forward to making the most of the experiences.

In addition to all this we have our fantastic 10th gig at Conkers this year, and we will be supported by a great local band, Rockaholics with Nigel Atkins who spent a year in U2UK on the drum throne in 2002 – that promises to be an awesome adventure, loads to look forward to on that night – one not to be missed!

Later on in the year we are set to return to the Beachcomber in Cleethorpes and back to the Flowerpot, a brilliant venue and a superb night last year, we can’t wait for either gig.

More dates are being added all the time so we hope to see you all continuing to support us throughout the year and ask you to keep watching the gig list as the dates continue to appear.

Most of all we are just looking forward hugely to getting on with our first show of the year – it’s always a fantastic show, the crowd are always lively and we are hoping for an even bigger turn out this time. Don’t miss out on the St Patricks Eve show on Saturday March 16th at the Derby Assembly Rooms – bring your friends, bring your family and join us in a night to remember at a show which will have you dancing in the aisles, singing the night away and leave you screaming for more as we transport you through all the very best moments of the mighty U2’s awesome performances.

Hope we will be seeing you in a couple of weeks for the opening show of the year!

For all you guys who have been supporting us over the last decade you will probably be aware that Nathan never gets to celebrate his birthday as it falls (as it should!) on St Patricks Day. Well this year he celebrates his 30th birthday so we want to kick off the celebrations for our own unsung hero, the driving force behind the band and the powerhouse behind the kit – our very own Larry Mullen, Mr Nathan Station Griffiths!

See you there!!

Hallelujah! (here they come!) U2UK and the One Voice Community Choir…..

On Friday 5th October, U2UK are set to bring a show to the Muni in Colne, Lancashire, that has never been performed by any other U2 tribute band in the UK.

During U2UK's tenth anniversary year, we are very proud to be re-united with our original singer, Paul Collyer, following a four year break to spend time with his young family. We are taking this opportunity to bring to the show many different songs we have wanted to play over the years jammed packed into the mighty multimedia two hour rock show that U2UK have become famous for.

At this years show at the Muni in Colne, we are delighted to welcome to preform alongside us, for the first time, the One Voice Community Choir, who will be adding a gospel mood evocative of the Rattle and Hum period to our show. We are very excited to be able to perform the classic and most famous u2 gospel song, 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,' alongside this awesome choir and for the first time ever at the Muni.

During our ten years together we have tried to bring new twists to our show re-creating the most memorable moments from the Joshua tree, Pop Mart, Zoo Tv, Elevation and Vertigo right up to the recent 360 tour. Bringing a gospel choir into the show has been something we have long wished to do, and this year seemed the right time to work on adding it into the show. We hope that all those U2 fans out there will take the opportunity to come and see one of U2's most iconic songs performed in the way it was meant to be heard, with a full gospel choir lending it's voice to what is considered to be one of the most memorable U2 songs of all time.

... And it doesn't stop there, U2UK perform as many of the greatest songs the mighty rock legends are famous for into their multimedia two hour show. Spanning 3 decades of musical history, the band performs songs such as 'I Will Follow', 'Zooropa', 'Beautiful Day', 'Please', 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', 'Unknown Caller', 'Walk on', 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,' 'Where The Streets Have No Name,' and 'Angel Of Harlem' to name but a few.

The show will have you rocking in your seats and leave you shouting for more as the songs just keep coming. Don't take our word for it, get on your boots, grab your friends and family and come to the Muni, Colne to see the U2UK perform the greatest u2 theatre show on the circuit today!


Friday 5th October

The Muni,
Albert Road, Colne,
Lancashire, BB8 0AE
doors 7:30pm

Tickets £12 in advance – box office: 01282 661234

http://www.themuni.co.uk/events/u2uk
http://www.onevoice.org.uk
http://www.facebook.com/u2ukshow

Not the only one's staring at the sun... there's a whole bunch of people involved!!

It takes a lot to put on any event, and one which was the size of Luqa's in Malta on Friday 15th of June was a true reflection of the nature of the commitment to providing great entertainment for the people of the island by some truly exceptional people.

The role-call of all of those involved in setting up “U2UK – Live and Loud In Luqa” is an extensive one, and like U2 itself, is very much “a family business” - and from our short stays in Malta over the last couple of years is very much a family we feel like we belong to.

Our direct contact agent for the event, Sean Schembri was meticulous in making sure every detail was covered for our show, and time on the island. From dealing with our technical rider for the concert to suggesting which foods are good on the menu - cuisine being something the Maltese take very seriously – to boat trips out into the ocean, he had our backs for the duration of the stay and we really can not thank this man enough for bringing us back to Malta.

To Sergio “Dennis” Costa, our faithful and trusted sound engineer for two shows in Malta now, whose experience and ability in his world of consoles, laptops and outboard racks make him a valuable asset to the team. His friendly, efficient and confident approach to sound checks and the event itself, always makes us feel relaxed in that he is in complete control and we can concentrate on our performance on the stage.

To the phenomenal crowd and ALL of the team who worked so closely together to make the event a success, of which many many I'm sure we didn't have time to meet, but in particular those who worked closest with us for our time in Malta: Clayton Psaila, Melvin Mifsud, Lorry “manuus!” Cassar, Foyd Cassar, Anton “Mr Olympic” Gatt, Steve Faenza , Andrew Schembri, Dylan Spiteri and his father Renu, Lino Ciappara, Quzi Iz-zuz, Is-Six, Andre Magri, Robert Cropp, Charlie Camilleri, Patrick and Eric, to our support bands, Sidewalk, and Melchior Sultana Group and I am sure many many more who have not been mentioned here, many of which have become friends of the band through Facebook, so your work has not gone un-appreciated … all complaints to Sean Schembri ;¬)

As you can see from the u2uk facebook, there were many photos taken that night, and many good memories made: and all too soon we were back on the plane heading for blighty. But we had a 9 hour wait in Munich for our connecting flight, so we made the most of it and took the train into Munich center and enjoyed some umm-paa with a few steins of ale, again meeting some new friends in the friendly and buzzing kellers, showing that U2 really is a global band which connects people.

The DVD of the show in Luqa will be available soon. In there mean time, here's some clips from the crowd.

In memory of Ryan.
The U2UK Tribe.

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