Twenty Years of U2

For the last couple of days, my mind has been as dry as a South Australian summer when it came to finding something worth blogging about… until today.

Today, I’m telling you the story of how I became a lifelong U2 fan.

Back in 1985, my younger brother and I were each given a cassette tape for Christmas. If you don’t know what cassette tapes are, your education is not complete! (A terrible plagiarism of something Bono said while receiving an honorary degree from the University of Pennsylvania.) I received Midnight Oil – 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1, while my brother received U2 – October.

My brother wasn’t keen on the strange, eerie sound of some of U2’s music. Meanwhile, I had no idea who Midnight Oil were, nor that their lead singer, Peter Garrett, would one day become a politician. So we swapped cassettes.

Our parents were amazed at how quickly we’d solved what could have become a Christmas argument. Little did they know that one simple swap would shape my musical tastes for the next four decades.

For the next few years (1985–1990), I honestly thought October was the only album U2 had ever released. I had no idea there had been earlier albums, and it never occurred to me to wonder if there were newer ones.

That all changed when I needed to replace my cassettes.

You see, cassette tapes only survive so many plays before they become scratchy and worn out. I eventually replaced October twice. I might even buy another copy one day.
[29 October 2016 – Never did.]
[26 July 2026 – Still haven’t.]

While looking for a replacement, I visited a music store in Adelaide called Andromedas in Gawler Place.
[29 October 2016: Sadly, it no longer exists.]

That was where I first discovered just how fanatical Adelaide’s U2 fans really were. At the time, Australia had only seen one U2 tour, and Adelaide had hosted just a single concert. Good-quality U2 albums were changing hands for as much as AU$300. I smiled politely, bought a couple of photographs of Bono and The Edge standing outside the Adelaide Hilton, quietly left the shop, wandered into a more mainstream record store, and proceeded to buy every U2 album I could get my hands on.

Over the following twelve months I collected every cassette, every “cassingle” (what an invention that was!) vinyl records, including every 7-inch singles, plus just about every U2 book I could find.
[29 October 2016: I still have them all.]

Since then, the collection has grown to include every Australian DVD release, plenty more books, and all the compilation CDs.

Sarah gradually became almost as enthusiastic about U2 as I was. She even kept a handwritten inventory of the collection in her handbag. Whenever we stumbled across something U2-related while shopping, she’d simply check the list and tell me whether I already owned it.

My greatest find happened in New Zealand.

I have an annoying habit – according to Sarah – of rummaging through second-hand record shops, op shops and recycling stores wherever we travel. If there’s a dusty crate of old vinyl, I’ll be standing there flicking through it.

So there we were in Auckland. My wife was browsing handmade crafts while I was working my way through hundreds of records.

Then I saw it.

U2 – Pop – Limited Edition (U210 524 334-1).

Original sleeve. Lyrics sheet included. Inner cardboard sleeves intact. Not a single scratch.

Price: NZ$10. I only had NZ$8 in my wallet. Rather than ask Saraj for the extra $2, I walked up to the shop owner, offered him my $8, and hoped for the best. He accepted. I walked out feeling like I’d just won the lottery.

To this day it’s still in mint condition because I’ve never actually played it.
[29 October 2016: Still unplayed.]

So yes, U2 is my one great musical passion. In my opinion, no rock band has ever come close to matching them.
[26 July 2026: Still, to this day.]