Fifty for Fifi

I first met U2 when my brother bought Unforgettable Fire, closely followed by earlier albums Boy and War.

Fi… met U2.

I journeyed with the band from that time through my own purchase of The Joshua Tree and then Rattle and Hum.

Fi, if I recall correctly literally journeyed with the band in the form of riding on Larry Mullen’s motorbike with him. At least that’s how I recall her telling of the story.

Fi’s brother Sean, may he rest in peace, was among other things a music promoter. Their father’s Irish connections may have helped him be the local organiser for the band when they came over to Australia . You can have a guess as to which tour that was on, or Fi might tell us in the comments.

I grew apart from U2 after Rattle and Hum. For me they were doing something on a scale and from an approach that took them away from what I liked about them in the first place. The anger of the earlier albums served well to prepare me for my soon to come journey into punk.

Sunday Bloody Sunday was a response one a horrific incident that formed part of The Troubles occuring in 1972. The staccato music is reminiscent of volleys of bullets and Bono’s piercing wail evokes the distress a witness to the incident might have expressed.

If you talk to Fi about Ireland’s history, it doesn’t take long before you hear of these and more horrific incidents that took place. Sunday Bloody Sunday is one of the more eloquent protest songs asking to redress a past that has damaged so many.