It’s been a rough few years for Bono and the gang, which has seen them struggle to shake off the negativity that was piled upon them after inserting Songs of Innocence onto every Apple library without users consent in 2014. But this hasn’t stopped them from returning to the stage with their 30th anniversary tour of 1987’s album The Joshua Tree. Could this be U2 attempting to reaffirm their position as one of the world’s greatest bands before releasing a new album? Potentially. They debuted new track ‘Little Things’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live! back in May and have played the song whilst touring. But aside from the question of why they’re on the road, how does their legendary album sound thirty years later? Well, we had to wait through a set from Noel Gallagher to find out.
The Oasis man, who's good pals with Bono, took to the stage with his High Flying Birds for the first time in almost a year. With their sound filling the vastness of Twickenham stadium, NGHFB opened their hour long set with first album single ‘Everybody’s on The Run’. The U2 crowd seem to be a great fit for Noel, with all in attendance joining him in his rendition of Oasis classic ‘Champagne Supernova’. Without taking anything away from the newer tracks, it’s the Oasis numbers that get people excited, with Noel opting for acoustic tracks, giving ‘Half The World Away’, ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Little By Little’ an airing.
As for U2, things started when Larry Mullen Jr walked alone from the back of the stage, to the smaller tree shaped second stage. As if U2’s LED video screen, made up of 1,040 individual panels wasn’t impressive enough, stage two is a perfect shadow of the tree which features on the screen. As he kicks into the instantly recognisable beat of ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, the cheers get louder while Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton descend on the walkway to join the drummer.
When heritage bands return, the singer is often criticised on their vocal abilities, but Bono isn’t somebody who can be accused of losing his touch. He was as smooth as ever on stage and commanded absolute attention from the massive crowd. After making a fitting speech about differences on the day of the pride parade, Bono bellowed out ‘Pride', giving a masterclass in being a frontman. Then came the moment the tour is all about. As the band made their way back to the main stage, the first sounds of 'Where The Streets Have No Name' echoed around the stadium. As they plowed through the heroic first three tracks of the album ('I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For + 'With Or Without You') it was clear that not only have the tracks stood the test of time, but also their ability to perform.
After playing Joshua Tree in full, a touching version of 'Miss Sarajevo’, was played in front of a changing screen of influential women including, Malala Yousafzai, Pussy Riot and Emmeline Pankhurst. Following that was a blistering half an hour of classics, including: 'Beautiful Day', 'Elevation' and 'Vertigo'.
The end of the show was one that nobody could have predicted. Though leaving it out of his set earlier on, Noel Gallagher was invited back to perform an acoustic version of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’. It truly was a special moment and especially poignant given the recent events that shook Manchester. It was a touch of class from U2, quietly playing along while Noel had the limelight, dedicating the finale to the northern city.
