U2 red rocks movie#
The segments in which the band was delivered to the site via helicopter appeared to be from the epic war movie Apocalypse Now. The pelting rain and swirling mists that rolled in over the mountains gave the setting a dramatic, eerie quality, something akin to a Scottish moor. Later, the drama made its way to the wonderful U2 At Red Rocks (a rock documentary aired on the Showtime national cable television service) and Under A Blood Red Sky (a video and live album). From that point on, it was more akin to a church service, a tangible exchange between a band fulfilling its promise as a premier musical outfit and its soaked, shivering fans. The event ceased being a concert after the second song. The 19-song show has gone down as one of U2’s defining moments. “If only eight people turned up, we were still going to play like our lives depended on it,” Bono said. U2 took the stage despite all of the operational nightmares. Out of the 6,000 advance sales, 4,400 ticketholders showed up to deal with the nightmarish elements. If you want to come, then come, and if you don’t, then we’ll do the show over again tomorrow at CU.’” “I said, ‘We’re going to do the show tonight at Red Rocks. Bono went on the radio-he called local stations KBPI, KPPL, KPKE, KTCL and KAZY. They then planned to do a proper show with Divinyls and the Alarm at an indoor venue on the University of Colorado campus the following night. U2 decided to play without a warm-up act for all who braved the weather. We had to explain to him there was no way we could afford for it not to take place. “We heard that (promoter) Barry Fey was coming back into town, very cross that this concert couldn’t take place at Red Rocks. “We’d paid all the camera people’s wages, we’d paid their flights over. “The Red Rocks area was in a cloud, a rainstorm,” Bono said. It was no place to be holding a concert, but with all the investment in one show, canceling or moving it was out of the question economically. Temperatures dropped to 40 degrees at showtime, and a day’s worth of drizzle evolved into a deluge. Special effects including backdrops and two bonfires on the rocks were generated.īut on the day of the show, miserable weather moved in and threatened to ruin the entire scenario. Steve Lillywhite, the producer of U2’s albums, was also transported from Europe to properly record the live audio on location. Gavin Taylor, the director of The Tube (an avant-garde English video program), was flown over to oversee the filming. However, the band proceeded with the lofty plans.
U2 red rocks full#
For the full effect of the mountain scenery to be caught on camera, the huge rocks had to be lit up at a cost of $40,000, according to McGuinness. No one had ever attempted such a project before, and it was a costly proposition. “We were going to invest that money into documenting our victorious tour.”įrom day one, the logistics proved to be formidable. trip where a record ( War) was doing quite well, a (writer and a) few people in radio got behind us-we might have made some money,” lead singer Bono said. By that time, the college-radio underdogs had made a mark on the rock scene by dint of honest, emotional performances. Three years later, U2 carried out the commitment when Red Rocks was booked for June 5, 1983. They immediately fell in love with Colorado’s classy outdoor venue, and manager Paul McGuinness vowed that one day they would film a performance there. Promoter Chuck Morris knew the young Irish band was destined for greater things and wanted to show off Red Rocks to the members. In 1980, U2 came through Denver on its first American tour, playing at the now-defunct Rainbow Music Hall. However, a lot of things had to go wrong in order for the show to come off so right. The natural wonder of the Red Rocks setting wasn’t cemented in the imaginations of rockers everywhere until U2 staged a now-famous concert video, Under A Blood Red Sky.
Today, it ranks as one of the planet’s most awesome and important concert locales. Nestled in the foothills of Morrison, Colorado, 20 minutes from downtown Denver, Red Rocks is a geologic phenomenon-an acoustically perfect amphitheatre not duplicated anywhere in the world, a visual marvel of natural rock formations.
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