U2 - Go Home: Live From Slane Castle

Starring: Bono, The Edge Director: Enda Hughes, Hamish Hamilton Original UK Premiere: 2001 Dvd Release: 17th November, 2003 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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U2 is an Irish rock band featuring Bono on vocals & guitar, The Edge on guitar & pianos, vocals & bass, Adam Clayton on bass & guitar & Larry Mullen, Jr. on drums. U2 has been one of the most popular rock bands in the world since the 1980s. The band is also very politically active in human rights causes. The band was formed in Dublin in October 1976. 14-year-old Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a note on his secondary school bulletin board seeking musicians for a new band. The response that followed that note resulted in a 5-piece band, known at the time as Feedback, with Mullen on drums, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, Paul Hewson on vocals, Dave Evans & his brother Dik on guitar. Bono was named after Bonavox, a store that sold hearing aids & The Edge got his name from Bono who thought it was an accurate description of his head. After 18 months of rehearsals, Feedback changed their name to The Hype. The band performed with their new name at a talent show in Limerick, Ireland on 17 March 1978. Posters Of U2

When I heard that this show was going to be released as a DVD, I was a little apprehensive. There was already a DVD issued from the Elevation tour & feared fans might find a home town event too parochial.

So many events conspired to make this show truly unique. Slane Castle has been host to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Guns n Roses, Thin Lizzy, Queen, Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers but was never headlined by U2 until 2001.

The first Slane show on August 25th sold out in 10 minutes, 80000 tickets in 10 minutes. The result was that a second show had to be held. This meant that planning permission had to be pushed through very quickly by the Irish government.

The setting for the concert is unique & magnificent. The hill outside the castle is a natural amphitheatre. The castle itself was lit up with various colours throughout the show. Behind the castle lies the river Boyne, the setting for the 1690 battle that has left so much emotional baggage between the 2 people who share the island of Ireland.

The 2 other events that make this show equally jubilant & emotional is fact the Bono was in mourning over the death of his father. The funeral was the eve of the first Slane show. However, the truly magnificent event that had the crowd on a high all day was the World cup qualifier held that afternoon in Dublin. The 2nd half of the match was screened to the Slane audience.

A chance of an Irish victory was slim & was further reduced when Ireland where reduced to 10 men. Imagine the ecstasy of the crowd when Jason Mc Ateer hammered home the only goal of the game to knock the mighty Dutch out of the world cup & keep Ireland on the path to the world cup.

These 2 events are so apparent during a lot of the banter with the crowd. Kite is dedicated to his father Bob Hewson, Bono changes the words of beautiful day to beautiful goal in reference to Jason Mc Ateers wonder goal. .

Other highlights include, Sunday Bloody Sunday, in which Bono recalls the names of the victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing. This is quite powerful as it helps to humanise the victims instead of making them statistics of a bloody outrage. The Boyne river in the background makes the message even more potent & relevant.

Bullet the blue sky is brilliant. The introduction by Sinead O Connor is inspired. However they did leave out the Charlton Heston footage at the end of the song. The only cringe-worthy shot is Bonos Ireland flag waving moment, however considering the days events, he does go out of his way to explain its just once, just once for Jason Mc Ateer & not some jingoistic retarded nationalistic jesture. Mysterious ways was taken from the main track selection & placed on the DVD as a bonus track. No idea why, but its a great tune made all the better by Bonos daughter accompanying him on stage. Likewise he dedicates All I want is you to his wife Ali. Bono also summons up their early days with a rendition of their first single Out of control. During which he recounts the story of raising the 2000 pounds necessary to fund the band & how the band decided to stay & live in Dublin with the tribe.

This is a truly unique, excellent & uplifting DVD that all U2 fans will enjoy & which U2 themselves will find difficult to replicate again.

The Edge is a 1997 survival & relationship drama film starring Anthony Hopkins as a billionaire magazine publicist & Alec Baldwin as one of his ambitious employees. Elle Macpherson has a supporting role as Hopkins trophy wife & model for his magazine & is sought after by Baldwin. On a trip to rural Alaska for a photo shoot, their plane crashes into a lake & Hopkins & Baldwin must work together to fend off natural hazards including a huge bear & themselves & make it back to civilization. The movie was written by David Mamet & despite the unusual setting, it touches upon many themes common to Mamets other works. This story examines different masculinity styles to great effect. Posters Of The Edge

Editors Choice: U2, Live At Slane Castle, Live In Boston, View DVDology

Hamish Hamilton is a British book publisher, founded eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton. Hamilton was an Olympic rower at medal winner, a language student at Cambridge & employed by the book department at Harrods before founding his own publishing house in the 1930s. Hamish Hamilton originally specialized in fiction & was responsible for publishing a number of American authors in the United Kingdom - including J,D. Salinger s Catcher in the Rye. Hamish Hamilton Law & Hamish Hamilton Medical were started in 1939 but closed during the war. Hamish Hamilton was established in Bloomsbury, London & went on to publish a large number of promising British & American authors, a large number of whom were personal friends & acquaintances of Jamie Hamilton. Jamie Hamilton sold the firm to the Thomson Organisation in 1965, who resold it to Penguin Books in 1986. Posters Of U2

Editors Choice: U2, Live At Slane Castle, Madonna, Robbie Williams, Westlife, Live In London, The Corrs, Live Aus Berlin, View DVDology

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