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by Andrew Hudspith

THe anticipation was high as I boarded the coach in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Could U2 follow the brilliant Joshua Tree album with comparable live shows???.

On arrival at Elland Road we milled around for a while and watched sets by:
The Fall, The Mission and The Pretenders. A good supporting cast I thought at
the time.

Now approaching 2030 hours it was time for the show. Stand By Me came across
the pa system but we couldn't see the band. After about 2 minutes Bono and
the boys emerged from the wings and the whole stadium came alive. Then it was
the old classic "I will Follow" which was well received.

For the next hour and a half all the hits were aired with several highlights.
These included Bonos dedication of "I Trip Through your Wires" to Frank
Sinatra and a snippet of "Break on Through" during "The Electric Co". This
was in addition to a line from "Love Will Tear us Apart" on "With or Without
You".

For the encores we got "Bullet the Blue Sky" "Party Girl" and "40". Bono
opened up a bottle of champagne, thanked the support bands and toasted the
whole audience. The whole stadium signing along to "40" was a sight that will
remain with me for many years to come.

We left the stadium satisfied and happy. The boys had indeed pulled it off.

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