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U2 History - Part 8

U2 began their tour in August before the release of their new album. Unlike their past tours, U2 were now performing in front of large audiences. Despite this, their shows still sold out, an example being the April 1 1985 Madison Square Garden show, New York, in which all 20,000 seats were sold in 1 hour. However U2 were also not without their dramas, where in January 1985, the Radio City Music Hall show in New York was stopped 18 times by fans running on to the stage. At one point, a security guard even pulled a gun on Bono. In addition, U2 toured Australia and New Zealand for the first time, despite their hectic schedule in finishing their album.

However the most memorable performance came during Live Aid at the Wembley Stadium on July 1985. U2 were headlined with 22 other acts and had to perform in a 15 minute time slot at 5 in the afternoon. But Bono got carried away, not only did he run over the fifteen minute time slot, he also went out to the crowd and hugged a woman. After this, Bono felt that he had failed himself and the band as a whole. So Bono spent days driving out by himself wondering why he had been so foolish during the performance that was meant to help raise money to save lives in Ethiopia.

But as he drove, he met a sculptor called Newross. He had begun work on a sculpture called "The Leap" which was inspired by Bono's gesture to the crowd. Bono - "he was trying to capture the spirit of the day ... the U2 piece. I thought to myself if a person who's so removed from rock 'n' roll can understand that, maybe it wasn't such a big mistake".

After this, Bono and his wife, Alison, went to Ethiopia for five weeks working as volunteers for World Vision on an educational relief project. The fact that this was unpublicized also gave Bono the benefit of preventing the press from forming their own opinions on their move.

U2 Articles The History of U2 The History of U2 - Part 1 The History of U2 - Part 2 The History of U2 - Part 3 The History of U2 - Part 4 The History of U2 - Part 5 The History of U2 - Part 6 The History of U2 - Part 7 The History of U2 - Part 8 The History of U2 - Part 9 The Story of U2 The Story of U2 - Part 1 The Story of U2 - Part 2 The Story of U2 - Part 3 The Story of U2 - Part 4 The Story of U2 - Part 5 The Story of U2 - Part 6 The Story of U2 - Part 7 The Story of U2 - Part 8 U2 News & More U2 - January 1993 U2 - Worlds Most Popular Rock Act U2 Earnings - 2001 U2 In Africa U2 Performs for iPod Commercial U2 Gets Replacement Recording Studio U2 Article Index