'A Sense of Belonging'
09 April 2009



Anton Corbijn has been helping to define U2 since 1982, producing iconic photographic images that capture the sound and feeling of each new album. Think of the band in the snow for 'War', in the desert for 'The Joshua Tree' or at the departure gate for 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' and you are thinking of an Anton Corbijn shot.

In the first of a two part interview for U2.com Anton talked to us about making 'Linear', the film the band invited him to shoot as a companion piece for 'No Line On The Horizon'. (You can unlock a download of the film by buying the digipack, magazine or hardback book box format of the album.)

Here, in the second part of the interview, Anton talks about photographing the band for the new album, remembers how he first got started with them and identifies the times when the music, performance and photography were the most perfect match. He has, he says, � a sense of belonging� with U2.


Once again you are involved, as photographer, with the imagery of the band that accompanies the album. What is the thinking behind it?
It was my insistence that we shoot in Dublin this time. I really felt it was a way to go back to basics and show four guys from Ireland that had come so far with their music. Unfortunately, we had so little time to shoot: two hours, instead of two days. We did it on the beach and against a wall. Very basic things. The wall was very Dublin-like to me, as a connoisseur of walls around the world.
I don't think they thought much of the shoot but once they saw the results I think they were impressed. The images have a certain strength. I also had one hour photographing them in Morocco, in 2007, so it is a mix of those things. But then 27 years of working together kicks in.

What do you think the latest images say about the band?
They show a group of people who have been around the world for 30 years, there is a wisdom and maturity about them, but there is still the element that is punky. Edgy. That's how they started, influenced by bands like the Clash. You still find that now, in the photographs.

How did you first start working with them?
It was a magazine assignment, to shoot them in New Orleans for the New Musical Express in 1982. In those days I hadn't travelled as much, and I fancied going there so I said yes. I have to say I listened to them for the first time on the plane going over. It was 'October'. I was not too impressed. They were playing on a boat. I thought I would listen to a few songs and then sneak off into New Orleans for a while. Nobody told me that the boat would be moving. I couldn't leave. But I liked them a lot as people, and they asked me to do the band shots for the next record.

You produced images of them in greatcoats in the snow that still define the album 'War' and that period in music for many people. How did that come about?
I had about 20 minutes to shoot them in the snow in Sweden. There was a problem with the helicopter and I arrived just before it got dark. There was a fight to get the image on the gatefold sleeve, because it was not what Bono wanted. There is a struggle always between Bono's big ideas and my photography. He always wants something bigger, more of a big fist. Sometimes I think in my photographs there is too much of a hint of emotion or something fragile and I don't think he wants that for himself. But then five years down the line, he would not want it any other way and he loves it. It has been that forever, for us.

Are you aware of bringing a European sensibility to the band?
I can't help it. I am definitely formed by Dutch and German ways of looking at visuals, and our history of that. I think that the Irish are not a very strong visual country like the Dutch or the German. They are a great literary country.

The new pictures have an obvious heritage in the black and white images of 'Rattle and Hum' and 'Joshua Tree', but inbetween there was the riotous colour of 'Achtung Baby' and 'Pop'. What happened there?
It was experimental for both of us. The idea for the 'Achtung Baby' photographs came from Bono seeing the work I did for Depeche Mode. Strong colours, very graphic. He liked that a lot. It was a reaction to the strength of the 'Joshua Tree' imagery.
You could not get any more serious than the 'Joshua Tree' pictures, but I still think it is the perfect photography for that album. After that, I think they were very keen to show that there were other sides to them. The music had the same issues.

At which moments do you think the music, the performance and the photography matched each other most perfectly?
I think 'War', 'Joshua Tree', 'Achtung Baby' and perhaps this one as well. Those are the ones I would say that were totally right, because there were strong ideas and they felt natural in their development. I didn't like the sleeve to 'Atomic Bomb' so much. It didn't have that strength.

As if photography and film were not enough, you also do other work, don't you?
Yes. For example, for Depeche Mode I design album covers, do the logos and stage shows. I don't do that for U2, they won't let me! Apart from that I designed a logo for the city where I live, The Hague. I have also been photographing a lot of strangers [the subject of one of his many books ]. That's what I like.

It's fair to say, though, that a special relationship now exists between you and U2. How close do you feel to the band, after 27 years?
I would find it very hard to see [images of] U2 without me, to be honest. Not because I want my name on everything but because I feel a connection to what they are doing. A sense of belonging.

source: U2.com