Me & U2 - Their music my life


Hello. My name is Cathal McCarron and I'm a U2 fan.

Welcome to the website for my book about both: about me, and about U2. It's my story set against the backdrop of their career.



"I think U2 fans will love it" efdeat @U2 Forum


I've been a U2 fan since 1985, when I was a twelve year old boy growing up in Derry in Northern Ireland, and like millions of people I fell under Bono's spell whilst watching Live Aid on TV. And they've been with me down all the days ever since, providing the musical accompaniment to many big, small, important and irrelevant moments in my life. This is the story of the many places where, the many times when, and the many ways how, U2 have inspired, entertained, influenced and enraged me: with their music, their lyrics,
their concerts and their concepts.



"You have described the full range of emotions that I have felt many times on listening to
U2's music - and made me laugh out loud too!" Scott

meandu2

2009-09-02
EuroTour: biking for the Lisbon Treaty.

Article Added by Chary
Thanks to an intrepid friend of EuropeanIrish, called Almudena, we heard about José, a Madrid man living in Brussels who is currently biking through many Irish towns and cities as part of a group of about thirty people all from different countries. This is an initiative promoted by the “Ireland for Europe” movement, the aim of which is to call for the “yes” vote for Europe in the upcoming elections on the 2nd of October in relation to the Lisbon Treaty. This EuroTour is scheduled to pass through some of the biggest cities in Ireland, such as Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Carlow and some other towns in the south and south-west of the country and will cover a total of over 700 kilometres.

Some very well-known people are due to participate in this cycle, for example Seamus Heaney (Nobel prize for literature), Pat Cox (ex-President of the European Parliament), Robbie Keane (captain of the Irish soccer team), Jim Sheridan (film director, “In the Name of the Father”) or the Edge (guitarist with U2).
For more details, please consult the article in the El Mundo newspaper.

europeanirish

Cirque boss's space trip to have serious message - aside from the clown nose
By Peter Rakobowchuk (CP) – 4 days ago

MONTREAL — The founder of the Cirque du soleil may do some clowning around when he visits the International Space Station later this month - even if his primary goal is serious.

Guy Laliberte says he'll carry an important message about conserving water and he's enlisting a variety of celebrities, from former U.S. vice-president Al Gore to pop stars Shakira and U2, to rally around his cause.

But the man behind the famous circus will find a way to temporarily transform the space station into a celestial big top. His plan involves a familiar red face ornament.

"I will probably wear my clown's nose at some moment of that (trip)," Laliberte told a news conference which was broadcast live from Moscow on the web.

The Quebec billionaire added that he plans to pack away nine bright red noses in his space luggage. They'll be shared with his fellow travellers aboard the space station. Laliberte also plans to do some juggling in the gravity-free environment.

When Canadian astronaut Julie Payette made her first trip to the space station in 1999, she brought along a clown's nose given to her by the Cirque.

"It's quite funny, after all those years, I'm bringing a clown's nose," Laliberte said. "We're building up to nine and eventually there may be a million out there!"

Set to become Canada's first space tourist - for the hefty return-fare price of $35 million - Laliberte shared details of his upcoming mission at a news conference Wednesday. It also happened to be his 50th birthday.

The 12-day mission will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Laliberte stressed that, clown noses aside, his main focus will be what he describes as his poetic social mission in space.

He's planning a live webcast of events in 14 cities on five continents on Oct. 9. Each event will have its own theme related to water.

Laliberte announced that a list of international personalities will take part, including Gore, several rock stars like U2, Peter Gabriel and Shakira, and Julie Payette.

"In every one of those 14 cities, there will be a place where there'll be a stage performance with a big screen and, at the same time, there will be the presentation of the poetic social mission," he said.

The live performances will take part in a theatre or at an outdoor venue, starting in Montreal and ending in Moscow. New York City, Tokyo, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and London are among the other cities taking part.

Laliberte said that, for two hours, world-renowned figures will pay tribute to water.

"All these people are with me because they share the same worries we have about water," he said.

"They also share my belief that through art and emotion we can convey a universal message."

Laliberte said that, to his great surprise, most of the people approached "reacted positively" and made room on their agenda to be part of the event.

Laliberte said he has dreamed about going into space ever since the first U.S. moon landing in 1969 - and has been ready to go, at any opportunity.

"I've always said if ever an alien space ship comes and offers me a ride I'll go on it."

google

It Might Get Loud



fan's love letter to the art of the six-string, Davis Guggenheim’s documentary convenes a summit of guitar gods from three generations: Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge and The White Stripes' Jack White. The resulting jam session ought to be a music geek’s wet dream, but there’s not enough common ground to produce more than a few flashes of inspiration. Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) devotes most of the film to individual profiles. White, interviewed in his ramshackle barn in rural Tennessee, preaches the neo-primitivist gospel of creative struggle, and bemoans the "disease" of "ease of use." Tucked into a corner of a rickety attic that looks as if it might collapse at any second, he bangs out ideas on a beat-up guitar, capturing them with a vintage microphone and an old reel-to-reel deck. Even a guitar is a luxury, as he proves by constructing an electrified diddly-bow on his front porch out of wire, nails and a glass soda bottle. Page and the Edge aren't nearly so revealing, although the latter ingratiates himself by demonstrating the two-chord progression behind U2's "Elevation," which stripped of its forest of effects pedals seems almost comically crude. Throughout the film, Guggenheim teases bits of the climactic tête-a-tête-à-tête, building expectations that are perhaps inevitably left unfulfilled. It's polite enough, but there’s no sense of genuine chemistry; you can’t see the three getting together to jam on weekends. Like the movie itself, their convocation is amicable but uninspired, placing their talent side by side but never synthesizing them into something new. —Sam Adams
citypaper

Q&A: It Might Get Loud Director Davis Guggenheim
Posted by Tricia Olszewski on Sep. 4, 2009, at 4:41 pm



It Might Get Loud is Davis Guggenheim’s summer after science class. The director has followed up his Oscar-winning 2006 documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, with a film that nourishes his inner music fan, another doc that brings together three titans of rock — Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s the Edge, and the White Stripes’ Jack White — to jam, talk about how they got started, and ruminate on that most revolutionary of rock ‘n’ roll instruments, the electric guitar.

The film, opening in the Washington area today, is as narratively loose and occasionally meandering as a casual noodling session. It’s occasionally trippy, such as when a child shows up dressed exactly like White and plays along with him in several scenes. (One passing mention tells us it’s White as a kid. Which doesn’t really explain much.) It’s often thrilling, such as when the three musicians learn each other’s hits or, near the end, perform a soulfully imperfect version of the Band’s “The Weight.”

But most of all, It Might Get Loud is intimate. Guggenheim captured some astonishing moments here, including White composing a song on the spot or the Edge admitting that he sometimes feels “like a complete idiot” if inspiration doesn’t strike. The highlight, though? A shot of Page standing over a record player while Link Wray’s “Rumble” spins, a huge smile across the legend’s bobbing head.

And then he air-guitars.

Guggenheim spent some time talking about the film with Washington City Paper, sometimes sounding like he’d be just as happy bouncing in a 9:30 club mosh pit as standing behind a camera.

WCP: I’ve had a hard time describing this movie. It’s not really a three-way biopic, it’s not a doc about the electric guitar. How do you sum it up?

That’s the challenge in selling the movie. I think of it as a reinvention of the rock documentary. Edge talks in the movie about how when [U2] started out as a band, they knew what they didn’t want to be — that’s how we started. We knew we didn’t want to be a documentary about car wrecks and drug overdoses.

WCP: You’ve said that you didn’t want the film to speak to music critics.

No music critics. This is personal portraiture. We wanted to create an event where these three guys, three generations of [musicians], come together and teach each other how to play.

WCP: Whose idea was it?

[Producer] Thomas Tull said, “I want to make a film about the electric guitar.” And then Lesley Chilcott, Peter Afterman, and I thought, How do we do this different? Rock stars are kind of mysterious creatures. How do you puncture through that?

WCP: How did you pick the three?

Jimi Hendrix was not available — we checked. You know, there’s a burnout factor. Some rock stars, sober or not, you have to put subtitles for what they’re saying…so I didn’t want to do that. We wanted to find three guys who could [intelligibly] talk about what they did. These guys are searchers; people who’ve found their voice. This is a movie about three distinct characters and how they found their voice. I think that’s [the best way] to sum up what the movie’s about.

WCP: Had they met each other before?

Glancing hellos…I don’t think Edge and Jack ever met. I think Jimmy and Jack had met.

WCP: How much footage did you shoot of them together?

Two days. From the minute they said, “Hello,” we were filming.

WCP: Did you give them any instructions?

No instruction, no notes, no background. They were all calling me on their own and saying, “What do you want me to do? What do you want me to play?” And I was nervous about that, because they were nervous.

But I had this instinct that what they came up with on their own would have this energy to it. I bought into a process more than I bought into an idea. And the process was: “Let’s let these guys tell their own stories.” There are no girlfriends, no rock critics, no historians, no band mates. And wouldn’t that be interesting? You see something about Bob Dylan, and he talks about 5 percent of the time. Here, Jimmy Page tells his own story — and it’s emotional, ethereal. More than accurate, I wanted it to be personal.

WCP: And unlike how musicians can sound during more formal, promotional interviews, none of them seemed rehearsed or jaded. They all seemed really passionate. Especially the “Rumble” moment. It must have been great to catch that.

And the thing is, if I had asked Jimmy, “Hey, play your favorite song and air-guitar,” he probably would have said no. But, organically, we just started talking and I said, “That album you’re talking about — let’s listen to it.” Everyone wants to tell their own story. You just have to encourage them, get them to relax, get them to trust.


(Edge (l), Guggenheim)

WCP: Did you see any diva behavior? Jack White seemed like such a contrarian. Like when he talking about learning an instrument when he was a kid and said, “Everyone plays guitar. Why bother?” Almost to the point of being angry.

I would love to have a diva story. I don’t. Maybe because they were around each other? Musicians, when they get around each other, are very generous. I mean, when Jimmy plays “Whole Lotta Love,” it was kind of a throwdown, like “Look what I can do.” And then you see Jack and Edge go, “Oh, OK. Now it’s time for me to step up.” Edge teaches Jimmy and Jack to play “I Will Follow.” It was a gradual opening-up.

WCP: Were you concerned about it all coming across as too self-congratulatory?

Friends of mine have called it a love letter — too glossified, maybe I’m too much of a fan? And I’ve done harder stuff, like An Inconvenient Truth. But I didn’t want [Behind the Music-esque drama] to distract from what these guys did. I wanna know, How do you write a song? How did Led Zeppelin become Led Zeppelin, while all the other bands sort of fell away? Why did all these punk bands disappear, and why did U2 remain? What is it about their path, what is it about who they were that made them so distinct?

They each in the movie have a deep crisis. But it’s more of a soulful, I don’t know who I am, I don’t know how to write crisis. Now that may not be as sexy as a band mate dying, but I wanted the movie to be about something more.

WCP: Who did you find yourself more in awe around: the rock stars or Al Gore?

The rock stars. I mean, when you work, you’re working — I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. But then when they’d play a song, you can’t help but go…[total fan face]. So it’s harder to stay focused when you’re right there, alone in a studio with Jimmy Page playing to you.

WCP: What kind of music do you listen to?

Right now, I like this band called Department of Eagles. And Delta Spirit. I love new music. Though I’m listening to a lot more Led Zeppelin right now. I love Dead Weather. [White's newest project.] It’s pretty hardcore — Jack is still pushing it. He’s so distinct, even in his three bands.

WCP: Speaking of Jack, who was that little kid in the movie who helped tell his story?

That’s Jack White as a 9-year-old boy. Did it throw you off?

WCP: A little bit.

Yeah. Jack said to me, “I want to teach myself how to play guitar.” And I was like, cool. And the next day he shows up in a hat and a bowtie and a suit, and in the back, seriously, was a 9-year-old kid dressed exactly like him. And he said, “Davis, this is Jack. Jack, this is Davis.”

WCP: Any idea how he found the kid?

Not a clue. I let them tell their own stories, and how he told his was quintessential Jack.

WCP: The kid was good.

The kid was good. [Pause.] How do you know it’s not him as a 9-year-old?

WCP: You just blew my mind.
washingtoncitypaper

Bono saves Spider-Man
Posted: Wednesday 2 Sep 2009

U2 rocker BONO has rescued the ill-fated SPIDER-MAN musical by arranging financing to keep the show afloat.

Bono and bandmate The Edge wrote the music to accompany the Broadway extravaganza, which was announced to much fanfare last year (08).

But work on the stage show stopped last month (Aug09), amid rumours producers Hello Entertainment were encountering financial problems.

Show bosses were forced to deny the musical had been scrapped altogether, after reports crew and castmembers, including Evan Rachel Wood, had been released from their contracts.

Producers insisted Spider-Man would still debut in New York in February 2010, and a newspaper report now suggests Bono is Spider-Man's saviour - the Irish rocker having convinced wealthy friends to invest in the show.

New York Post columnist Michael Riedel writes, "Bono's too smart to put his own money in the show, but word on the street is that he's tapped into his vast network of rich friends and business associates to restart production.

"Bono feeds half of Africa. So raising a few more million for Spider-Man shouldn't be too difficult."

new-magazine

U2's Spider-Man Musical Back On
09/03/09 2:01pm


by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

U2's Spider-Man musical resumed production on Wednesday after it was sidelined due to financial issues last month.

Not all of those responsible for Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark have been called back to work, as Variety reports that some, but not all, of the cash the musical needs has been acquired. The musical's capitalization costs are estimated to be more than $35 million U.S. (about $39 million Canadian).

U2's Bono and The Edge wrote the music and lyrics to Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, which is being directed by Julie Taymor (Frida, Across The Universe). It stars Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler, Thirteen) and Alan Cumming (The L Word).

Tickets for Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark go on sale Sept. 12. The musical will be previewed on Feb. 25 at Los Angeles' Hilton Theatre.

U2 will appear on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on Sept. 26. SNL cast member Bill Hader recently announced the Irish quartet's appearance on the Access Hollywood television program. Megan Fox (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, Jennifer's Body) will host the episode.

U2 will play these shows in support of No Line On The Horizon:

Sept. 12-13 Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
Sept. 16-17 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
Sept. 20-21 Foxborough, MA @ Gilette Stadium
Sept. 24-25 New York, NY @ Giants Stadium
Sept. 29 Landover, MD @ FedEx Field
Oct. 1 Charlottesville, VA @ Scott Stadium
Oct. 3 Raleigh, NC @ Carter-Finley Stadium
Oct. 6 Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Dome
Oct. 9 Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
Oct. 12 Dallas, TX @ New Cowboys Stadium
Oct. 14 Houston, TX @ Reliant Stadium
Oct. 18 Norman, OK @ Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Oct. 20 Phoenix, AZ @ University Of Phoenix Stadium
Oct. 23 Las Vegas, NV @ Sam Boyd Stadium
Oct. 25 Los Angeles, CA @ Rose Bowl
Oct. 28 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium
chartattack

RIALTO CHATTER: Work To Resume On SPIDER-MAN's Hilton Home
September 1, 2009



"SPIDER-MAN, Turn Off the Dark" is set to play at Broadway's Hilton Theatre, 213 West 42nd Street.

The New York Times reports today that "modest construction work is expected to resume on Wednesday morning at Broadway's Hilton Theater to prepare for the new musical production "SPIDER-MAN, Turn Off the Dark," even though the ultimate fate of the show is still in limbo, three people involved with the production said this afternoon."

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Michael Riedel reported in his Broadway Matinee column in the The New York Post earlier last month that 'SPIDER-MAN' had hit a snag on the road to Broadway. HELLO Entertainment, one of the producers of "SPIDER-MAN, Turn Off The Dark" offered the following statement to MTV News:

"HELLO Entertainment is aware of the speculation about the future of Spider-Man on Broadway and is RE-CONFIRMING that the plan is to resume production shortly and preview on February 25th, 2010 at the Hilton Theatre when cash flow issues have been resolved."

Drawing from over forty years of Marvel comic books for inspiration, SPIDER-MAN spins a new take on the mythic tale of a young man propelled from a modest rowhouse in Queens to the sky-scraping spire of the Chrysler Building, the bustling offices of the Daily Bugle, through the dizzying canyons of Manhattan, to new vistas never before seen. The musical follows the story of teenager Peter Parker, whose unremarkable life is turned upside-down-literally-when he's bitten by a genetically altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to his bedroom ceiling. This bullied science-geek-suddenly endowed with astonishing powers-soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains test not only his physical strength but also his strength of character. Spider-Man's battles will hurtle the audience through an origin story both recognizable and unexpected--yielding new characters as well as familiar faces--until a final surprising confrontation casts a startling new light on this hero's journey.

The principal creative and design team for SPIDER-MAN includes Daniel Ezralow, Choreographer (Across the Universe, The Green Bird); George Tsypin, Sets (The Magic Flute, The Little Mermaid); Eiko Ishioka, Costumes (Academy Award® for Bram Stoker's Dracula, Tony Award® nomination for M. Butterfly, the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics); Donald Holder, Lighting (Tony® Awards for The Lion King, South Pacific); Jonathan Deans, Sound (Fosse, The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil, Young Frankenstein, Ragtime); and Teese Gohl, Musical Supervisor (Across the Universe, Frida). Additional members of the SPIDER-MAN creative team will be announced at a later date.

Julie Taymor (Co-Book Writer, Director). Julie Taymor's latest film, Across The Universe, received a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Musical/Comedy in 2008. Her first film Fool's Fire, an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe short story, aired on PBS in 1992. She directed her first feature, Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange in 1999. Frida, about the Mexican painter, starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina, received five Academy Award® nominations including a nomination for Taymor for Best Original Song for "Burn it Blue," and two Oscars® in 2002. Taymor's next film is The Tempest staring Dame Helen Mirren, Djimon Honsou and Russell Brand. Taymor has received numerous awards for The Lion King, which opened on Broadway in 1997, including two Tony® Awards-one for best direction and one for her original costume designs. The Lion King has been seen on eleven stages worldwide. She also earned a Tony Award ® nomination for Best Direction and Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Juan Darien. Recent opera productions include an original opera, Grendel, composed by Elliot Goldenthal, which premiered at the Los Angeles Opera and subsequently at the Lincoln Center Festival (2006). Her direction of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 and is now in repertoire there. Taymor has received a MacArthur "genius" grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, two OBIE Awards, the first Annual Dorothy B. Chandler Award in Theater, and the 1990 Brandeis Creative Arts Award among many others. A book spanning her career, Julie Taymor: Playing With Fire, is in its third edition from Abrams.

BONO (Music & Lyrics). The lead singer of U2, Bono was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin. He met The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton at school, and in 1978 U2 was formed. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 have sold over 170 million albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammys.® Bono and The Edge have also received 4 Golden Globe® nominations including a win for "The Hands that Built America" from Gangs of New York, which was also nominated for an Academy Award, Best Original Song. In their first year of eligibility, U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their latest album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States and close to 10 million worldwide and it won all 3 Grammy Awards for which it was nominated in 2005 and all 5 Grammy Awards for which it was nominated in 2006. A new album, No Line On The Horizon, is due for release in March, 2009. Bono is a long-time activist in the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. He is the cofounder of ONE, an advocacy and campaigning organization with 2 million members dedicated to fighting extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. As part of his work with ONE, Bono has lobbied U.S. Presidents and Congressional leaders, along with the heads of many other G8 nations. In 2006, Bono and Bobby Shriver launched Product (RED). Product (RED) has an ongoing relationship with global brands that sell (RED) products, a percentage of profits from which are donated directly to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa. Bono has received a number of awards, including the Legion D'Honneur in 2003, Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2005 (alongside Bill & MeLinda Gates), and an honorary British knighthood in 2007. Bono lives in Dublin with his wife and children.

The Edge (Music & Lyrics). Guitarist with U2, The Edge was born David Howell Evans in east London. A year later, he and his family moved to Malahide, Co. Dublin, where he attended Mount Temple School and met Larry Mullen, Bono, and Adam Clayton. In 1978 U2 was formed. Described as one of the most influential guitar players of his generation, Edge's crystalline minimalist guitar playing is the hallmark of U2's music, and one of the most original and distinctive guitar styles in rock and roll history. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 have toured the globe countless times, have released 14 studio albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammys®. One of the principle songwriters of U2, The Edge has also written extensively for other projects, often in collaboration with Bono, including music for movies (Captive, Gangs of New York and GoldenEye); for animation (The "Batman" TV series); and for the stage (A Clockwork Orange by the Royal Shakespeare Company). Marked out by their politics from the beginning, U2 were awarded Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award in 2006. In 2005, The Edge co-founded Music Rising, a charity initiative which provides musical instruments for the musicians, schools and churches of the Gulf Region. The Edge lives in Dublin with his wife and children.

SPIDER-MAN is produced by HELLO Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment/David Maisel, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Jeremiah Harris, in association with Omneity Entertainment/Richard Weinberg, Jeffrey B. Hecktman, the Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, Patricia Lambrecht and Jam Theatricals/S2BN Entertainment.

SPIDER-MAN will now begin preview performances Thursday, February 25, 2010 at the Hilton Theatre with a new official opening date to be announced shortly. (The opening date was previously February 18, 2010). Tickets for the eagerly anticipated SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark are now on sale exclusively for American Express® cardmembers at Ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000, or at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

broadwayworld

U2 Stage Sets Trendsetting Hydraulics

The stage for U2’s 360° Tour is being constructed using Enerpac’s Synchronous Lift System, giving spectators all around the stage an unobstructed view of the band.

The Belgian company Stageco has constructed three gigantic, identical stages for the current U2 360° Tour. What makes this project special, is that high-pressure hydraulics are being used for the first time ever to assemble and dismantle the 254 ton construction - also known as “the claw”. Together with Enerpac, Stageco has developed a unique system, based on Enerpac’s Synchronous Lift System, to raise the modular construction to a height of 33 yards quickly and safely.

Being able to put on bigger and better shows than your competitors gives you a trump card in the entertainment world. Performances and tours by famous artists and bands have to look good, as is demonstrated by the glitz and special effects that are usually the main feature. The stage is crucial, and this is no different in U2’s 360° Tour. For this world tour, set designer Willy Williams and stage architect Mark Fisher came up with “the claw”, a 33 yards high stage construction on four legs, giving spectators all around the stage an unobstructed view of the band.



(“The claw”, a 33 yards high stage construction on four legs, giving spectators all around the stage an unobstructed view of the band.)



Stageco, a specialist company based in Tildonk, Belgium, was contacted for the construction of the stage. This was not the first time – Stageco also designed and built the stages for one of U2’s previous tours, the PopMart Tour in 1997.

Stageco is an undisputed market leader and primarily sets itself apart through customization. Over the years, the company has built stages for tours by artists such as the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Tina Turner, Elton John and Johnny Hallyday. Stageco provides a complete package, from technical design and manufacture, right up to logistics.

Since there is only a relatively short time between performances and a total of 7 to 8 days are needed to assemble and dismantle the stage construction, three whole stages have been constructed, which are used following the “leapfrogging” principle: one is used for the show, whilst the second is already being built at the next location and the third is being dismantled at the previous location.

Speed

One of the construction requirements was that the stage could be built and taken down again in a relatively short time. The challenge for Stageco was therefore how to assemble and dismantle the massive 254 ton construction each time. Logistics naturally also needed to be considered and a solution had to be found for the installation of the techniques (light and sound) and the special 66 ton video screen that also had to be raised and lowered each time. Chain hoists and winches are normally used for stages, with the support of relatively light mobile cranes where required. However, the load in this project was so great that a different solution was called for. One of the alternatives considered was the use of extremely heavy mobile cranes with a lifting capacity of at least 440 to 550 tons.

However, there was doubt as to whether such cranes would fit inside the stadiums where the concerts were due to take place and whether they could be stabilized sufficiently. The use of such cranes is also very expensive. Another alternative was a temporary hoisting construction and the use of hydraulics, for example, hydraulic strand jacks. Stageco eventually joined up with Enerpac as a source of new ideas and a customization-oriented partner.

The requirement was that the system had to be more or less plug and play. A ready-to-use hydraulic unit was required that would only need to be connected to the electricity supply and the operating computer. Together, the two companies came up with a highly effective solution which incorporated Enerpacs custom designed Synchronous Lift System to use high-pressure hydraulics for the first time ever for such heavy loads.



Gradual Lifting

The steel stage construction consists of a central “block” which rests upon four legs, each made up of six sections. The central block is gradually lifted off the ground in 38 steps and a section is added to each of the four legs after every 6 or 7 steps.

A temporary truss (lifting portal) containing a supporting frame at the top has been made for each leg.

Within each truss, a hydraulic pump unit, four high-pressure lifting cylinders (5000 psi), each with an applied pulling force of 22 tons and a 24 inch stroke, and four 0.6 ton low-pressure (870 psi) locking cylinders, each with a stroke of 10 inch, are all attached to a supporting frame, which moves along the guide rails.

The complete hoisting system for each stage therefore consists of 16 lifting cylinders, 16 locking cylinders and 4 fully hydraulic units. The lifting cylinders are fitted with a pressure transducer, a built-in stroke sensor and two proximity switches. The locking cylinders are also fitted with two proximity switches.

The hydraulic pump unit includes individual pumps - one for the lifting cylinders and one for the locking cylinders. The pump units are controlled according to the master/slave principle from a central operating computer on the ground, which has a touch screen with images showing the position of the various hydraulic cylinders and their position within the lifting portals. The force of each lifting cylinder and each lifting portal is also displayed, along with the total force. What is more, a local PLC has been installed on each platform so that the lifting platform can be operated locally if necessary.



Up & Down

First of all, the complete pump units are positioned in the lifting portals using a small mobile crane. At the beginning of the lifting process, the ends of the central block rest on the supporting frames with the Enerpac units.

When the frame is lifted, the top beams are first raised one step hydraulically, and then locked mechanically using locking pins and the hydraulic locking cylinders. The bottom locking pins are then cleared hydraulically and the cylinders raise the load to the same height. In this way, the four hydraulic units lift themselves in the lifting portals with the load, as it were, at a net speed of around 11 yards per hour.

Lift synchronism is vital here due to the torsion stress that occurs. Stageco works with a tolerance of 0.2 to 0.4 inch. This may seem like a lot, but it is adequate since the lifting portals are 38 inches apart. The operating computer’s display also shows that the load in the four portals remains in perfect balance. The display shows which steps in the lifting process have already been completed. The operator does, however, need to give the system a command for each step.

After the claw has been assembled, the pump units are lifted out of the lifting portals with a crane, and the lifting portals are then removed. The system works according to the same principle but, of course, in the opposite direction when the whole construction is later lowered and dismantled. The pump units are then back on the ground and can be stored ready for transport to the next location.



Safety Trump Card

Stageco has made no concessions whatsoever as far as safety is concerned. The mechanical locking of the lifting platforms, for example, was an extremely important element. Enerpacs computer-controlled Synchronous Lift System also fulfilled this requirement perfectly.

Every step in the lifting process is controlled, and the next step can only be performed when all the required conditions have been fulfilled. The system also gives information on the position the load is in and how the tension is distributed during lifting. The Enerpac system measures the forces continuously and in real time.

Although the operational speed is significant, Stageco considers safety to be one of the greatest advantages of this technology. Since the three stages will be travelling across the whole world over the next two years, the emphasis is also on reliability and durability. According to Stageco, another advantage is that Enerpac has an international presence and operates worldwide.

It is clear that shows will continue to get bigger and better in the entertainment world. Since Stageco now has this new technology in house, set designers will also have much more freedom and it will be possible to build spectacular stages at many more locations. In short, this is a technological step that is setting a new trend.

Stageco, based in Tildonk, Belgium, was established 25 years ago and has branches in France, the USA, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. However, the company operates throughout the whole world. Stageco is not the only stage construction company out there, but it is the market leader and it primarily sets itself apart through customization.

The company has an extensive stock of standard modular stages that can be rented out. Stageco is a company that deals with the entertainment world in an extremely innovative manner. The company is constantly on the lookout for solutions to certain problems that occur in the industry, and modernizes and applies these solutions within its own field.

For more information visit www.stageco.com

source: pddnet

U2’s 360° Tour using Enerpac’s Synchronous Lift System

Trendsetting hydraulics in the Synchronous Lift System application for U2 stage

Trendsetting hydraulics in the Synchronous Lift System application are being used on the latest U2 concert stage.

“The claw”, a 30 metre high stage construction on four legs, giving spectators all around the stage an unobstructed view of the band.With the help of Enerpac’s Synchronous Lift System, the Belgian company Stageco has constructed three gigantic, identical stages for the current U2 360° Tour. What makes this project special, is that high-pressure hydraulics are being used for the first time ever to assemble and dismantle the 230 ton construction - also known as “the claw”.

Together with Enerpac (A Division of Actuant Corp) , Stageco has developed a unique system, based on Enerpac’s Synchronous Lift System, to raise the modular construction to a height of 30 metres quickly and safely. Being able to put on bigger and better shows than competitors provides a trump card in the entertainment world. Performances and tours by famous artists and bands have to look good, as is demonstrated by the glitz and special effects that are usually the main feature.

The stage is crucial, and this is no different in U2’s 360° Tour. For this world tour, set designer Willy Williams and stage architect Mark Fisher came up with “the claw”, a 30 metre high stage construction on four legs, giving spectators all around the stage an unobstructed view of the band. The Synchronous Lift System has helped make it possible.

One of the construction requirements was that the stage could be built and taken down again in a relatively short time. A ready-to-use hydraulic unit was required that would only need to be connected to the electricity supply and the operating computer. Together, the two companies came up with a highly effective solution which incorporated Enerpac’s custom designed Synchronous Lift System to use high-pressure hydraulics for the first time ever for such heavy loads.

Stageco has made no concessions whatsoever as far as safety is concerned. The mechanical locking of the lifting platforms, for example, was an extremely important element. Enerpac’s computer-controlled Synchronous Lift System also fulfilled this requirement perfectly.

31/08/2009 12:00 AM
ferret