THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Thirty years after they f irst rocked Croke Park with The Joshua Tree, U2 make a triumphant return… and are cheered by President and Taoiseach

IT WAS a Beautiful Day for a homecoming. Add to that new music, eye-watering giant screens and possibly the greatest live album performance of their career – and 82,000 U2 fans were treated to an unforgettable night at Croke Park.

Bono is believed to have a direct line to the man upstairs, so it came as no surprise that the rain steered clear for fans to dance in the sunshine after making the pilgrimage to Croker.

Outside the grounds, ticketless fans desperately waved signs and banners in the hope of picking up a ticket for face value, to gain entry for the sold-out gig while, inside, it was a veritable who’s who of Irish celebrities.

The stars spotted included TV3’s Glenda Gilson, RTÉ’s Dave Fanning and Newstalk’s Pat Kenny, with his wife Cathy, while Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe was spotted chatting to fans.

Singers Glen Hansard and Imelda May, actor Colin Farrell, Ireland’s former soccer captain Robbie and his wife Claudine Keane; former Irish rugby star Gordan D’Arcy and former model wife Aoife Cogan were also seen enjoying the homecoming while RTÉ’s Joe Duffy, businessman Harry Crosbie, actress Amy Huberman, mimic Mario Rosenstock, former model Yvonne Keating and her partner John Conroy; author Cecelia Ahern and husband David Keoghan were also delighted to give the Dublin band a big warm welcome.

U2 put on an exclusive bar on the seventh floor for family and friends and treated them to a free bar and carvery meal in a Joshua Treethemed room. It was 30 years since the Dubliners debuted their Joshua Tree tour for an Irish audience at GAA headquarters and last night they made sure they treated their loyal followers to a performance that will be talked about for the next three decades.

The crowds showed huge appreciation to the curtain-raiser Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds, but at 8.40pm – when the speakers belted out You Saw The Whole Of The Moon, by The Waterboys – the fans burst into life and strained their necks to see Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton arrive on stage.

As the lights dropped, an orange screen lit up behind the stage and the black outline of the namesake

Joshua Tree, the famous backdrop for their 30-year-old album, came into sharp focus. The band members arrived one by one while the crowd erupted in joy to the drum beat of Sunday Bloody Sunday.

Bono addressed the crowd immediately by acknowledging the enormity of this tribute show in Croke Park. The legendary songs came thick and fast – New Year’s Day, Wide Awake, MLK and a blasted-out version of Pride (In the Name of Love) rounded out the appetiser but the crowd were wilfully cheering for the main event. ‘A big thanks to the archbishop for the lend of the stadium. Playing Croke Park is a very big deal for a whole load of reasons. We are going to say a prayer that we can have an epic night of rock and roll.’

At one point Bono called from the stage for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina to stand up from their seats and ‘take a bow for Ireland’ while halfway through the concert, Air Corps jets flew overhead with plumes of green, white and gold trailing behind to reveal a smoking tricolour – causing the crowd to go even wilder.

The quartet then did not fail to appease their audience heading into the main course of the Joshua Tree album from start to finish. Fans were completely absorbed by the unique opportunity to hear the entire album including Red Hill Mining Town, which the group has never played live before. It’s clear U2 have discovered new meaning and intrigue from reimagining this album of protest thirty years later.

The gigantic screen once again highlighted the bands dedication to innovation. For the concert, Dutch photographer and film-maker, and long-term collaborator, Anton Corbijn, produced a new series of haunting and evocative films which featured behind the group. The 2017 tour, playing to 1.7 million fans in just 33 shows across North America and Europe this summer, features the complete Joshua Tree album played in sequence and a selection of highlights from U2’s extensive catalogue.

Keeping the best for last, U2 ended the night by debuting a new track from their eagerly awaited new album Songs Of Experience. Little Things That You Give Away is a melodic uplifting rock song showing there is life in the old dogs yet.

‘Thanks to the archbishop for the lend of Croker’