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  1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month April 2011 is user BelgianBono. Glenn as his name is, lives in Belgium (how surprising) and can tell you a lot on the political situation there. And of course much more, read along!


    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    As most of you probably know, I’m Glenn, 21 years old and living in Belgium (my nickname could’ve something to do with that) with my parents, as only child.
    I’m still a student, at the University of Antwerp, where I study Applied Economic Sciences and a drunk Dutchman just drove his car into mine.

    Belgium is being quite unique in politics with the government situation. What is your opinion? What would be your solution?
    (LONG ANSWER ALERT)
    Indeed. Maybe I should try to explain the situation in short and rather simplistic first for those who don’t know it, cause I’m not sure it makes the news everywhere…

    So, my country is divided in many different ways. Most important here is Flanders (Dutch language, where I live) ‘versus’ Wallonia (French language), with Brussels in between with own rules. Flemish and Walloons can’t get along for many reasons, probably since the foundation of Belgium. But now this hostility starts to reach its summit and more and more Flemish want Flanders to be an independent country. This is visible after last elections where the N-VA, a party that wants the independence of Flanders, became the biggest party of the country. Of course they can’t do this alone, but need help from others ànd from Walloon parties to form a government. Of course the latter don’t want to give in to the wishes of N-VA and other Flemish parties because they want to maintain Belgium as it is. Result : by the time I write this, we are 321 days without a government, which makes people even more upset, but especially tired.

    Personally, I believe this is totally ridiculous. We already have such a small country, with not that many influence or good reputation in the world, and this isn’t really going to help me thinks. Furthermore, I actually don’t care if we go on with or without Wallonia. I’ve got nothing against them, not at all, but my live would probably be just the same without them. What I do care for, is a government that finally gets things done, cause piles of important issues are just uselessly waiting there.

    A solution is rather difficult of course, when even all of our politicians can’t seem to find one for almost a year. Anyway, I believe there are two things you can do. One is a referendum to ask every Belgian if they want Belgium to split up or not. Two, and I know that’s probably absurd and not realistic, have new elections once more and arrange that the biggest party may work out its program on its own.

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    I’ve really had to dig deep to remember what or who actually really started it all.
    And the answer is : Kurt Nilsen. I was sitting in front of the TV to support our Belgian candidate for World Idol on new year’s day (coincidence?) 2004, but when I heard the Norwegian participant, Kurt Nilsen, singing “Beautiful Day”, I was really blown away. By the performance and by the song, which I hadn’t heard before (I was an absolutely music-noob, I know).
    Quickly after that, I heard “Vertigo” constantly on the TV and radio, which I liked too, and it seemed that these were the guys who made Beautiful Day.
    Then I stumbled on a DVD from my dad, “Rattle And Hum”, again from these guys what the… ?! So I watched it and remember sitting there completely stunned, especially by “Exit”.
    A few weeks later, my nephew told me he would go see U2 in Brussels. I asked if I could go with him, but there were no more tickets. So no show for me then, but the foundations for a passion were made.

    Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
    This question can’t have another answer than “Live, right in front of them”, I think. Otherwise just in my room at night. For some reason I prefer listening to U2 when it’s rather quit and dark. Also while just talking a walk at night along the river near my house with iPod. Furthermore I almost always study with U2 at the background and the greatest moment is when I’m done and getting ready to go the exam. Nothing gets me more pumped up and full of courage for a good exam than playing Streets at high volume.

    What is your favorite U2 bootleg, and why? Do you often listen to bootlegs?
    I have got quite a lot of bootlegs on my external hard drive, but I honestly don’t listen to them that much. I do listen to 1993-08-28 ZooTV Dublin and the Point Depot show of 1989-12-31 quite a lot, for the obvious reasons, but my favorite bootleg currently is the second 360°-show at Helsinki (2010-08-21).
    The band sounds quite relaxed and in shape here, I’m a fan of the Stingray Guitar, the transition between COBL and Vertigo is just mind-blowing in my opinion and I love my little Discothèque snippet after Crazy. But the main reason is Every Breaking Wave, with its first and best performance. This song touched me deeply from the first time I heard it and it still does.

    Can you tell us one song (U2 or not) that you wish you had written?
    Because The Night ! No, it’s very difficult to pick just one, but I’d take Ultraviolet. It’s (one of) my favorite song(s) and it helped me through a difficult period in my life because I related my situation to some parts of the song. The lyrics are just too great, especially the “I remember when we could sleep on stones, now we lie together in whispers and moans”. But it’s a close call to Every Breaking Wave.
    I can’t help it but I have to mention No Sound But The Wind from Editors too. And on a less serious note, I believe it would be grand to have written a song like Wonderwall (Oasis) because chicks dig it. At every summer night, at a beach or BBQ or anything where someone has a guitar, this gets played guaranteed and then you see them melt away. You know what I mean, don’t you ?

    Does anyone in your family or one of your friends like U2? If so, did they introduce you to U2, or did you "convert" them?
    Being a teenager, I found out that it really wasn’t “cool” to like U2. “They’re old and crappy” seemed to be the main idea. Despite that, I’ve never been ashamed for liking U2, but I initially didn’t find any others who felt the same way as me, as my nephew from above lost his interest in the band. That’s why I subscribed here too btw. I tried (and still try) to convert others though and succeed to convince them that they’re not that bad, but I haven’t raised any real fans (yet). Although I convinced 1 of them to see U2 in Amsterdam (2009-07-21, my first U2 show too) and he liked it a lot. Anyway, by now I know some people in real life too who are great fans, one of them being sing_a_new_song from the site.

    If you could go back in time, which U2-era would you like to be in, and why?
    Cliché-answer, but definitely ZooTV! Unfortunately I was too young to experience that era, but from all I’ve seen and heard about it, this seemed so God damn Rock & Roll. I always refer to it as the time when Bono still was cool. I mean, who doesn’t love The Fly character, of MacPhisto ? And Edge never sounded that powerful and dirty than then. Just think of the riffs from Even Better, The Fly, Dirty Day,… and the solo’s from Love Is Blindness and Bullet. But what I loved the most, was the attitude à la “we don’t give a damn what the critics or the mainstream thinks of us, we just experiment and play what we like” and the fact they didn’t care about the money, but gave everything to deliver a great spectacle, a show that would even look modern in 2011.

    What is your favorite U2 videoclip, and why?
    I’ve always enjoyed the clips of One very much (except the Buffalo version). The Berlin version is a real great cinematic experience and I think almost all the different interpretations of the song can be found there too : struggling with your sexuality, just the differences between a man and a woman in general, Bono and his father, difficulties within the band, the just united Berlin,…
    And euhm, I’m not gay at all, but how hot does our front man look in the Bar version ? Plus that video just really reflects the mood of the song perfectly for me. And the moment where Bono keeps his mouth shut and just looks into the camera during “You say love is a temple...” is pure magic.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I play badminton twice a week and as fan of Club Brugge, I like watching soccer. Also the CL or EL matches now and then. I’m not really a person who likes big parties, but prefer just having fun with a few friends, chatting and drinking a pub while playing some pool. Musically, my biggest other bands are Rammstein, Oasis, Editors and Led Zeppelin. Finally, I’m quite excited that I can add “playing guitar” to this list soon, cause I’ll get a guitar of these days and a girlfriend of mine will (try to) teach me how to play.

    That’s it, thanks again and see you all @U2start !


    Thanks for this interview BelgianBono!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. Great read and really deserved FOTM, Glenn, congrats

    PS. I knew the politics questoin would receive a great, long answer. Soooooo interesting to read, thanks.
  3. Oh, and I loved the Streets-before-exam and the Wonderwall references
  4. Great interview!!!! I really enjoyed it!

    cause I’ll get a guitar of these days and a girlfriend of mine will (try to) teach me how to play.

    You have many girlfriends?
  5. top notch Glenn
  6. Cracking stuff, agree with Sergio's point about your answer re. the politics of Belgium at the moment, fascinating - truly hope it gets a positive resolution asap!
  7. Great read, Glenn, congrats!
  8. Fantastic interview Glenn!
  9. I can’t believe you never heard ‘beautiful day’ before , anyway, great interview
    Btw, good luck with practicing guitar. You’ll get an acoustic I presume?


  10. Oh no, of course not ! She's just a regular friend.
    It's just that in Dutch there are different words for a male and a female friend.
    But I forgot that "girlfriend" and "boyfriend" meant lovers in English. Sorry for that.

    Originally posted by sing_a_new_song:I can’t believe you never heard ‘beautiful day’ before , anyway, great interview
    Btw, good luck with practicing guitar. You’ll get an acoustic I presume?


    As I said, I'm aware I was a complete musical nobody .
    I had even only heard of names like Madonna or Michael Jackson but didn't knew a song... It was that bad.
    Jep I'll get an acoustic !



    Thanks for the kind comments here and the title of honour I'll wear it with pride
  11. Only great people are awarded with May's FOTM... 2009 had Chris (Risto) and 2010 had Matt (eyeswithpride), so wear it with pride indeed
  12. Amazing interview Glenn and well deserved of course!

    Wish it had more question to you

    Take care friend!

    Greetings from Brazil
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Contribute to the U2 community with uploading photos or by telling us which shows you have visited.
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