1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month June of 2013 is user colbourne25. Read along for the interview we had this this U2 fan.


    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    Well I am Justin for those here who don't already know. Not to be mistaken for colbourne from my user name, which is in fact my surname. I'm 23 and I live in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, which is just out of Melbourne.
    Currently I work in a coldstore warehouse doing manual labour and driving a forklift. It is 0 degrees in there so most days i'm freezing but its good work and i love the guys i work with. This job is only a temporary thing where i am just saving up money and travelling for the year. I just got back from a 10 day trip to Phuket with my girlfrind and am planning on going to the UK near the end of the year. I completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the start of last year and I'm planning on using that degree to get in to something marketing related next year.

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    Well my family was never really a music orientated family when i was young but i suppose I kind of have my mum to thank for this. I was only 14 when how to dismantle an atomic bomb was released and we were randomly in a music store having a look around and the HTDAAB album cover caught my eye, I would say that it must have been high in the charts. I had already heard Vertigo on the radio and loved it! The album for memory was quite pricey for a CD at the time ($29) and i asked my mum to buy it for me and she did thankfully! I listened and I loved! I fell in love with songs like Miracle Drug, SYCMIOYO, and COBL. Little did I know at the time how average this album was in comparison to what they had previously released. This is where my love affair with music started. I knew that U2 had been around for a while and I knew of songs like Beautiful day, so after listening to HTDAAB for a couple of weeks I went to the music store again where I stumbled onto the Slane Castle DVD. This DVD was the moment where I completely fell in love with the band and was the introduction of the band's older songs like Streets, Until the end of the World, Sunday Bloody Sunday and With or Without You. I distinctly remember the All I Want is You > Streets transition and just getting shivers down my spine. That was the first time music had ever done this to me.
    So this is where my love for U2 and music began. After the Slane DVD i delved into their back catalogue and was blown away and now own all their albums and DVDs

    Did you ever have a special U2 experience like a live concert? Can you tell us something about it?
    The very first concert I went to was U2 on the Vertigo tour. I was completely blown away. The people I went with were like, "wow! seeing U2 as your first ever concert will probably ruin you for every other band you see after". And they were pretty much right, apart from maybe seeing coldplay last year. But the concert was spine tingling and not knowing what to expect from actually being at a concert was the best feeling and something that I wish I had again. My "concert-ginity" if you will. From the amazing, amped up sound. To the sound of 50,000 people singing as one. It was probably, to this day, one of the best nights of my life. And I could've watched that performance of Streets on the DVD till the cows come home, but to actually BE THERE and witness the magic of Streets being played live and seeing it move people was out of this world.

    What's it like as a music-fan that you live in a part of the world that's less visited by most international bands? Do you often see local/national bands?
    It can get frustrating at times because of bands not coming here as often as other parts of the world. Especially bands I love that aren't as big in Australia. But I have still been lucky enough to see most of the bands I want to see live. I do see a lot of local Australian talent too is also great. Australian music is as strong as ever at the moment.

    What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
    I have all the albums and DVDs and the last 4 fan club releases. I have a lot of albums and DVDs scattered unorganized in a DVD/CD shelf but all of U2's stuff is all kept together in its own little section

    Can you tell us one song (U2 or not) that you wish you had written?
    It is probably pretty obvious from what I have previously written, but it would be Streets. To have been able to write a song that can actually move people is something of pure beauty. Whether the song makes them laugh, smile, cry or be angry, to be able to connect with someone trough music is an amazing thing. A lot of these songs people can remember the exact time that they first listened to the song. You already know my Streets story but another one that springs to mind is Up in Flames by Coldplay. I remember it was during my end of year exam time at uni and i should have been studying but my studies weren't going too well as I had recently went through a break up, so i thought I would ditch my studies and listen to the album. The song hit me like a tonne of bricks and completely tore me up. Given my situation at the time it clearly struck a chord with me and even when i hear the song now I still think back to that time of my life. It makes me a little sad to listen to it, but also happy that I got through it and I believe in a way that song helped me.
    But if i were to pick one song it would be Streets. Perfection.

    What is your favorite U2 bootleg, and why? Do you often listen to bootlegs?
    Zoo TV from Sydney is my favorite. Mainly because of how historic that night was. The sound quality and performance are about as perfect as it gets. I don't really listen to that many bootlegs any more. I tend to listen to fan club releases if i want to listen to U2 live. The only other bootleg i listen to is the one from my first concert to try and re-live that night. The sound quality is not the best but it's as close as i'll get to the real thing. You guys should all give it a listen. Best performance of Kite from that tour and the "bonus" of Bad as the closer was amazing!

    When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
    Achtung Baby hands down. I am still yet to find an album that is better than this one. It's just perfection to me.

    How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
    I tend to have a very broad taste in music. So I have some artists which are similar (Coldplay, The Killers, Stereophonics, Editors) but i also delve in to the more alternative music scene (The xx, Atl-J, Radiohead, The National). Indie music also takes up a large portion of my music library. Bands like, Arcade Fire, Tribes, Beach House, Bon Iver, The Gaslight Anthem, Little Comets, Bastille and The 1975, as well as the bands mentioned above, are all bands high on my rotation.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I taught myself how to play guitar. I started about 5 years ago and am now good enough to be able to teach some of my mates who are taking it up. It is seriously one of the best and satisfying, and also the hardest thing i have done. It takes up a major portion of my life. I am also a big cricket fan and AFL of which I'm a die hard fan of the Essendon Bombers.
    I keep myself fit by playing football, basketball and I do crossfit as well.
    I hope you guys enjoy reading this and thank you to the admin for making me the fan of the month. I truly do love this website. It is one of the first I check every morning
    Regards.





    Thanks for this interview colbourne25!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. YEAH!! Great interview, top bloke Becoming a fan with Slane is just as great as it gets
  3. Thanks Sergio I hope it's a good read, I wrote it while I was still pretty jetlagged from the flight home from Thailand
  4. Great read Justin !!