Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month November 2008 is user Please login or register to view this link.
Every fan of the month has an interview with us, you can read our interview with Ali709 in this topic:
Tell us something more about yourself, who are you and what do you do for
a living?
I'm Ali, 20 years old and living in Tehran, Iran. I'm a proud Persian, and love my country for all that it means. I'm studying Electrical Engineering in a university north of Tehran, as for "a living", I depend on my parents for now!
How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
It was 1999 when I first heard BBC's Perfect Day, with different artists, including Bono, singing in it, and I told myself back then: "this guy...bono...he's got a good voice, weird name tho!". But I forgot about him..in 2002 I was watching Gangs of NY and when Hands That Built America came on...I loved it!!
So I got the soundtrack for the movie and I played it over and over again! So I googled "U2" and found out that the singer is Bono, the guy who's voice I admired back in 99, I was amazed, I thought they must be the perfect band!!
So I went on to see if they really were so, I started collecting their music, aaaand...here I am today
What is your favorite U2 bootleg, and why? Do you often listen to bootlegs?
Point Depot 1989-12-31. I've heard lots of bootlegs from different eras, but this one...It's filled with amazing feelings, and it always gives me goosebumps, specially the countdown/auld land syne/streets sequence, it's U2 in top form in their best era.
I do listen to bootlegs a lot, you guys got me addicted to them, I had just come here to download Point Depot after I saw it in The Complete U2, but I got hooked!
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?
Yep, two of my cousins, my sister, my parents, and some of my friends like them. They aren't huge fans tho, and they didn't introduce me to them. I converted them all, my sister SAYS she found them on her own tho
Where do you most prefer to listen to U2?
Aaah...almost everywhere, no particular place, tho over the years I've noticed that listening to them when you are alone/lonely and in a calm atmosphere is the best way.
When you're forced to leave to a deserted island and you can take only one U2 album with you, which would it be?
The Joshua Tree, no doubts. AB is nice, but JT works better with me overall, because of the subjects, the music, the lyrics...
What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
I play guitar, classical and pop and I'm trying to sing! I also do sports and reading, I love going out with friends and having fun, other than that it's just my electronic hobbies, working on weird circuits or robots, etc.
What's one thing you wish everyone in the West knew about your country?
only one thing? as The Fly would say.."there is a lot of things..."
I want them to know that governors and politicians (inside and outside Iran) as well as the public media do not let people in the west discover the nice things about my country, my people and my culture...
We are Persians with a great history and a great culture...this is Iran, it's as good as any other country, it's not a desert with people looking like taliban going around with camels!
I invite you all to come and see my country for yourself, you'll get my point
Is finding U2-material harder there than in other places?
Obviously. I depend a lot on the internet and not-so-legal methods, unless I get to travel outside Iran. It is forbidden to sell anything U2-related here, but you can find them if you know some people
What do you think about U2 not touring a Muslim country ever? Do you have a big wish to attend an U2 concert, how far would you go in order to attend one?
It is a sad thing. I don't know the exact reason, whether it's the countries or U2 themselves who don't do it, but they really should. I do have a huge wish to attend at least one of their concerts before they stop, if they did muslim countries I could see them in Dubai or Turkey or...but now...
I'm actually planning to see them on their next tour, probably in Spain, so, that's how far...I guess as far as Europe!
Thanks for this interview Ali709!
Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it
interesting that you 'found' them through Bono's participation on "Perfect Day", and then with "The Hands That Built..." ... I'm curious: was it a rather big 'shock' to find out that only the fewest songs are something similar to the songs you found them through ?
bootleg of the month Every month we have a bootleg in the spotlights, the current one took place on 2001-02-07 in London, England. You can download this bootleg, read reviews or write your own review here. You can also join the discussion on this bootleg in our forums.
fan of the month Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of this month is user MWSAH. Every fan of the month has an interview with us, you can read our interview with MWSAH here.
did you know? The song 'I Will Follow' is about Bono's undying love and devotion to his mother, who died while Bono was still a very young boy. This song pays homage to the fact that death cannot sever love.
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popular concerts According to our user reviews, 1987-04-29 - Rosemont, Illinois is the best bootleg we have in our collection. Our users also think that 1993-08-28 - Dublin, Ireland was a great concert since it appears the most in the list of favorite concerts.
popular songs Where The Streets Have No Name is the most-requested song from the song pages and quite popular. According to the favorite song lists of our users, Bad is the all-time favorite song.
latest site news I'm sure in a few hours somewhere on the world it will be 2009, if it's 2009 where you are, I wish you on behalf of me and the whole U2start crew all the best, a happy, healthfull and U2-ish new year!
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"There is a big mistake, somebody tells us Whitney Houston is number one in Holland?! Well, wait till next week!"
- Bono, 1987, during the last Rotterdam show
Great interview, Ali, such a great guy you are... 
