JULY 7: Edge and Larry an interivew for "Countdown in Concert" / last official date TUF / a bus in Brussels / Edge premieres "Numb" / 42nd VERTIGO show Bono dedicates One to innocent victms in London / changing the shoes / Solidarity flag / I'm ready To take it to the street!

"Countdown in Concert" - july 7, 1982. Dutch TV airs six songs recorded for "Countdown in Concert", from a concert on May 14, 1982 in Hattem, Holland. Included in the taping are bits of an interview in which The Edge and Larry are asked when the band started. The Edge: "Five minutes ago." Larry: "Yeah, I think about twenty minutes ago...but as a band we've been together for about four, five years now. We came together in Dublin, as sort of just friends, and it's been growing and evolving ever since." Another interesting quote from the interview has Bono talking about the violence in Ireland, "It's hard when you realise that 50 miles from where you walk, you're a dog. There are people being murdered in the name of God...you know, it makes me feel very ill."

"The Unforgettable Fire" tour - july 7, 1985. U2 perform in Werchter, Belgium at the Festival Grounds. It is the second night of the Torhout/Werchter double festival. Other performances include "The Ramones", "REM", "The Style Council", "Depeche Mode", and Joe Cocker. U2 headline the concert, and it is the last official date of "The Unforgettable Fire" tour.

"The Joshua Tree" - july 7, 1987. One of U2's tour buses is parked outside a restaurant in Brussels, Belgium. A bomb blast tears the bus apart. Luckily no one is aboard the bus, and no lives are lost.

"ZOOTV-Zooropa" tour - july 7, 1993. U2 perform in Rome, Italy, at Stadio Flaminio. With Zooropa just released, new songs from the album begin working their way into the setlist. Tonight, Edge performs "Numb" for the first time, reading the lyrics from a stand.


"Elevation" tour - july 07, 2001 / Copenhagen, Denmark - Forum - JJ72. Edge wears this night, red shirt #(yellow)2.

42nd 'VERTIGO' show - july 7, 2005 - Berlin, Germany - Olympic Stadium - The Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol - Bono dedicates One to innocent victms in London / changing the shoes / Solidarity flag / I'm ready To take it to the street! It's a rainy night in Berlin, wet enough to prompt Bono to change his shoes after I Will Follow is played ('My shoes hurt,' Bono sang during I Will Follow in Berlin on Thursday evening, apparently grown to big for his boots. Luckily this kind member of the crew had a pair of B's special creepers on stand by). He also sings about the weather with a bit of 'I Can't Stand the Rain' during Electric Co. There's a heaviness in the air in light of the terrorist attacks today in London, but the mood also inspires the band, Bono especially, to channel their anger and pain into the performance.One is dedicated to those who lost their lives in the bomb attacks in London earlier that day. Bono holt finds a Solidarity flag in the audience, gets a sunflower too. The concert isn't sold out, there are 1500 tickets at the box office and touts are selling theirs for 10 Euro. Sweet Chariots in Berlin - I'm ready To take it to the street! (from U2.com) = The show started with the big umbrellas on stage protecting the instruments from the weather but for the second successive night, the rain held off during U2's set. Bono was handed a sunflower by a woman in the audience. He accepted it gratefully, wondering around the stage with it before returning it to its rightful owner - and blowing her a special kiss. Will that flower ever leave her sight ? 'Thank you for coming out to see us, thank you for giving us a great life,' said an appreciative Bono, catching his breath before Miracle Drug. 'We dedicate this to the scientists that shape our future and the nurses that get us to that future...' Most people last night were acutely aware from the news media that nurses and doctors in London were working flat out to help those injured in the multiple terrorist bomb attacks which had taken place earlier. It made the play on CoeXisT all the more poignant for Love and Peace, as Larry and Adam moved front of house. Was the communal chanting of 'No More' during Sunday Bloody Sunday even louder tonight - or was it simply that our hearing was suddenly more acute ? And as the show raced by, it was all the more tender a moment when Running To Stand Still received its own special dedication. 'We'd like to dedicate this song to the families and the friends of the people who lost their loved ones today in London,' explained Bono. 'Cos some people think ideas are more valuable than people and we know that's not true.' 'We have a prayer,' he continued, '(That) We don¹t become a monster in order to defeat a monster.' The whole Olympic stadium was soon bathed in the flickering flames of thousand of lighters and as everyone sang along Bono segued into Swing Low Sweet Chariot (a song associated with England's national rugby team) to close. Barely a dry eye in the house. It makes a show all the more special when the musicians are able to adapt each night to the events which affect the daily lives of those of us in the crowd - whether it's political pressure to help the poorest countries or the apprehension we experience with a terrorist atrocity. 'This is the moment to make poverty history,' said Bono, switching to some German at times. 'I don¹t know if anyone here went to Live 8. Today I came back from a golf course in Scotland today.' Bono had arrived in the city direct from Gleneagles in Scotland where he had spent the previous day lobbying leaders of Germany, the US, Canada, Britain and other countries to do more for the people of Africa. 'Tomorrow we will know whether (Chancellor) Schroeder's leadership is going to put an end to this (poverty in Africa).' Pride became Streets and One, the final time this speech can ask people to pressure their leaders before the G8 meetings - which close today, Friday. Zoo Station and The Fly seemed to have particular resonance in the city where Achtung Baby was recorded - maybe Bono was still thinking of Edinburgh as he sang: 'I'm ready / To take it to the street / Ready for the shuffle / Ready for the deal / Ready to let go....' A beautiful girl in a Ramones t-shirt emerged from the audience to dance with Bono for With Or Without You - a cool end to a wonderful show on a bittersweet night in Europe. Some photos on: U2-Vertigo-tour.