Original subtitles

I really believe that tonight we'll go and make history,

at some level, as a record of this group

and three years of our careers... well, it's three albums, it's more years.

And I think this venue, because this is...

This is not Europe.

This is a real statement about this particular part of the country.

Denver, Colorado, I mean...

I think it's beautiful.

I don't know. Do you think it's gonna light up?

I don't know. I think so.

Probably far more reflects the band and the mood of our songs.

Because, had the sun shone,

you know, this band probably would have looked like another band.

We might have laid back in it. You know what I mean?

I mean it's not really U2, lying on the beach or whatever.

And after all, we've recorded in the snow before, so...

It's kind of dismal in Ireland, you know,

drizzly and stuff, so, they'll be able to relate to this weather here.

It's great, the rain's great.

Well, you know, it's kind of put a damper on things

but I think once the music gets going it's gonna be fine.

It's gonna be great, it's gonna be an excellent concert.

We'll still have the same problem.

When Bob Dylan did it, they called it Hard Rain.

and made a movie, and that's what you've got right here.

So you're all a part of history.

Thanks for bearing with us. Hold on. God bless you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

a warm Red Rocks welcome please.

From Dublin, Ireland... U2I

It was in 1983 that I had the greatest pleasure

to direct U2 live at Red Rocks in Denver, Colorado.

It was the most extraordinary concert, I think, I've ever directed in my entire career.

It was very, very special.

I had previously met, for the very first time, U2, at a concert in Gateshead,

the south of the Tyne beside Newcastle Upon Tyne,

and they were a support band, alongside Lords Of The New Church

supporting The Police and it was the first time I'd ever come across them.

And they had this spectacular performance with a tremendous amount of energy

and subsequently I met their manager, Paul McGuinness,

and he had had this dream, as it were,

of producing U2's big show in Red Rocks, in America, in Colorado.

As you can see, the weather conditions that we faced were absolutely atrocious

and we went across with a very small crew under the leadership of a chap,

a guy called Malcolm Gerrie who's been a lifelong friend of mine.

And Malcolm Gerrie was the producer of The Tube

which was a well-known rock show in the Northeast of England

and he and Paul McGuinness became good friends

and that's how it all happened in the first place, actually.

And when I look at these pictures after all these years, it's quite amazing.

I haven't seen some of these pictures for... well, since 1983.

What a memoryl And what a concertl

It was very, very nearly cancelled

because the weather conditions were so absolutely appalling.

And it was only because U2 themselves,

the band and Paul McGuinness,

and everyone involved took so much appreciation

from the fact that these fans had trudged through the Rocky Mountains

in abominable weather and they were just determined not to let them down.

And Barry Fey, the promoter, said, "You're all a part of historyl"

And I can tell you, those words became very, very true.

I think the most extraordinary thing about the concert, I have to say,

was the fact that there was every chance it was going to be cancelled.

This was...

I mean this was the beginning of U2's very, very long journey to absolute fame.

It was the most incredible journey and this is, I would suggest,

virtually where it started.

They weren't particularly well known in the States, they weren't a wealthy band.

I don't think the record company were wealthy.

Barry Fey, the promoter, dug his heels in

and said, you know, "I think this band is great," and...

particularly after the concert had been recorded, and...

I remember there was...people were saying, "This concert is too good for you.

"You're not going to get it."

There were names, and people were saying,

once they'd seen a small promotional package of this, that, you know,

"You're not going to get it. It's... This is so special."

That's how they felt about it.

They felt that something had happened at Red Rocks and they were a part of it.

The promoters, Barry Fey and Chaz, they were absolutely cock-a-hoop by the whole thing.

But it was so different.

I don't think America had actually seen a concert

shot in such a raw and basic situation.

Hence the reason they said, you know, "You can't point those cameras at the lights."

They wouldn't have done that.

They'd have said, "You can't do that.

"It goes against all technical etiquette."

It was, relatively, a small venue.

Now you're going to say, "No, there's more than that,"

but I think there was something in the 5,000 region.

And when you talk about Wembley, you're looking at 90,000.

And I mean, you know, the venue was full.

It's a pilgrimage. To reach that venue is a very, very long walk

and those fans were virtually...

When they went to the venue in the afternoon before the concert, they were pilgrims.

That's all I can say about them.

They just walked and walked and walked through the rain and the mist

and were soaking wet when they got there.

We, fortunately, had four wheels to get there with

but 90% of the fans actually walked.

And I think this is one of the reasons why Bono and the band, with hearts as big as theirs,

decided they weren't going to let anybody down

and come what may, they were going to play

to those people who had taken the effort to actually get there,

and give them a show and a performance to remember, and they did, I can tell you.

I think, they felt they were going to give the fans something really, really special.

Don't forget, this was the first time, if you like, that U2 had performed in America

and this was the time when the fans saw something really, really special.

More than just a concert. As the press said in the following day,

they couldn't decide whether it was a rock concert or a religious gathering,

which was extraordinary.

We also, with our end of the recording, had a safety problem

because naturally we had a major video scanner

and there was water pouring into cables

and down other cables and pipes, and so on and so forth.

So it was quite... We were quite concerned.

The Americans were quite concerned.

The people who were providing us with the video truck were concerned.

But you know, it was just...

It's difficult to describe actually the emotions and the feelings on that day

because, you know, Malcolm Gerrie and myself and the small crew from the UK

plus the American crew that was there,

had put a huge amount of work into producing this concert.

And I can tell you, we weren't going to go away easily.

During the concert, and I think it was Sunday Bloody Sunday,

there were huge flames on either side of the stage

on the big stone pillars which gave a most amazing effect

especially from the helicopters.

I'm sure it was either the band's, or somebody to do with the band's,

I mean, it certainly wasn't my idea, but it did look absolutely spectacular.

I was very surprised on the day of the recording

that we were able to fly the helicopter.

But as the weather came in and the fog and mist came down,

it was very, very, very last minute touch and go

whether or not that helicopter was going to be able to fly.

You remember that the venue is a very, very high altitude

and the air is pretty thin up there, I can tell you.

And it was just amazing that that helicopter actually did fly

and I will be ever grateful to the guys that flew that helicopter

because it created a most stunning opening

and some stunning shots during the concert.

The last time I probably sat and watched this film or this video would be

I don't know, 15 years ago, and it's quite extraordinary.

It's also extraordinary that anyone who's watching this

will notice that there are streaks that are burnt onto the tube, onto the picture.

And it was something that we did, when we did The Tube in England.

We used hand-held cameras and they were tube cameras

and I don't want to get too technical for the viewer

but you'll notice all these streaks on the screen are what they call "burns"

and the American technicians were very, very, very annoyed with us

but I felt there was no way I was going to be able to capture

the immediacy or the energy of their performance

without using hand-held cameras,

and you can see them in the background,

hand-held cameras as we did on The Tube for generations

but the Americans were not happy, I can tell you.

Now we have digital cameras which are absolutely fine

but in those days a tube camera would...

the light source would burn onto the front of the tube

and it would leave a trail, you can see it all over.

But in a way, it just seemed to me to be part of the whole magical event.

This was very much of the period of when this was shot

that even if you did this in the studio

at Tyne Tees Television on The Tube,

the same thing happened.

And it was... If anybody has a memory of tube cameras

or the way television was in those days,

that was how it was and to try and paint it out would spoil the moment.

It's warts and all.

I mean the fact that this was only shot on six cameras

is indicative of just how much energy there was from both the crew,

the video crew, and the band.

I mean, their actions made it look as if it had, you know, 15 blinkin' cameras.

They were everywhere and their performance was just electric.

Adam Clayton and The Edge.

Tremendousl

I Will Follow is one of my favorite songs.

Obviously, Sunday Bloody Sunday.

I mean, actually, if you look at the set list

and you go through the songs that they performed on that night,

I don't think that there's a single song in there

that you wouldn't say, "Blimey, that is brilliant."

"That is... Actually, that could be one of my favorites."

You know, every song could be a favorite.

Just before U2 came on, I actually.... The truth really hit me.

There was I, a director, who worked for Tyne Tees Television in Newcastle Upon Tyne,

was suddenly jetted off by Malcolm Gerrie and The Tube to Denver in Colorado.

I don't think I'd been abroad more than about two or three times in my life

and was faced with doing, or directing,

a concert that was like, beyond all my dreams

and I was absolutely scared witless.

But I had a good crew and, you know,

if you've got a good team around you and you can manage your team

and befriend everyone or as many as you can, it all helps.

And, you know, I've got a lot to thank the people who worked with me on this show

and particularly the band and the cameramen who gave some of these brilliant shots.

You know, they're shots to die for, really,

to show the relationship between Bono and the crowd

and that's why I decided that we'd build a thrust in front of the stage,

so there could be that relationship and I think it really worked.

The very first time I'd sort of set foot in that venue,

apart from the rocks that were either side,

the stage area was just extraordinarily boring

and I thought, "How on earth are we gonna make this look exciting?"

And having known what Bono and the band had done at Gateshead previously,

I just said, you know, "What we really need is to put a thrust in front of the stage,

"build the stage up to a meter high

"and let him get in and communicate with the audience,"

and so when you take shots like we're seeing there,

you can see that relationship and it just really, really kicks in

and that is just magical footage.

It's not them and the audience, it's the band with the audience.

When we decided to pick the crew for the concert,

I actually took from, Newcastle, from The Tube,

two cameramen and the guy that's taken this shot is one of them.

And they were, if you like, two of the key cameramen.

So I had one of my cameramen from Newcastle on Bono, which was that shot.

And the other one was on the other side on Adam Clayton

and they were actually the main cameras.

Unfortunately, I never had a camera that was sort of dedicated to the drummer

which, in today's terms, you would always have that.

And the American guys did the wider shots which were quite easy to follow

and they would just shoot the nice pictures

and I would put those shots in in postproduction

but these sort of shots were from the guys that I knew and respected and worked with.

When we do the postproduction...

First of all, I... When I'm looking at pictures...

I had spent 1 4 years as a cameraman operating a camera

and I know what a cameraman, his job or her job is.

And it is to make the most exciting and intimate pictures that you can

and I'm a great believer in if you have the right people around you

and you know their capabilities and you know their talents,

you don't have to tell them exactly what to do.

Like a shot, like that, I couldn't take a better shot than that.

And it's just, you know, it's their talent, it's their job,

is to make pictures and to make them exciting

and then if you have a band like U2, the whole thing just comes together.

It becomes so easy, the band are performing,

the cameramen are performing and everything is just fantastic.

The venue's there, the location's there,

the mist is there, the rain is there, the audience is there.

What more could you wish for?

And Bono's performance, electric.

Bono's breath...

All added every single part of this concert.

The rough hand-held shots,

the roughness, the rawness, the energy,

you know, there's nothing perfect.

It's not... All these shots aren't beautiful,

they're not perfect but, by God, they've got such a lot of emotion and energy.

OK, they're a bit wobbly, who cares?

It's... That was how it was.

Well, it's interesting...

A number of years after I'd done this concert,

I was in Australia, and U2 were playing in Australia

and I was directing the Australian Music Awards

and they were doing a concert.

Now, unfortunately, they couldn't give us time to come across

to be recipients of an award that they were given in Australia.

And I eventually learned actually, at the time,

that their concert was being covered by 28 cameras

and I thought to myself, "Hang on. What is this about?"

And every single camera was being recorded onto its own record machine.

And to me, this is like, if you want to make the difference or call the change,

I mean this is a home video to a 26-camera shoot,

which would be, you know, perfect in every way

but I don't think we'd have a fraction of the energy and the commitment from the band.

I mean, these shots here are just amazing.

And the band's commitment and relationship with the audience in 1983 like that

was to be seen to be believed.

I was doing a show in New York and they were playing at the Yankee Stadium

and I went to see them there.

It was a different tour but it was in New York

and it was just cameras, like, for dog and man

and I thought, "Well, hang on, there's only four on stage."

"What do you do with the other 22 cameras?"

When we got back to Newcastle,

the deal that had been arranged with Paul McGuinness and the band

was that, because it cut both ways,

we could show the entire concert on The Tube as a Tube Special

and we were very, very excited about that.

But unfortunately, because there was only myself,

Malcolm Gerrie and two cameramen who went across,

we were all members of the same union and of course, when we got back to Newcastle,

there were all the other unions like the electricians' union,

and the NATKE union,

the props and stage people said, "We weren't represented over there,

"so we're blacking the whole thing."

So the concert was blacked by the unions and at the end of the day,

we were only allowed to show, by the grace of the unions, 15 minutes.

And that was that.

It wasn't a great deal for The Tube

and it wasn't a great deal for U2

because U2 and Paul McGuinness

obviously looked upon The Tube broadcast in the UK

as being, like, really good promotional material.

If he was going to be able to show this concert in its entirety

on Channel 4 in The Tube slot,

it was, "Wahey," you know.

Nothing wrong with a bit of promotional material for the band

but it was...it was spoilt.

So it wasn't good for Paul,

it wasn't good for the band and it wasn't good for The Tube.

When Channel 4 opened,

they were looking for a program for young music fans

and they came to Tyne Tees Television

because we had a bit of a history of doing good music television

and there was a chap called Mike Bolland from Channel 4

who was the Commissioning Editor

and Jeremy Isaacs who was the head of Channel 4

and Malcolm Gerrie and Andrea Wonfor

got themselves together and a marriage was made,

a marriage was made in heaven

and Channel 4 decided that Tyne Tees Television, City Road,

Newcastle upon Tyne would be the venue

for Channel 4's flagship music program

which was transmitted every Friday night live from 5:30 to 7 o'clock

and it was presented and introduced by two of the most great people in television,

Jools Holland and Paula Yates.

And believe you me, it ran for five years

and just about every single band on earth

wanted to play The Tube

from ZZ Top to Twisted Sister to Cliff Richard

to Tina Turner to Elton John and back again

and it was because of The Tube that my entire career was in music concerts

and I have, a lot to thank The Tube for.

The Tube was probably one of the most groundbreaking

live television programs in the UK at the time.

Bands who performed on The Tube...

All right, we didn't have the biggest TV audience in the world

but I can tell you that if a band performed live on The Tube

and the fans liked what they saw,

the sales of that band,

their music would be certainly reflected the following day, on the Saturday

in the shops with brilliant sales.

The Tube was groundbreaking in so much as,

first of all and most importantly, it was live.

Secondly, all the bands that performed on The Tube, performed live.

In fact, that was an edict that Malcolm Gerrie insisted on.

So what you saw was exactly what you got. It was no frills.

It was live music and live television and that was ground-breaking in the 80s.

This is just amazing.

I mean, where would you get pictures like this?

Heavens above. Just incredible.

I'm not blowing my own trumpet here,

I'm just saying, you know, without the people that were around me,

without the weather conditions, without his performance,

it wouldn't have been anything.

But it's just absolutely stunning.

The energy expounded there... It's just brilliant.

It's now getting, dusk towards dark

and if you're directing an outdoor concert,

daylight is much, much less exciting

than when it's dark.

But, believe it or not,

with this particular concert, because of the mist and the drizzle,

even the daylight had its own magical appearance.

And of course now, as you're going into the dark

where the lights, and the lighting begin to read on camera,

you start getting an entirely different look,

which is just superb.

His body heat in that temperature

created those amazing shots.

Heavens above.

Lighting directors would spend a fortune

trying to create the effect of what looks like smoke

but in fact all these effects of the lights

was because of the mist and the drizzle.

Now, about halfway through the concert,

I have to say that Bono actually left the stage,

disappeared for about two or three minutes

and appeared on one of the big towers on the left of the stage.

How he ever did that I just will never know

because when we were there doing the recce

and deciding how the stage was going to be built,

the oxygen in the air was very, very thin.

You only had to walk a few steps

and you were almost breathless.

and yet Bono had fought his way through somewhere,

how he did it, I do not know, and climbed up.

And then performed for the length of time he did

under those circumstances, it was just a miraclel

He must be so fit.

Then, anyhow.

Yes, it's another one of those moments that the director says,

"Well hang on, where's he gone?" And nobody knows.

It was a bit like in Gateshead

where he suddenly climbed the rigging on the stage

and just disappeared.

And we discovered him half way up the rigging, the lighting gantry.

Amazingl

The lighting at the venue was done by Willie Williams,

the lighting designer-stroke-lighting director

and it was all his own work.

Now there is a classic shotl A classic.

The shot that we've just seen is an absolute classic shot,

which eventually became the cover of the album.

I mean, stunningl It really is stunning.

As I say, I haven't seen it for so many years.

And I can't believe how simple and raw it is.

And emotive.

This, that we're looking at

could never ever, ever be repeated, everl

This will go down, and as I say, not just because of me

but because of everything, this will go down in rock-and-roll history.

And their performance, I think, was absolutely spot on.

And the music was fantastic.

I'm seeing stuff that I've, you know I can't remember since the edit.

And that wasn't one of these fancy lipstick cameras,

it was a heavy hand-held jobbie.

You can see it on the left of the frame, there he is.

That was another thing, we didn't really...

It never bothered us that cameras were in shot.

Because, you know...

in 2008, you know people are so so now familiar with cameras,

and their own home video cameras,

that you don't have to worry about them being in shot,

they just expect them to be there, because how else do you get those shots?

I don't think people even notice them anymore.

As I said earlier, I think

this set list was such a cracker of a set list

with so many songs that it was so difficult to say,

"Well, actually, that was my favorite song or that was."

They were all so brilliant.

I seem to remember that piano had a really, really nice sound to it.

When this show was finished,

I think we all went out for dinner, actually,

with Paul and Malcolm and the cameramen and the band.

And I was just...

I actually thought to myself,

"Have I really seen what I've seen?"

I mean, look at that rain coming downl

And it was only until... not really until I got into the edit,

that I actually began to realize

just what exactly we had captured.

I mean, everything was just almost unreal at the time.

And then when you could take stock of what had actually happened,

you slowly...

it slowly began to dawn on you

that this was no ordinary rock concert, that's for sure.

To actually get to the end of this,

you never knew what the next minute was going to bring as far as weather.

I mean, we could have had something horrendous happen on that evening

and we could have had to have gone and re-rigged

and done the next show in Boulder at their follow-up concert

for the fans that actually didn't come to this particular concert.

And that would have been a nightmare

to have had to have re-rigged and got everything set up

for the concert the next evening.

As it happened,

the next day I basically went straight into the edit suite

because they wanted to see what we actually had.

So I did a very hot edit and a short promo

for people to have a look at and see what we'd managed to get recorded.

I think when they finished this concert, they came off stage.

I didn't actually see them when they immediately came off stage.

I didn't seem them until we went out for dinner.

But I think we were all so pretty shell-shocked about what had happened

that it didn't seem to be the main topic of conversation.

It was just like, you know, "What a reliefl"

We've done it.

And Bono, he was very, very positive and very favorable.

But on this occasion,

when we first went to Denver and we first arrived there,

we actually became quite good friends.

Leading up to the concert,

we would, you know, sit in Bono's bedroom or Adam's bedroom,

and, you know, chat and talk about what was to happen

and what was going to go on and so on and so forth.

We were just like a bunch of friends. It was really nice.

I thought they were great guys.

Not only great musicians and talented performers,

but nice people.

The sound, as I understood it,

because I'm not an engineer, as it were,

but it was multi-tracked,

and the sound mixer was a chap called Steve Lillywhite.

While we were... After we had done the concert,

we were moved out of Denver

to a place called Caribou Ranch, which was in the Rocky Mountains.

And in Caribou Ranch there was a sound studio

and that's where Steve Lillywhite mixed the sound.

I was busy in the edit suite working away until four o'clock in the morning,

and then trying to drive up to Caribou Ranch and find my way on my own

in this hired American car, not having a clue where I was going to,

while Steve Lillywhite was mixing the sound.

My production assistant and one of my cameramen

went out horse riding while I was working my jolly little socks off.

And it would have been nice to have gone horse riding

with an American stetson on and going "Yee Haal"

When I was in Denver doing the picture edit,

we did two versions.

We did version one,

which was essentially for the UK TV broadcast,

which, as I said earlier, didn't actually happen.

So the... It was an hour version, an hour long,

and that became the VHS sell-through version of the concert.

But at the same time I was there,

I edited the entire concert.

And this is probably the first time I've seen the concert in its entirety

and I can't wait to actually sit down and have a proper viewing of it.

So this is the entire, full-length version

of what happened at Red Rocks.

And I can't wait,

I really cannot wait to sit down and watch it through.

And I know I'll get my old buddies, a couple of the old cameramen

and Malcolm Gerrie, who were actually there,

and Liz Treadway, there with me on the day and sit them down,

and give them a nice big glass of champagne or wine, and say,

"Well, this was history."

And perhaps some chocolate cake.

I think, prior to U2 playing this concert,

the only way that the fans knew about them

was from their radio plays.

And I think that says a huge amount about the quality of the band.

The fact that because of radio

that they had created such a huge following of fans

that actually then physically wanted to see them perform.

Is this when he dances with that girl out of the audience?

During this sequence, actually, I do remember

that Bono had said to me, you know,

"This does look OK.

"It doesn't look awkward in any way, shape or form."

And that's why I decided to put some of the action

with the girl that he brings out of the audience

and turn it into slo-mo, I seem to remember.

Because he was very concerned that it looked awkward.

That was another glorious little moment.

When he was on his way off and suddenly the band strike up

and the look of glee on his face to make a return.

No, you can't dance, off you gol

The movement... When you look at the pictures...

Obviously the camera there, that we're looking at now

was static and not hand-held.

But because they are so energetic within the frame,

you forget that the camera is actually moving.

Because their energy and their movement within the frame

is so, you know, exaggerated.

It's just really so good.

And I hate to say that myself.

I keep saying it, it's not because of me that it is so good.

Do you know, I think they would have played

till the next day without stopping if they had a chance.

And it didn't need any fancy set, you know.

How long to sing this song?

This is definitely one of my favorites.

Obviously been a great hit for him.

But like I say, no fancy set.

Bit of carpet on a wooden stage,

you know, and it's all there.

It is an amazing song this, amazing.

You're not going to say that Adam Clayton is on the lead guitar?

The Edge is on the bass?

Now I think it happens here where he sort of...

The lights go out on him

and we get another shot of him from a different angle, which is extraordinary.

It's somewhere around here.

He comes in and does an extra verse.

This is where Bono just, sort of, like, appears.

From nowherel

I think it's here somewhere.

Therel Wowl

Well, what can I say?

It's brought my memories just flooding back from all those years ago.

And how joyous it's been to see that again.

Fantasticl Absolutely fantastic.

I shall treasure that for many, many years to come.