U2 U-turn put Irish diplomats in ’embarrassing situation’

Irish officials thought they had five times as many free tickets for a U2 tour of the United States, with newly released Government files revealing that diplomats were left in an “embarrassing situation”.

Management for the Dublin rock band had engaged with the Department of Foreign Affairs ahead of their 1987 Joshua Tree tour and offered to include “key people” on the guest list for a range of shows.

In one letter from Dublin to the Irish Ambassador in Washington, it was explained that the band wanted representatives from “semi-state bodies and the like”, with diplomats also hoping it was possible to invite “colleague ambassadors, administration and other notables or their children”.

A list of names was drawn up on the belief up to 60 guests for each concert would be acceptable.

That belief is recorded in a note of a February 1987 meeting with U2 manager Paul McGuinness, where a “possible mutual cooperation towards the benefit of Ireland’s image abroad” was discussed.

A Department official wrote that “U2 would gladly make available a certain number (perhaps 50-60) of backstage seats” for the Ambassador or consul in a particular city on the tour.

This message was relayed to Ireland’s representatives in cities including Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC in March.

However, they were told weeks the band wanted to limit the allocation to 10 tickets per night.

The consul general in Boston said this “puts us in an embarrassing situation” as potential guests had already been approached for their preferred dates.

The response from the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs read: “You will appreciate that there is little can be done about U-turn by band in this matter. Why not ask your contact if you could put a few more than the ten per night on your list if situation is embarrassing?”

The documents also state that U2 were in consideration for playing a free concert to 400,000 people at the Eiffel Tower to mark its centenary – after an expression of interest by then Paris mayor Jacques Chirac.

The band did not perform at the tower, with Johnny Hallyday and Stevie Wonder among the main acts on the day.

– This article is based on files in a document labelled 2025/124/461 at the National Archives of Ireland