No End In Sight

I love surprises; they relieve you of life's constant drudge through mundaneness, a breath of fresh air into the stale lungs of reality. Though some surprises are best left as the tantalising, unrealised morsel of promise they promote. To that end I was recently invited to a special function to celebrate the release of U2's latest collection of important music. It was to be held at a prestigious London hotel and would be followed by a big surprise!

At this mere whiff of possibility that something truly surprising may happen my mind went into overdrive. I supposed an event where band members were signing new born kittens and giving them out as gifts, where one lucky reporter would get to fly around on the private U2 jet with the band, where Bono and The Edge would vie for our attentions by putting each other down with a barrage of ever more defamatory remarks.

The swelling crowds on Portland Place gave it away immediately. There would be no fluffy animals, no jet planes, no one-upmanship. The Irish rock stars were going to play music to us, probably on top of the BBC building across the street.

I skulked in the plush function room at the hotel, knocking back the free beer and chatting idiotically with other journalists about the impending hour of our surprise. Indeed the great Irish rock band were to play high atop the ramparts of the BBC building directly opposite the hotel. Some had already seen them earlier today at another surprise event so I expected that their surprise level had long since ebbed.

Eventually the time was upon us and whilst others chose to view the occasion from another nearby hotel room I wanted to join the fans on the street. The hubbub was considerable as people jostled and pushed their way forward hoping to be the first to see the band. Every neck was arched skyward towards the roof top where U2 would play and all around me foreign reporters were animatedly giving a blow by blow account of the waiting process to cameras and mobile phones. When a well known BBC DJ welcomed everyone and introduced the band there was an almost audible crackle of excitement through the crowd, though it was swiftly drowned out by cheering and clapping when a familiar frontman took to the microphone and told us in no uncertain terms that they weren't going away any time soon. If the scene was vaguely reminiscent of the band's publicity stunt some 22 years ago when they played on the roof of a liquor store in L.A. to promote The Joshua Tree then it should be noted that their fame has grown comparatively with the height of the buildings they've played on. Over four songs including Beautiful Day and new single Get On Your Boots the crowd was reminded why this quartet has remained one of the biggest bands in the world for the past three decades. But as I headed home amongst the throng of sated fans to look at pictures of mewling kittens on the internet I suspected that somewhere out there Paul McCartney was yawning.