2022-11-16

The London Palladium, London, England

Set List of Show:

Main Set:

"City Of Blinding Lights"
"Vertigo"
"With or Without You"
"Out of Control"
"Stories for Boys"
"I Will Follow"
"Iris (Hold Me Close)"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Pride (In the Name of Love)"
"Where the Streets Have No Name"
"Desire"
"Beautiful Day"
"Torna a Surriento"

Other Music Used in Show (Non-Bono Performances)

"Gloria"
"October"
"Into the Heart"
"Miss Sarajevo"

Additional Music

Pre-Recorded Intro Song: "Empire State Human" - The Human League
Pre-Recorded Exit Song: "La Traviata Act I: Dell'invito trascorsa e gia l'ora" - Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Matteo Manuguerra

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by Bono:

Cabaret

Show Details:

Bono takes his “Stories of Surrender” tour for seven shows in Europe, starting with this show in London tonight. The show sees Bono performing songs, reading from his book, and acting out events from the book on stage, accompanied by three Irish musicians. Jacknife Lee, who has worked with U2 as a producer joins Bono on keyboards and drums. Kate Ellis accompanies him on cello, and Gemma Doherty is on harp, keyboards and keyboards.

The London Palladium is located in Soho in London, and was opened in 1910. It has been used as a theatre and for TV programs over the years. The theatre has Heritage Foundation commemorative plaques. The capacity of the theatre is 2286, and that makes it the fourth largest stop of the “Stories of Surrender” tour in Europe.

Bono took the stage around 8:30. The set list tonight is the same as an earlier show in Toronto. It includes the main set, but Bono does not perform the encore, which is usually a second version of “City of Blinding Lights”. During an early portion of the show Bono did incorporate some lyrics to “Miracle Drug” into his performance this evening ahead of “With or Without You”, but as these were not set to music, nor sung, we’ve not added them to the set list. Tonight Bono claimed he was “forsaking the stadium for the Palladium” so he could be “solo in Soho”.

On his way into the theatre tonight, Bono did stop to greet fans gathered outside in the rain, and signed some autographs. He was keeping his voice hushed, and told the crowd he wouldn’t be talking.

In the audience tonight were a number of people from the U2 family. Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records was there, as was Bono’s daughter Jordan Hewson, and his wife Ali. Former U2 manager Paul McGuinness was also spotted in the crowd, his second time spotted at a show after opening night in New York. Longtime friend, ghostwriter on U2 by U2, Neil McCormick was at the show and Producers Brian Eno and Flood were seen shaking hands and speaking when Eno arrived. Other notable attendees included musicians Bob Geldof, Noel Gallagher, Richie Sambora and Imelda May; politicians Douglas Alexander and Sadiq Khan (mayor of London); authors Caitlin Moran and Simon Schama; screen writer Richard Curtis, and journalists and media personalities such as Simon Mayo, Sean O’Hagan, Pete Paphides, Sarfraz Manzoor and Jonathan Freedland. Noel Gallagher got some applause as he entered and he playfully attempted to get the crowd to cheer even louder.

In The Guardian, Jonathan Freedland shares, “This show was a reminder of how deeply embedded the songs of U2 are in the folk memory, but they have rarely, if ever, been heard like this. The arrangements were spare, to the point of diffidence – sometimes halting just before the take-off that would delight a stadium crowd. The result was that, in a classic such as With or Without You, the pain, the ache, became unmistakable and new. When he closed the show by singing, alone, Torna a Surriento, a melody beloved by his late father, the effect was complete. This was a portrait of the artist as a young man, who, no matter that he is now in his 60s, continues to yearn. That fire burns still – and it is unforgettable.”

Neil McCormick shared on Twitter, “Saw an old school friend onstage at the Palladium tonight. His theatrical book show was funny, moving, revealing and wow he’s singing better than ever. I mean, most people’s voices drop with age. I swear Bono’s is getting higher.”

Special thanks to Alan, Harry, Duane, Sean and Wylo for their assistance with information this evening.

Although he did not sign books in London the same day as the event, Bono returned to the area on November 18, 2022, and signed copies of his book at Rough Trade East, a music store which was one of the first stores in the UK to sell U2 records, importing copies of U2’s “Three” in December 1979.

Tickets for the show went on sale on Friday, October 7 at 10am. A special pre-sale for U2.com members happened the day before. All tickets were mobile delivery, and delayed until 72 hours before the show, and all tickets for the show came with a copy of the book, which was shipped to UK addresses ahead of the performance. This is the first stop of the tour where books were shipped rather than delivered at the venue.

Officially Released Tracks