Matthew Bird

“So it goes, shot by shot and line by line through a 140-minute concert. And no one raises an eyebrow, no one thinks it's unusual. The people in this room will work all night and not hesitate to argue over a camera angle or guitar mix until the sun returns to the Sydney sky.”
― Bill Flanagan, U2 at the End of the World

“Bono’s pet phrase for the Zoo philosophy has been judo, jujitsu: using your enemy’s strength against him. It’s how the band reconciled their embrace of all the tools-commercialism, glamour, stardom, ostentation-to which U2’s music and beliefs had previously stood in opposition. Art students might suss this stuff by sophomore year, but U2 are artists by instinct, not training. It took them a decade to figure it out.”
― Bill Flanagan, U2 at the End of the World

“America lacked the hereditary aristocracy of Europe, so New York found itself creating its own elite criteria. Four hundred names, roughly the number of people who could reasonably fit in Caroline Astor's Fifth Avenue ballroom, defined the true upper crust of the city.”
― Deirdre Mask, The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power

“They think that the record company came up with the name U2! Or they think that our manager was the person who planned our pathway to success. It couldn't be further from the truth. Paul McGuinness mentored us in principles that proved to be the best there were, and the record company helped us in our journey. But we are very much in charge of our own destiny, and have been always. I think that's really important.”
― Bono, Bono In Conversation With Michka Assayas - 2006 publication.