While the 40-night residency in Las Vegas was a smash hit, U2's Bono was initially steered away from doing the Sphere residency by Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino.
During a panel at the Bloomberg Screentime on Wednesday, October 9, Rapino recalled his conversations with Bono (via TheWrap). He was hesitant to have U2 play shows at the Sphere and tried to talk him out of it. Ultimately, Bono got his way and was determined to make it work.
“That was fully Bono — I tried to talk him out of it,” the Live Nation CEO revealed. “I was worried about it. He was determined to do it.”
One concern was making fans sick watching the visuals on the wraparound LED screens. Still, the “With or Without You” singer would not budge. Rapino recalled Bono saying he has “got a guy who's going to look at it.”
Rapino is happy with the finished product. Despite his hesitancy, Rapino was blown away by what the Irish rock band did at the venue.
“I was worried. Bono is a force of nature, he said let's go for it,” he said. “We sat there opening night, [and] it was fabulous.”
As for the business side of the Sphere — James Dolan and Sphere Entertainment Co. sunk $2.3 billion into making the venue. Rapino gave him credit for it and knows artists love the idea of the Sphere.
“[Dolan] took a big swing, it's innovative as hell,” Rapino said. “I'm sure the costs versus the revenue part, he'll figure it out over time. I give him full credit — artists love the idea of it.
“I don't know if the business model is right, I don't know if the business model is replicable, [and] I don't know if it works for Vegas, which is a unicorn,” he added.
U2's Sphere shows
From September 29, 2023, to March 2, 2024, U2 played a 40-show residency at the Sphere. It was properly titled U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.
The residency was centered around the band's 1991 album Achtung Baby. Each night, the band performed the album in full for the first time. The opening numbers harkened back to their ZooTV Tour from the '90s.
Additionally, they would break up the album in the middle of each set. They would play four acoustic songs similar to their Songs of Surrender arrangements. The encore consisted of the band's biggest hits like “Beautiful Day” and “Where the Streets Have No Name” as well as their song written for the venue, “Atomic City.”
Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton of U2 were present for the residency. However, their drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., was not. He missed the shows due to his recovery from health issues.
Bram van den Berg filled in for Mullen during the residency. Van den Berg performed at all 40 shows during the residency's run. He is best known for being the drummer of the Dutch band Krezip.
After the Sphere, U2 will likely hit the road again and embark on a proper tour. Their Sphere shows were the first time they performed a concert residency.