Call it a sort of homecoming–there’s a fun story in Pennsylvania’s Times Herald about an interview that U2 frontman Bono gave to KYW Philadelphia back in 1981, which is said to be the band’s first American TV interview. Drue then drove Bono to his gig at Bijou Cafe on Lombard Street in Philly.
Radio personality Cyndy Drue had a weekly TV show on KYW, during which she identified and at times interviewed up and coming musical acts. She sat with Bono for a 10 minute chat on The Rock ‘n Roll Show, which the Times Herald says the Comcast Network aired on the Voice of Reason program in its entirely Sunday night, with some commentary from radio personality Danny Bonaduce.
U2 is coming to Philly this Thursday, 30 years, a dozen albums, and several Bono hairstyles removed from that 1981 tour.
The newspaper story offers a look at how Philly has changed since 1981.
One by one, all of the local U2 milestone markers have “loosed the chains,” as a line from “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” goes, and disappeared, Drue said.
“The Bijoui is now condos … the Ripley on South Street, where they played after that, is gone … the Spectrum is gone. Even the place where I interviewed him at 5th and Market, that whole building was gutted and they built the Jewish museum there. So all these places where he was don’t exist anymore.”
