 |
| DEUTSCHE VERSION |
| Interview with Matt McGee |
    
|
Name: | "U2: A Diary" by Matt McGee |
| Website: | www.u2diary.com | |
| Book review: | follows soon | |
| Matt McGee is the founder and editor in chief of the highly aclaimed U2 fansite atu2.com. His book U2: A Diary, which recaps almost every important day in U2s history, is out now and we took the chance to ask him some questions about it. | ||
|
U2tour.de: How did you come up with the idea of the book? Matt: It wasn't my idea. :-) Back in 2005, I had an idea for different U2-related book and was trying to find a publisher. Omnibus Press was at the top of my list because they've already published several U2 books, including the excellent U2 Live - A Concert Documentary. So, I knew they were familiar with the U2 audience. But they weren't interested in the book idea I was pitching. Instead, they came back to me and asked if I wanted to write a history book about U2 using a timeline/diary format. Needless to say, I was very interested! U2tour.de: What was your motivation/interest to write this particular kind of book? Matt: I've always been interested in U2's history, and my favorite part of @U2 was that old "This Date in U2 History" timeline that we used to have on the site. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to know "What day did U2 do this? What day did they do that?" I'm kinda strange that way. :-) So, the chance to tell U2's entire history in this format was something I couldn't turn down. U2tour.de: In general: what is the book about? Matt: It's a history and biography of the band, but it's written like a diary. I go through the band's entire career and report what they did on a day-by-day basis. Each year is its own chapter, so fans can use it as a quick resource when looking up facts or events that U2 has been involved in. U2tour.de: How long did it take you to write it? Matt: I started in 2005, right when Omnibus Press first asked if I was interested in doing it. Then, for several different and boring reasons, the book was delayed for about a year. We started talking about it again in late 2006, signed the agreement in early 2007, and I submitted the complete manuscript on January 2, 2008. So, even though it was almost three years from start to finish, it was actually about 18 months of research and writing. U2tour.de: Which is your favourite story/moment included in the book? Matt: I'm most proud of the way the band's early interest in Christianity is portrayed in the book. I spent a lot of time researching that, and had some great help from friends who found old interviews and articles that have never been seen before by a lot of people. I also spent a lot of time choosing my words very carefully throughout that story because I wanted to be sure to characterize what was happening as accurately as possible. The common story is that three band members joined Shalom, then Shalom told them to quit the band or leave Shalom, and they chose to stay in U2. But, in reality, the story is a lot more complicated than that. I feel like the story as I tell it in U2 - A Diary is as accurate and fair as it can be. U2tour.de: Was editing hard? e.g. did you have to leave great stories out? Matt: Aside from a couple unimportant personal things involving the band's families, I didn't really leave anything out. If I found an event or piece of news that U2 was involved in, and could confirm the date, it's in the book. What was difficult was the research. There were some stories and events that I couldn't confirm with enough evidence to put in the book. In cases like that, when I was too uncertain about the facts, I had to leave it out altogether. That was tough, because I wanted to keep digging and researching these stories, but finally had to submit my manuscript. U2tour.de: How many fans helped to write the book and sent their stories in to you? Matt: Hundreds! I don't have an exact count, but there are close to 200 fans listed in the acknowledgments, and I'm sure I left some out. I received more than a thousand emails from all over the world while I was working on the book. The fans were amazing. The book is so much better because of their help. And I have to thank you and your team especially for the emails you sent with good information. Your web site was also a big help -- the tour date archive, the video archive, and much more. U2tour.de: How many pictures did you receive from fans around the world and how many are contained in the book? Matt: It was at least hundreds. Some people sent in 6-8 emails, each one with 10 photos attached! There were times it took so long to get my email that I had to just go away from the computer and check back later to see if everything was downloaded. I don't know exactly how many made it into the book, but when I saw the early proofs, there were a lot. Some great concert photos, of course, but then also some terrific photos from when fans would see Bono or a band member at other events, too. When I was reviewing the proofs a couple months ago, I really pushed as hard as I could to get some more fan photos in the book. There were some events -- like the amazing Polish flag display at the Vertigo Tour concert in 2005 -- that the fan photos weren't included in what I saw. So I let the photo team know that this was an important thing, and said ... Please, if there's any way you can fit a photo or two from this event into the book, do it. I won't know if I succeeded until I see the book myself! But I did my best to get as many fan photos in there as possible. U2tour.de: Which was the most absurd story you received from a fan? Matt: I don't think any of the stories were absurd -- I was happy to get emails from any fan that sent something in trying to help. But, there were a fair amount of things I couldn't use. Lots of "I shook Bono's hand after the concert" and "I saw Adam on the hotel elevator." Generally speaking, those things aren't going to be in the book, unless they add something new. Like, if we thought Adam was in Dublin working on the album, and someone sent a photo of him on an elevator in Australia, that's interesting. :-) U2tour.de: Will there be a German version? Matt: I don't know yet. Omnibus is glad to talk with publishers in other countries about translating the book, but the initial interest has to come from the other publishers. I know there are lots of big book fairs where Omnibus will be showcasing the book to foreign publishers, so hopefully some of them will be interested in translating it. I wrote about this in some more detail on U2diary.com: http://www.u2diary.com/qa-will-u2-a-diary-be-available-in-my-language/114/ U2tour.de: Did you have contact with any person close to U2 concerning the book? Matt: When we first got started, we let Principle Management know that the book was being written and expected to publish in late 2008. And then a few times while I was writing it, if I was trading emails with someone they might say "Good luck with the book!" or something like that. Martin Wroe, the editor of U2.com, was very kind that way -- always supportive. And then when we were working on photos, Principle helped us get in touch with some photographers we couldn't locate, which was also cool. I also sent an occasional email to some of the band's associates looking for help, and they were willing to help when they could. For example, Willie Williams confirmed for me what day he saw his first U2 concert. :-) U2tour.de: Are there plans to hand over 1 (or 4) issues of the book directly to U2? Matt: Yes. I don't know how many copies, but Omnibus is going to send the book to Principle Management for their enjoyment. (Hopefully!) U2tour.de: Have you got (or heard) any reaction/feedback from the band while working on it? Matt: None at all. They have much more important things to worry about ... LIKE FINISHING THE NEW ALBUM!!! U2tour.de: Where do you store all those collectives, CDs, informations, books, magazines etc. about the band? do you have a special room for it and what does your family/friends think about it? Matt: I actually sold a bunch of my collectibles a few years ago. I think at least one member of your web site team purchased some of my more valuable items! But I do have a little office where all the books, magazines, 12-inch vinyl, a few vinyl singles, some store displays, some posters, and all the CDs, DVDs, and cassettes I own can be found. It's a tiny little space, so everything is within easy reach. You can kinda see it in my staff page on @U2: http://www.atu2.com/contact/bio.src?ID=1 U2tour.de: Was writing the book more fun or more hard work? did you expect it to be like that? Matt: It was both, really. I tried writing a book about U2 fans back in the 1990s, worked on it for two years, and never finished it. So that gave me an idea how difficult finishing a book is. With U2 - A Diary, I essentially spent most of my free time during 2007 sitting in my office researching and writing until after midnight. My wife pretty much ran the house without me. I didn't watch much TV, go to many movies, or do any of the fun stuff you might normally do with family and friends. That was tough. But ... it's a book about U2! So, of course it was a lot of fun. It was fun digging and trying to find pieces of information that haven't been reported before. It was fun trading emails with U2 fans who were offering help and information I could use. And it was really fun finishing the book! U2tour.de: And what was most surprising about writing the book? Matt: I was surprised at how many things we don't know about U2. There are so many little events and facts in the book that I had never heard of before, so it was very cool to discover a lot of new things and add them to the band's story. U2tour.de: Will you update the book at any stage in the future or start regular updates e.g. every 5 years? Matt: I hope so. The book contract talks about the possibility of doing an update in the future, but it doesn't guarantee we'll do an update. I think if fans respond well to the book and if it sells well, Omnibus would be more interested in doing an update someday. Their experience with U2 Live - A Concert Documentary shows that fans are interested in updates of this kind of book, so hopefully they'll want to do it in a few years. I'm keeping track of diary entries for 2008 just to be safe. Thank you for the interview Matt! |
 More Infos:
|
|
» Book review 'U2 by U2' » Buchrezension 'U2 live - a concert documentary' |
