U2: Want a 99?

U2 queues for ice-cream on Bray seafront. Photograph: Jason Forde

Film-producer Jason Forde had no camera, only his iPhone, to hand when he came upon four men (Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam) casually enjoying 99s by the seafront of his hometown this week.

Forde, from Bray, Co Wicklow, saw some activity and a film crew along the shore on Tuesday and realised it was U2. “Nobody was stopping. They did not realise it was U2 as it was very small and low key,” he said.

U2 had been in Bray Head Hotel when they came out and did a song and a shoot along the shore, Forde said.

There were “no photo journalists there it was all under wraps”, said Forde. He got a few shots but “did not want to take too many” or infringe too much.

“They moved from the sea front to the shelters and utilised the backdrop,” he said.“Larry had a snare drum, The Edge and Adam had guitars and there were a few people passing in the background used as extras,” he said.

They had brought in a nice old 1950s ice-cream van in for the shoot. Forde snapped them with his phone enjoying the traditional 99s on a typical overcast grey Irish day and even got in one of the photographs himself. He said Bono even bought some ice-creams for passersby. “For real U2 fans it was a golden opportunity,” he said.

He reflects that having only an iPhone may have been best. “They mightn’t have let big cameras take photos, the way it all happened,” he said.

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