Anyone who is a U2 fan and has taken a closer look at the cover of the single “I Will Follow” can spot music journalist Mark Stackenberg (66) from Oisterwijk. But how did he appear so clearly on this cover?
He was still regularly reminded that he was on the cover, but he himself was self-conscious about it. “But the amazing thing is that it has taken on a life of its own. If there is something going on with U2, people know how to contact me.
At the time, Stakenburg worked at KRO, then at Radio3, and was allowed to report on Pinkpop in 1981. The first and only year the Irish rock band performed at the Limburg Festival. With a very young Bono on stage, the edgeLarry Mullen and Adam Clayton. Ready to discover. Stakenburg was fronting the stage in U2 at the time.
“I sat and relaxed with them for twenty minutes.”
“I will follow It was definitely the band’s real breakthrough. I also interviewed Bono and U2 the other day, and had a nice chat with them. They were very humble, friendly and approachable. So I sat down and talked to them for twenty minutes. After that you think it became a very big band.
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He was never asked for permission to appear on the cover of the record, it just happened to him. “I just happened to be standing there at the front of that stage for work, and this is what happened.”
As a music journalist, he received singles by artists from the record label, including artists from U2. Only then did he discover his picture on the front of the cover. “The guys at the record company told me I was doing it. I had no idea.”
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Later he was surprised again when he traveled to the Music Hall of Fame in Cleveland. “U2 had their own showcase there, and I saw this cover hanging with my face on it. I thought that was probably the funniest, because it’s pretty much the most important music museum in the world.”
As a music journalist, Stakenburg has interviewed many musicians. “But that was my job, and after a while you get used to it, which is weird enough. I had the opportunity to talk to big names, like David Bowie and Randy Newman. These are the great musicians that I admire. Bob Dylan is the most difficult person to talk to.” Absolutely, and I would love to interview him again.
“Then suddenly they went into this huge hall. I haven’t liked that music for a while.”
He admits he doesn’t have much with U2 these days. The band’s current concert series is at the high-profile concert hall the field In Las Vegas he skips quietly.
“I have some mixed feelings about that. First they make an album of alternate versions of previous hits, which are all kept very small. Then they suddenly go into one of those huge halls. I haven’t done that much music in a while. Although I “I heard good things about the concert.”
And the singular of I will followDid he keep that after all these years? “I think it must be here somewhere in the house, and I certainly kept it. But I don’t actually know exactly where I left it.”
This week, Omroep Brabant Radio touches on 80s vibes, as we step into a time machine and go back in time about 40 years. You can hear hits from the time and forgotten gems from November 6-12. On the radio in Omroep Brabant during the “80s feeling”.
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