A Musical Journey

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Available today in the United States and Canada is U2: An Unforgettable Journey, an “unauthorized documentary” about U2, on video and DVD.

Before you invest US$14.95 for Journey (on sale at Amazon.com), you should know what you’ll be getting.

Director Frederick Roll tells the story of U2’s rise to worldwide fame through interviews of Irish journalists. Among those interviewed are journalist Dermott Hayes (famous for being Sinead O’Connor’s ex-lover), who purports that U2 wouldn’t have made it if they had not traveled to the United States and United Kingdom; Hot Press writer Colm O’Hare, who shares a story about booking a band called Feedback for a concert at the local high school in the late seventies; and ShowBiz Ireland editor Ray Senior, who recalls an evening following Bono and Bill Clinton around Dublin.

The band themselves do NOT appear in Journey — except in brief clips from old television interviews — and none of their music has been used in the soundtrack.

The 60-minute documentary may disappoint you if seeing and hearing the band is what you enjoy most. If, however, you enjoy stories and can appreciate different perspectives on the history of the band, you may find this documentary worthwhile. The DVD includes a discography and trivia game as bonus material.