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U2 invited London firefighters to watch their Twickenham rehearsal

The band performed privately for firefighters and their guests before their sold-out gigs at the stadium 

Clarisse Loughrey
Sunday 09 July 2017 12:12 BST
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Ahead of their Twickenham Stadium gigs this weekend, U2 reached out to London's firefighters, many of whom risked their lives and gave everything to combat the Grenfell Tower blaze.

The NME reports approximately 50 firefighters and their guests were invited to a private performance as part of the band's soundchecks and rehearsals on Saturday, with a chance to meet the band backstage afterward.

The performance featured a truncated version of their full stage show, as the band played the following hits: 'The Little Things That Give You Away', 'Where The Streets Have No Name', 'California (There Is No End To Love)' (snippet), 'I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For', 'Red Hill Mining Town', 'Miss Sarajevo', 'Beautiful Day', 'Starman' (snippet), 'Mysterious Ways', and 'Vertigo'.

Apart from the length, the rehearsal show played out pretty much like the full affair, with a guest named Louise even being invited onstage to dance with Bono.

Professional cameras were not allowed into the rehearsal performance, though attendees captured much of the excitement on their phones.


The gigs are part of U2's Joshua Tree World Tour, celebrating 30 years since the release of the band's fifth studio album, with this leg of the tour seeing support from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

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