Ecstatic U2 fans (back from left) Steve Limbrick, Stan Peters, Rebecca Almatrah, Kate O’Donnell, Heidi Austin, (front from left) Dave Sauteur, and Kevin Lay with their tickets, purchased after waiting for hours outside Dandenong Myer’s Ticketmaster outlet last Monday morning.By Shaun Inguanzo
U2 FANS were overcome by vertigo as they queued in Dandenong last week for tickets to the Irish rock band’s second and final Melbourne concert in March next year.
The line was led by a small group of about 10 people, who camped outside the Ticketmaster outlet near Myer Dandenong the night before sales began.
U2 has not toured Australia since 1997, leaving fans hungry for the band’s renowned live show, which sold out more than 110 performances in the United States and Europe during 2005, even before the tour began.
The band announced two weeks ago that it would bring its Vertigo tour to Australia in March 2006 but, one week later, the first Melbourne show at Telstra Dome sold out within two hours of the box office opening, leaving many fans without a ticket.
Steve Limbrick and Fiona Bruzzi were among those who missed out, not anticipating the demand.
Both were determined to secure tickets for the second show, and had set up sleeping bags and slouch chairs outside Myer the previous evening to be among the first in line.
“We didn’t know (the first show) was going to be hard to get tickets for,” Mr Limbrick said.
Rebecca Almatrah from Skye, and Kate O’Donnell from Doveton, said they would go to Sydney for the concert if they missed out on the second Melbourne show.
“We really want to go, they haven’t been out (to Australia) in eight years,” Ms Almatrah said.
Heidi Austin, who travelled from Patterson Lakes to join the Dandenong queue, said the band was popular because it appealed to so many generations.
“They are still contenders,” she said.
Mr Limbrick said the band’s music suited “all demographics”.
And, by 9am, the small contingent of campers was rewarded, each person securing tickets to the 25 March concert.
Roger Field, spokesman for tour promoter Michael Coppel Presents, said tickets sold out within an hour and a half.
He said fans that missed out on tickets could still grab a ‘sight line’ release, available if any extra seating becomes available after the stage is set up in March.
