U2

U2 is a well known musical rock group that has a minor presence in RPF fandom. Its members are Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, and Adam Clayton.
 
== U2 Fandom ==
The vast majority of U2 fandom fits within the traditional music fan model - fans are interested in the band and its music, attending concerts and collecting their CDs or MP3s. Photos of the band and their music videos are traded and shared. Some fan art and photomanips are produced. Fanzines tend to focus on the band, the music and tour dates.
Much smaller is the interactive media style fandom that writes fanfiction, creates fan art, and engages in cosplay or role-playing. With the band popularity increasing in the 1980s and reaching its height in the mid 1990s, there certainly were fans reading and writing fanfiction; however little information is available on these activities. Notable exceptions are the Luminous Times Universe written and published in the late 1980s. Negative attitudes towards RPF at the time ensured that most of the fanfiction activity reminded hidden.
Some fans found U2 fanfic fandom by reading fanfiction years before, others wandered in via popslash fandom, and a few stumbled across the concept of fanfiction - and U2 fanfic - by accident. 
Fan fiction reappeared online in the early 2000s, with many fans reporting that their entry came via the Music Fan Fiction Category on FanFiction.Net. Unfortunately, FF.Net eliminated the Music category in September 2002, scattering fan writers.Wtf??? post at the u2interference forum on 09-12-2002 A few writers migrated to the U2Interfernece forum, however slash fan fiction was banned from that site.What is unacceptable in PLEBA? (and the rest of the forum): "Posting about the band's "private parts" in any way will not be allowed. Any threads about the bands private parts, subtle or not, may be closed, and the author may receive a warning via pm or email." (Accessed 11 Apr 2015) The Love Is Blindness archive was set up to accommodate all pairings and a few fans created Livejournal communities and Yahoo Groups mailing lists.
Like most RPF, U2 fanfic writers often used lengthy disclaimers when posting their fanworks:
== Pairings ==
In terms of slash fan fiction, the main pairing seems to be Bono/The Edge, followed by Adam/Larry. Many of the gen stories have an element of Mary Sue to them. Another character that appears in fan fiction is Bono's on stage MacPhisto persona - a devil horned rocker who wore gold lame suits and platform shoes.
==Fan Comments==
===1994===
===2002===
== Notable Fanworks ==
===Fan Fiction===
Gen/Het
*Luminous Times Universe, a 1988-92 privately-circulated series of fan fiction stories by Fern Marder & Carol Walske that eventually became part of a larger shared universe. It is a crossover among U2 (and later Mel Gibson) with the Robin of Sherwood characters and the lead actor of MacGyver. It is part AU, part RPF, and many stories tracked real time events that were happening during U2’s rock tours in the 1980s.
*"Diary of The Downcast" by youvedonewhat (link) (a story that follows a 15 year old girl on her journeys with U2)
Slash
* Sleight of Hand by leelah (originally posted to FanFiction.net and later to Love Is Blindness, now offline (Bono/The Edge)
*"Into the Rose Garden" by water hyacinth (part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5, any parts after that are offline) (Bono/The Edge)
*poetthief's master fic list - multiple pairings
*"To decline and fall in Rome" by Claire () (Adam/Larry)
* U3 by likemadonna (originally posted to FanFiction.net, some chapters offline) (Bono/The Edge/OFC)
===Non-Fiction===
* We'll Shine Like Stars (1989) is an integration of media fan fiction that includes a transcript of an interview with Bono (page 95 from Propaganda issue No. 9, 1989) and song lyrics to six U2 songs 
===Fan Art===
*weloveu2 on Deviantart (link)reference link; reference link; reference link.
*U2 Live from Gallifrey on tumblrreference link; reference link; reference link.
File:Beautiful day by thesimpsonsfangirl-small.jpg|Fan artists often incorporate song lyrics into their art while adding interpretative, often surrealistic, images. Here, Bono is pictured along with a white dove, a symbol of peace. Title: Beautiful Day. Art by thesimpsonsfangirl. Medium: Sharpie pens
File:U2 october by lemonlegs4-small.jpg|Here the song lyrics are accompanied by more impressionistic images. Title: October. Artist: lemonlegs4. Mixed Medium.
File:Mural wip by alois noette-smaller.jpg|A fan artist working on a mural, a WIP. This image is Bono around 1988. Title: Mural WIP. Artist: alois noette.
File:More mural progress by alois noette-small.png|One year later the artist has made more progress on the mural. In the upper right corner is a drawing of Ian Curtis, leader singer of Joy Division, a 1970's post-punk band. Additional plans are made for singer Patti Smith and photographer Mapplethorpe, showcasing the wide range of interests of some U2 fans.
File:Mr MacPhisto by w i s h small.jpg|During the ZooTV tour (1991-1993), Bono created an onstage alter ego called MacPhisto. The artist writes this was the golden age of U2. Title: Mr MacPhisto . Artist: w i s h.
File:Bono by choffman36small.jpg|Bono is a popular theme for many U2 fan artists. This artist tries to capture the many looks of Bono across the years. Note the MacPhisto persona in the lower right corner. Title: The many faces of Bono. Artist: choffman36. Medium: Pastels on Velour paper, 8" x 10".
File:Happy birthday the edge by u2fan003 smaller.jpg|This drawing was done to celebrate The Edge's 50th birthday. Title: The Edge. Artist: u2fan003. Medium:Indian Ink on Paper. Brush only. A3.
File:Larry mullen jr by 5ilviett4-smaller.jpg|Larry Mullen, the drummer, is a less popular fan artist choice. Here the artist writes: Young Larry Mullen. Liked his James Dean look. Title: Larry mullen jr. Artist: 5ilviett4. Medium: acrylic paint on cardboard, size 50x55 cm.
File:Adam Clayton by swesoe. smaller.jpg|Adam Clayton, bass guitarist. Artist:swesoe. Medium: graphite pencil??
==Archives==
*Love Is Blindness (link) – founded in September 2002 after FanFiction.net removed music fiction category from their site
*fandomination.net – multifandom fanfic archive (now offline)
*u2-fanfiction.com – founded some time before 2005, accepted all genres and had, as of 2006 approximately 200 stories (now offline)
*U2 works on AO3
== Communities ==
Mailing Lists
*U2Bubblegum – started Aug 2001
*biggoldshoe (archive link) – a small mailing list that was started December 2002 to feature fanfiction "devoted to Bono's warring alter egos": Bono and MacPhisto
*U2Fanfiction (archive link) – started Feb 2002, hosting U2 fanfiction, including slash, dormant as of 2013
Forums
*u2interference – a general forum with a webzine founded in the 1990s, this website has a small fan fiction section. No slash permitted. (link)
Livejournal Communities
*U2Slash (link) – started Sept 2002, still active as of October 2013
*U2Fic (link) – non slash fan fiction, started November 2002, inactive as of October 2013
*Burning Down Love (link) non slash fan fiction community, started March 2010, still active as of March 2013
*Wild Thoughts (link) – an all genre fanfiction community, started March 2004, inactive as of October 2013
== Challenges ==
*U2 Slash Kink Meme on Livejournal (link) – ran for one round in 2010
== Resources ==
* U2 Fandom Overview by lydia_petze at crack_van (2006)
==References==
Category:U2