When U2 went POP

U2 Pop Mart Gig Poster by Rex Ray 

Being Saint Patrick’s Day we thought we’d be totally unoriginal and feature a U2 gig poster. But don’t let our Guinness soak imaginations influence your appreciation of the piece. Produced for U2’s Pop Mart Tour back in ’97, this is a sweet piece by artist Rex Ray.

Pop Mart was U2 at their most excessive. The band was one of the biggest in the world and playing it up. It was an inside joke that not everybody got. The band appeared out of a giant Lemon, Bono was trotting out his MacPhisto persona  and the multi-media onslaught established on the Zoo TV Tour was turned up to 11.

Rex Ray was a San Francisco based artist who has created hundreds of gig posters for artists including The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Kanye West. A master of layering together media from different sources, Ray was the perfect casting to bring the sensory overload of POP Mart to paper. Extra points for a kick ass bill including Oasis.

The poster can be found on Wolfgang’s Vault. A first print version will run you $98.

Sadly Rex Ray passed away last February 9 after a battle with cancer. You can view more of his work on rexray.com. And if you’re going to raise a glass this St. Pat’s, raise it to Ray.