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U2’s Ballroom Boom, BP Fallon & “Sunday Bloody Sunday” on The Garden Tarts U2 Podcast (S8:E11)

  • Writer: The Garden Tarts
    The Garden Tarts
  • 4 days ago
  • 8 min read

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Happy (belated!) St. Patrick’s Day from two gals living through three seasons in a single day. We recorded this one on Sunday, March 15 — this one goes to 11.


On our U2 podcast Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts with The Garden Tarts, we’re recapping a New York weekend at the U2 documentary Ballroom Boom and BP Fallon’s Rock and Roll Wizard, talking fresh U2 album and 2027 stadium tour rumors, and diving into a fan-fueled discussion of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and our next random song “Gloria.”


First things first: if you haven’t yet, please hit like on this episode, subscribe on YouTube, and consider subscribing on Apple or on Patreon. Subscribing on YouTube gets us closer to that magical threshold where we can finally turn on ad revenue, and an Apple subscription (about $30/year) is a huge vote of confidence in the fan content you love. If that’s not in the cards, listening, sharing, and leaving a review on Apple means the world to us.



This One Goes to 11: New Episode of Our U2 Fan Podcast

This is Season 8, Episode 11 — “this one goes to 11” — and it’s packed: New York adventures, Adam Clayton being an absolute debonair silver fox, a rock-and-roll wizard named BP Fallon, some very credible rumblings out of the U2 universe, and a listener-powered lovefest for “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” We also pull a new random song of the week, “Gloria,” and invite you to send us your stories and hot takes.


The weather may be feral, our lights may or may not be flickering, and spring might be trying on three outfits a day, but the U2 chatter is strong and the Tart energy is high.


Side A: New York, CraicFest, Adam Clayton’s Hair and his Ballroom Boom Documentary


We recently spent a weekend in New York for CraicFest at Village East by Angelika, and it turned out to be an absolutely lovely little film festival. We only managed to catch two films, but the vibe was warm, friendly, and exactly the kind of space where U2-adjacent nerds like us feel right at home.


The big draw for us was Ballroom Boom, a documentary hosted by Adam Clayton that digs into the history of Irish showbands. These showbands started in the 1940s and 50s, playing ballrooms to dancers all over Ireland with big lineups and a wild mix of big band, country, and pop covers instead of original songs. The film traces how massive they were as a cultural force and how disco ultimately killed that scene when everyone shifted to discotheques instead of live bands.


And yes, let’s talk about Adam.


He looked incredible. His hair was perfectly coiffed — just pure silver-fox elegance — and we absolutely did message his stylist to say so. It’s honestly wild to think about how far he’s come from the days when it was like pulling teeth to get him to say one sentence in a Kmart promo; now he’s hosting TV shows, narrating films, and owning the camera with this soft, kind, gentlemanly presence.


Watching him guide these conversations, including with a survivor of the Miami Showband massacre (also covered in a separate Netflix documentary), was really moving. We also loved getting to see old and new friends, hype up the pod a bit, and share space with fellow fans who “get it.” If Ballroom Boom comes anywhere near you we highly recommend checking it out.


Side A, Part Two: BP Fallon’s Rock and Roll Wizard and His History with U2


From Adam the silver fox to a man who might actually be a wizard: BP Fallon. The second film we saw was BP Fallon: Rock and Roll Wizard, Volume One, and yes, the “Volume One” suggests this story is still very much in progress.


BP’s resume is the stuff of rock mythology: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, T. Rex, U2, Jack White — he has been the guy behind the scenes helping build legends. He famously helped “make” Marc Bolan who he was, in that Glinda-the-Good-Witch way of telling someone, “You’ve had this all along, now put on some makeup and let’s make you famous.”


He’s recorded at Third Man Records, done photography, and spent decades as the wizard behind the curtain (minus the curtain; plus a lot of drugs).


BP Fallon’s Rock and Roll Wizard shows a different side of U2’s extended family, from T. Rex to Jack White and beyond. Here’s the kicker: he’s 79 and decided only a few years ago to start making his own music. Who starts a new music career at 79? Apparently, BP Fallon does, and it’s such a testament to how much energy and creative spark he still carries.


His job, as he describes it, was to make other people famous — to be the wizard behind so many careers. And somehow he’s still here, still creating, despite a lifestyle that probably shouldn’t have let him live this long.


The film also reminded us of his photography, especially his work with U2. Hillary tracked down his book Faraway, So Close (after losing her original copy to a move) and re-acquired it via eBay; it is loaded with photos you just don’t see circulating online, from the weird to the intimate to a classic shot of Bono ordering fast food from a car window. If you can get your hands on that book, do it.


Adam even shows up in the BP documentary and, unsurprisingly, says something that made us hope it was approved after the fact. Both films are absolutely worth your time if they come through your city; keep an eye on Irish film festivals near you because you might have one and not even know it.


Intermission: U2 Album Rumors, 50th Anniversary and 2027 Stadium Tour Talk


For intermission, we shifted from film festival territory to the swirling rumor mill in U2-land. Our friends at U2Songs have a column called “The Crystal Ball,” which only touches rumors they deem credible — not internet-comment nonsense, but info from sources they trust.


Here’s what those credible rumblings are saying right now:

  • A new U2 album is expected late September or early October 2026, aligning with the band’s 50th birthday as a band. Unlike the surprise-drop vibes of past eras, this one is expected to have a full, planned marketing build-up.

  • The next U2 tour is expected to be a stadium tour beginning in early 2027, with the first leg likely in South America and possibly Mexico.

  • Additional legs — including Europe and beyond — are expected to follow, with the U2 2027 stadium tour running into 2028.


What’s wild about that projected routing is what it doesn’t explicitly mention: North America. 360 started in Europe, but going back to Joshua Tree, most of the modern eras have kicked off in the U.S. If they really do South America, Mexico, Europe, and more before bringing it to the U.S. and Canada, that’s going to test the patience of a very spoiled North American fan base.


We totally understand why they’d make that choice, though. With the U.S. literally locking up foreigners at the border and political tensions running high, it makes sense to protect your crew and families and start the tour elsewhere. We’ll just need to brace ourselves for a long spoiler-filled wait — avoiding setlist spoilers for a full year seems basically impossible.


On the practical side, it also means money: we’re already thinking about how to save for whatever leg we can reasonably get to, and how to turn this little U2 podcast into a profitable job. So again, supporting the pod — by subscribing, reviewing, or kicking in paid support — is one of the ways you join us on that road.


Side B: U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” – Fan Stories, Live Memories and Our Thoughts


What we thought would be a tidy intermission topic turned into its own full Side B: your thoughts and stories about “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” We asked for comments, and you sent enough that we needed a whole side to do them justice — including what was basically a two-page essay from one listener.


A few highlights from our U2 fan podcast community:

  • Hillary’s brother Will, whose favorite U2 song this is, talked about how “Sunday Bloody Sunday” made him fall in love with drums and inspired him to play. He loves that the drum part is simple yet powerful — something you can learn in a second and then spend a lifetime perfecting — and has stories about hearing it live for the first time on Elevation in Charlotte and then again as the opener on The Joshua Tree 30th anniversary tour. He also feels a bit guilty about what his steering wheel goes through whenever the song comes on the radio.

  • Scott, who is in the band December, called U2’s decision to play “Sunday Bloody Sunday” in Belfast in the early 80s, at the height of the Troubles, the bravest thing any band has ever done in music history. He points to that moment as proof of their character — not posers, not pretenders — and references a near-riot (in a good way) where Bono said if people didn’t like it, they wouldn’t play it again.

  • Alexander argued that the Rattle and Hum version is the definitive one, and we very much agree; it remains one of the best live performances of that song and of “With or Without You” ever captured on film.


We also shouted out Sherry, whose line “They’re a protest band!” had us absolutely howling with laughter. It was such a simple, perfect way to cut through any hand-wringing about U2 being “too political” — like, what exactly did people expect?


In between your stories, we unpacked our own memories with the song, the evolution of how it’s been framed live, and what it means to have a track that’s both a protest song and a communal catharsis. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” keeps changing as the world changes, and the fact that so many of you have vivid, bodily memories attached to it — screaming, climbing, drumming, crying — speaks to its staying power.


Next Random Song of the Week: U2’s “Gloria” and How You Can Join the Conversation


Before we wrapped, we pulled the next random song of the week, and the wheel landed on “Gloria.” We were honestly thrilled to get a different album in the mix, just to keep things interesting and to prove to you that yes, it really is random.

We’d love to hear your thoughts:

  • What do you love (or not love) about “Gloria”?

  • Do you have specific memories of seeing it live or discovering it for the first time?

  • Does it connect to a particular era in your life?

Keep an eye on our socials for the prompt graphic, complete with a deadline to help corral responses. Please share your thoughts by next Saturday so we can gather everything up for the next episode. We might even send out a reminder mid-week, especially if we have a hunch this one is going to blow up like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” did.


Stream the episode, smash subscribe, and help these two snarky U2 fans build this into a real‑life business.


Catch Season 8, Episode 11 of “Kissing Lips and Breaking Hearts with the Garden Tarts” on your favorite platform:





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