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Zoo TV: Live from Sydney

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Zoo TV: Live from Sydney

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney is a concert film by Irish rock band U2. It was shot on 27 November 1993 at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia, during the "Zoomerang" leg of the group's Zoo TV Tour. Directed by David Mallet, the concert was televised worldwide via pay-per-view, and was released on home video in May 1994 on VHS and Laserdisc.

U2 faced difficulties with booking their November 1993 concerts in Sydney, as the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust originally rejected the band's application to book Sydney Football Stadium. John Fahey, the Premier of New South Wales, personally intervened to allow the shows to take place. U2 and the production crew used the 26 November concert as a dress rehearsal for the official filming the following day. Matters were complicated when bassist Adam Clayton was unable to perform on 26 November due to an alcoholic blackout, forcing his bass guitar technician Stuart Morgan to fill in. It was the first time a member of U2 had missed one of their concerts since their earliest days; Clayton recovered in time for filming of the 27 November show. The group initially planned to produce a January 1994 "triplecast" of the concert with MTV to offer it from different perspectives on three different channels, but they ultimately cancelled it.

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney received favourable reviews from critics and won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form in 1995. It received sales certifications of double platinum in Australia, and platinum in the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina, and Brazil. In 2006, it was re-released on DVD, while also being issued as a live album entitled Zoo TV Live to subscribers of U2.com.

U2 faced difficulties with booking their November 1993 concerts in Sydney, Australia, where they wanted to stage a worldwide television broadcast to end the Zoo TV Tour. In early August 1993, after the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust rejected the band's application to perform at the Sydney Football Stadium in November, lead vocalist Bono publicly questioned the city's viability as a candidate to host the 2000 Summer Olympics; the trust's decision was made despite allowing concerts by Madonna and Michael Jackson to be held at Sydney Cricket Ground in November. U2 manager Paul McGuinness faxed all 29 members of the Sydney Olympics 2000 Bid Committee to inform them of the situation. John Fahey, the Premier of New South Wales, personally intervened to allow the Sydney concerts to take place, and an announcement was made on 15 August confirming them. Tickets went on sale on 23 August.

The band's two November 1993 concerts in Sydney were filmed on consecutive nights as part of the television broadcast. The 26 November concert was staged as a rehearsal for the production crew in advance of the official filming the following night. However, bassist Adam Clayton, who began drinking excessively on the latter stages of the tour, was unable to perform on 26 November after experiencing an alcoholic blackout. The band ruled out canceling the show, since it was the only opportunity for the production crew to do a dry run of the filming. Bass guitar technician Stuart Morgan filled in for Clayton instead, marking the first time a member of U2 had missed a concert since their earliest days. Clayton recovered in time to play the 27 November show, which was broadcast in the United States on tape-delayed pay-per-view. U2 originally planned to produce the concert with MTV for a January 1994 "triplecast" that would have offered three different perspectives of the show on three separate television channels. After realising they had not fully developed the concept, the group cancelled the "triplecast", denying themselves income that was supposed to make the Pacific leg of the tour profitable.

Years later in a Rolling Stone interview, Bono discussed the concert and its significance to the band. Clayton's absence the previous night had caused a real issue within the band, and they were all wondering what the long-term impact would be. Bono said he was unsure that they would ever play live again – he realized during the show that it could be the band's last live performance.

All tracks played on that night appeared on the video, with the exception of "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World", which was played between "Numb" and "Angel of Harlem". Many speculate it was omitted because of a controversy about Bono sharing a glass of champagne with an underage girl on-stage, while others believe that the band was unsatisfied with their performance. However, producer Ned O'Hanlon stated in an online chat in 1996 that the concert was too long and needed to be cut for the video release.

There was controversy in Japan after the video aired on television; in August 2007, Zoo TV set designer Willie Williams confirmed that no offensive phrase towards Japan was ever part of the Zoo TV show, and that it was simply a figment of a reporter's imagination after viewing the hundreds of random words displayed during the song. In reality, the words displayed were shown in the following sequence — BOMB / WHORE / ULTIMATELY / JAPAN / CHAOS / I / WANT / IT / NOW — which caused the reporter to mistakenly "see" the reported offensive phrase.

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