KEY POINTS:
It's been 13 years since their last visit but rock legends U2 have a long and intimate relationship with Aotearoa, New Zealand.
As U2-mania is set to reach fever pitch over the coming week, nzherald.co.nz looks back at the history of U2 in New Zealand, with our exclusive
U2 archive of Herald articles and reviews. (See links below)
Their first tour in 1984 elicited little coverage in the Herald, but five years later, Bono and the band were certifiable superstars, as you can see from Louise Matthews' 1989 story.
We also look back at the band's special connection with New Zealand, with coverage of stage manager Greg Carroll's untimely death in 1986, which later inspired the famed track One Tree Hill.
Judging by both Dominic Roskrow and Russell Baillie's past reviews, fans will be in for an epic, if slightly surprising, evening next weekend.
In 1989 Roskrow wrote "after five years, it took a while for the band and crowd to make friends again".
With 13 years between visits, it's hard to say how relations have fared, but given the fanatical response to last year's tour announcement, it looks like absence has only made New Zealanders' hearts fonder.
For those of you old enough to remember, we've dug out past album reviews for you to reminisce over. For those who were too young, now's the time to learn what makes U2 such magical music makers, and arguably the greatest rock band the world has ever known.
A look back into the Herald's archives:
Nov 2005, Russell Baillie chats with U2 guitarist The Edge: Getting close to The Edge
Nov 2004, album review: How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Oct 2000, album review: All That You Can't Leave Behind
Feb 1997, album review: Pop
Dec 1993, concert review: U2 beams rock into the future
Dec 1993: U2 - and train - slip into city
July 1993, album review: Zooropa
Nov 1991, album review: Achtung Baby
Nov 1989: Megastars cool amid droves of reporters
Nov 1989, concert review: U2 - the legend - and the event
Sept 1989, concert review: U2 - with Unforgettable Fire
March 1987, album review: The Joshua Tree
July 1986, Crossing the World to Say Goodbye
August 1984, Preview of U2 Tour
Aug 1984: Band Tickets Sell for $40
March 1984, album review: Under a Blood Red Sky
May 1983, album review: War