No. 917 – Until the End of the World

Performer: U2

Songwriters: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr.

Original Release: Achtung Baby

Year: 1991

Definitive Version: None

I can’t remember how we caught on to this, but in January 1992, Dave and I discovered Gibraltar. Gibraltar is this gigantic flea market roughly the size of an aircraft hangar in the far outlying suburbs of Detroit. Actually, there are two locations—one in Taylor, one in Mount Clemens.

Back then, once a month at each location, Gibraltar held a massive card show. (It held other trade/collectors shows other weekends.) Dave and I were always looking for bigger and better—and cheaper—shows, and in Gibraltar we found Nirvana, as in perfection, not the band. There must have been 200 tables at the Gibraltar shows back in the day.

Of course, back then everyone was into baseball cards. As publicity continued to build that “these things are worth money,” the craze kicked into high gear. More companies started to make more sets, and everyone was feverishly buying in hopes of financing their kid’s Harvard education with their Brien Taylor rookie cards.

Not that Dave and I cared about that—other than as a target for scorn and mockery. And some of the dealers couldn’t have lived more up to the stereotype of the doof who had chili-dog sauce dripping down the T-shirt that barely covered his ample gut if they had tried. “Hey, Bob. How much on this Patrick Roy card?” Dave noting that the dealer said “Roy” as in “boy,” helpfully corrected, “It’s Wuah.” Doof looks at the card, then at Dave: “It’s Roy (as in boy).” Since that moment, the Hall of Fame goalie is now known in our circle as “Roy as in boy.”

Now I could be wrong about this, but I recall that the first time Dave and I made the trek to the Mount Clemens Gibraltar—the one we attended most frequently—Dave drove. (Actually that part was true, because we’d be leaving early in the day, and I was coming off the overnight shift.) But on this particular occasion, as I recall, Dave broke out Achtung Baby, which I hadn’t heard before. I had parted company with U2 at Unforgettable Fire, but this brought me back in a big way.

So, I was introduced to Gibraltar and Achtung Baby (and of course this song) on the same day. That’s a good day.