It's beyond my wildest dreams – U2 superfan who starred on hit RTE ...
ADAM Clayton has fixed it for reality show star John Ryan to have a Beautiful Day watching U2 play in Las Vegas.
Inspirational John was promised free tickets by the bassist on RTE’s Operation Transformation after telling how he once forked out a small fortune in order to see the band play Slane.
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While on the RTE show last year, John told how he had missed a general sale but couldn’t bear to miss the band. And that led to the superfan spending €1,000 even though money was tight.
The U2 star later put a call into the show to encourage lorry driver John on his weight-loss journey.
And he ended the 20-minute chat with the words: “You won’t have to pay a grand for U2 tickets the next time we play, John.”
Adam was as good as his word, fixing it so the dad of three will spend his 51st birthday next week watching the rockers headline The Sphere in Las Vegas.
John told The Irish Sun: “Adam didn’t forget me. I can’t believe I’m off now to see my favourite band U2 play The Sphere in Las Vegas. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”
The truck driver from Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny, was contacted by Adam’s PA a few months ago to say the big-hearted musician had reserved him tickets.
That means John and his wife can attend one of the opening shows of U2’s new immersive live experience at The Sphere at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
John said: “I’ve seen U2 13 times, going back to Achtung Baby in the RDS in 1993. But my perception of The Sphere is that it’s going to be like sitting in the middle of U2 with the guys all around me. It’s mind-blowing.”
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Slimmed-down John said it was all down to his participation in the RTE show and he has encouraged men to apply for the new season of Op Trans.
He said: “Operation Transformation changed my life and I’m as fit now as the day I walked off the last show. But I’d reapply again next season because I enjoyed it so much.”
John admits he was at a low ebb last year when he got the call from Adam.
He recalled: “I was more or less going to tell him to f**k off because I thought it was a wind-up but the more we spoke the more I realised it was the real Adam Clayton . . . well, the ground could have opened up.”
MENTAL HEALTH AMBASSADORAdam, an ambassador for the Walk In My Shoes mental health charity, had been moved by John speaking about his struggles on Operation Transformation.
U2 open at The Sphere in Las Vegas on October 6. The 25 dates will be the band’s first live shows since the pandemic.
Apply to take part in Operation Transformation at Ot.rte.ie.
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