U2: Death Threats, a Song that Inspired a Killer, and the Murder of Rebecca Schaeffer
DISGRACELAND
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 13.4K Ratings
🗓️ 14 November 2023
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Years before a free album made them the most unpopular popular band on the planet, U2 ran into the arms of America. In 1987, touring behind their blockbuster album The Joshua Tree, their songs became lightning rods for violence. They received death threats in the States and became targets of terrorists back in their native Ireland. But it was the song “Exit,” written from the POV of a killer, that was linked with pure evil. That song allegedly inspired a man to hop an overnight bus to Los Angeles, carrying a loaded .357 Magnum and a copy of The Joshua Tree, ready to do whatever it took to meet the women he was obsessed with.
This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including descriptions of stalking.
This episode was originally published on November 14, 2023.
To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. |
| 0:03.9 | Please check the show notes for more information. |
| 0:07.2 | Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. |
| 0:26.1 | The stories about you too are insane. |
| 0:35.1 | In 1987, touring behind their blockbuster album The Joshua Tree, their songs became a lightning rod for violence. |
| 0:37.6 | Pride in the name of love, |
| 0:42.5 | a song inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr., earned them a death threat. |
| 0:47.7 | Sunday Bloody Sunday, a song about the troubles back home in Ireland, |
| 0:49.8 | made them a target of the IRA. |
| 0:52.8 | But it was the song Exit, |
| 0:56.7 | a tune written from the point of view of a killer that was linked with pure evil. |
| 0:59.2 | That song allegedly inspired a mentally disturbed man to hop an overnight bus with a loaded |
| 1:04.4 | 357 magnum, determined to meet an actress that he was obsessed with, Just like he was obsessed with U2's music. |
| 1:13.1 | Great music. |
| 1:14.5 | Unlike that clip I played for you at the top of the show, |
| 1:17.5 | that wasn't great music. |
| 1:19.6 | That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Desert Dagger MK1. |
| 1:25.6 | I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to a clip from, |
| 1:30.1 | If You Don't Know Me By Now by Simply Red. And why would I play you that specific slice of red-haired |
| 1:37.2 | blue-eyed-souled cheese could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America |
| 1:43.7 | on July 18, 1989, and that was the day that Robert John Bartow arrived in West Hollywood carrying a copy of the Joshua Tree in the pistol and murdered actress Rebecca Schaefer. |
| 1:58.1 | On this episode, Death Threats, the IRA, the Joshua Tree, a song that inspired a killer, |
... |
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