admin Hitchhiking can be risky for both the Good Samaritan driver and the person standing at the roadside with their thumb out.
Just look into the history of serial killers. Ted Bundy, Edmund Kemper, Donald Gaskins, Ivan Milat, and the still unidentified Santa Rosa killer are just a few examples of murderers who targeted individuals seeking a lift.
These horrifying accounts overshadow the countless instances where offering a stranger a ride turned out not only to be a kind gesture but a life-changing experience in a positive way. Here are three examples from the annals of rock history.
**How Bono’s Hitchhiker Encounter Saved U2**
At 5:20 p.m. on 13 July 1985, U2 took the stage at Wembley Stadium to perform at Live Aid. At the time, they were still a medium-sized band — their Joshua Tree breakthrough was still two years away — so they knew that a powerful performance in front of over a billion people could work wonders for their career.
Each act had about 20 minutes, so U2 carefully selected three songs. They began with “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” moved into “Bad,” and then finished with a rousing rendition of “Pride (In the Name of Love),” their biggest single up to that point.
Things started well enough, but during “Bad,” Bono noticed a woman in the crowd named Melanie Hills. According to Bono, she appeared to be in some distress. (This is disputed; it’s more likely Bono was performing for the cameras.)
As the band played, Bono jumped into the photographers’ pit and then into the audience, where he pulled the woman onto the stage with him for a slow, intimate dance.
He tried to bring Hills’ sister, Elaine, onto the stage as well, but the security guards didn’t respond. A third woman, 15-year-old Kal Khalique, was also pulled from the crowd for another slow dance.
It was a memorable TV moment, but the slow dance between Bono and the women took so long (Bono also struggled to get back on stage) that U2 had to extend “Bad” for a prolonged 12 minutes. By the time the song ended, their set was over, and they never got to perform “Pride.”
The rest of the band was furious, leading to a significant argument backstage. It was severe. “We’ve blown it!” they said. Bono, feeling chastised and angry, flew back to Ireland alone to reflect with his wife at her parents’ house in the countryside. He was convinced his bandmates were so displeased that U2 was finished, and he even contemplated quitting.
In the week following Live Aid, the general consensus was that U2’s performance (alongside Queen’s) was the highlight of the Wembley segment of the concert. They hadn’t blown it. In fact, Bono’s attempt to bridge the gap between the band and the audience turned out to be a career-defining moment.
Additionally, there’s a story that while Bono was driving to his in-laws, he picked up a hitchhiker who had seen Live Aid and raved about how much they loved U2’s performance. This seemed to provide Bono with the validation he needed. Within days, everything was forgiven and mended. U2 was saved.
Is the story about the hitchhiker true? It’s been repeated several times over the years. There’s also a tale about a 1981 breakup over the band’s struggle to reconcile their religious beliefs with rock stardom. It’s said that Bono went for a drive in the country, picked up a hitchhiker, and had a long conversation that helped him find a compromise.
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