U2 Inspired by Magnificent Fez
The video for U2’s latest single, Magnificent, sees the band recording and wandering around ancient Fez, Morocco’s most charismatic, colourful and temporally untampered town. There’s footage of the riad-turned studio where U2, together with legendary producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, wrote and recorded much of their new album, No Line on the Horizon, and then scenes of Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry strolling the labyrinthine medina of Fez-el-Bali, a still-unmapped, scented underworld of 10,000 alleys and small markets in various quarters where donkeys wobble by with toppling loads, children run through your legs and healers sell cures for everything from haemorrhoids to a broken heart.
This isn’t the first time the supergroup have set up camp in the Imperial City – the video for 1992’s Mysterious Ways was set there. Fez’ magical lure evidently remains just as strong: one song on their latest album is called Fez – Being Born. Said Bono about this latest stay: “We’d record during the day and then disappear into windy streets of the medina at night. It was an inspiring experience”.
If the video tempts you to visit Fez, make sure you travel with specialists The Best of Morocco. Confirmed U2 fans, the company’s staff are also Fez experts, able to recommend the best guides (you’ll need one to navigate the maze), the best leather shops in the tanneries, the best medersas (beautiful university buildings) to pause in, the best restaurants and hookah coffee houses to slumber in, and the best times for excursions to Meknes, which U2’s video briefly visits, and to the Roman remains at Volubilis.
They can also suggest the best accommodation, such as the Dar Anebar: a traditional riad much like the one featured in U2’s video, only without the huge amps, Irish musicians and piled-up carpets. Set around a trickling fountain and ornate courtyard, this homely riad boasts a roof terrace, unintrusive service, fine food, and numerous nooks and crannies.
The start of U2’s stay in Fez purposefully coincided with the Festival of Sacred Music, with the band hoping to be inspired by the spiritual music on show from around the globe. They later claimed the plan had worked. For those interested in similar musical genesis, the Festival is this year held between 29 May and 6 June.
A four-night stay in Fez at the Dar Anebar costs £610 pp in June, including flights (Gatwick), private transfers and B&B. During the Festival, the same package costs £625 pp. Call The Best of Morocco on 0845 026 4588 (www.realmorocco.com).
