Eze, France — 2004
The U2 song “Electrical Storm” debuted in 2002 with perhaps the sexiest video the band has ever made. Directed by acclaimed photographer Anton Corbijn (who is now also a film director), the story consisted of their handsome drummer, Larry Mullen Jr., rescuing a mermaid from the sea and falling in love with her. The mermaid was portrayed by Oscar-nominated actress Samantha Morton.
You can view the steamy video here.
Because I’ve had a crush on the drummer since I was a kid, and due to my love of the song, I watched this video countless times that year, and made it a goal to visit the actual beach in the South of France where it was filmed.
When my friend Teresa and I planned our European getaway, it was decided we would end our trip with a day on this beach in the village of Eze, visiting the locations of the video and lounging around near the water.
Armed with my iPod (so I could play the song while I was there) and a silver swimsuit to match the mermaid’s attire, we entered the rocky heaven at one of the hottest points in the afternoon. Dipping my feet in the ice-cold water felt spectacular, but it was such a shock to my system I decided not to go completely underwater.
I didn’t yet own a digital camera, so I brought a high-quality old-school camera with me and loaded it with a roll of black and white film. I wanted all of the pictures I took on that beach to mirror the real video.
After Teresa took a few shots (me at the train station sign; me in the water), we both laid out on our towels (wishing we had brought chairs because the rocks were so hard) and listened to our headphones until we got too hot.
We ate lunch across the street, then visited the church where U2 guitarist The Edge married his second wife. Last, we toured the gorgeous Exotic Garden at the top of the town.
We finished the evening with a lovely pizza dinner at a nearby restaurant and watched a bride and groom descend down the path as donkeys led their wedding party out of the church. A gorgeous site, for sure.
Our vacation was coming to an end and we thought the drama was behind us. Boy, were we wrong.