The U2 Way

“Where were you last night?” asked the ol’ man.

“We played a concert in Trinity College.” “How did it go?” “Well,” I said, “We had a bit of trouble from a few 16-year-olds in the audience.” “You weren’t very polite yourself at sixteen!” he replied.

Yeh, I know at sixteen boys turn into men and get confused, I do remember. I remember I felt bullied by the need to succeed, to find a good job and a pretty girl. Forming U2 was a way out — it was also a way in to expressing how I felt constructively, as opposed to banging my own or somebody else’s head off a wall. The fact that neither Bono, Adam, Larry or the Edge could play or sing was but an obstacle to overcome. (It hadn’t bothered Lou Reed, Bob Dylan or Bob Geldof). Just do it!

Originality is the keyword. In terms of presentation, on stage, I try to catch people’s attention; like an actor, I try to get across the atmosphere of the words and the setting. Sometimes I fail, sometimes people don’t want to know, sometimes I don’t even know myself.

In the end it’s up to you the audience to decide for yourselves, is it relevant or irrelevant, can you see the potential in U2 or not? So far you have decided yes and put our first record in the charts, U2 Three. Thank you.

Our debut tour in England was an incredible success; things look good for U2 and I feel confident that our February concert tour of all the major towns in Ireland will be successful too as we also release our second single here then.

In March we undertake a second English tour in time for our first record release over there. Yes, it’s an important time for me.

It’s also time for tea! “What are you doing?” asks my ol’ man. “I’m writing a piece for the Hot Press.” “The who?” “A music paper.” “How’s it going?” he continued. “Well,” I replied. “I had a bit of trouble…”

© Hot Press, 1980.