U2—young and Irish.
Things have changed plenty since Van Morrison vaulted off the Blarney Coast with a gaggle of hit singles and a band called Them. Nowadays, Irish bands are a premium in a dull rock market. From Thin Lizzy to the Boomtown Rats, Irish is definitely in.
This year’s model is U2, a pounding quartet of school chums plucked from the pubs of Ireland by Island Records. Their record, Boy, is one of the top selling debuts, bolstered by a pair of exciting singles, ”I Will Follow” and ”Out of Control.”
Appearing at California Hall in San Francisco at the close of their recent American tour, U2 performed for over a thousand people, most of them teenagers and nearly all of them girls.
Ranging in age from 19-21, the four young members of U2 put on a dazzling show. They had people dancing in the aisles and climbing the speakers, obvious and willing converts.
It was a sweat-stained wonderful night, drawing on rock’s genuine roots. The vision wasn’t distant and dull, like modern esoteric rock, the feeling in that large San Francisco tent was one of revival, rebirth.
Yet the music had little in common with either gospel or blues. If anything the sounds were almost like a mutated form of voodoo chants—irresistible, mesmerizing soul music.
The members of U2 seemed sincerely humbled, with only kind words and open ears for the fans crowding around them. A rare and welcome change from the monsters we have created from rock. U2 spoke with the Journal in their hotel room before their show, and backstage afterwards.
”It’s such a bloody shame to see all the people pushing and shoving about,” said Larry, U2’s handsome drummer and the youngest member of the band. He was bothered by the slam dancing he had seen on the West Coast. ”We come from Ireland where there’s so much real violence.
”It’s a drag, worse really, to find all these young people into pretending, creating violence for their own excitement. And they think it’s all a good time. I think it’s very sad.”
Bono is U2’s charismatic lead singer. A fancy dresser and a superb showman, he knows how to play the crowds and get a big response. ”This pretend violence looks pretty silly to us, or even the imagery of violence. There’s plenty of the real thing where we come from.
”I think there’s some sort of voyeurism in people wanting to see a punk band,” Bono explained. ”It gets everybody going to see what sort of weird creatures you are. We’ve never gone for that sort of promotion. We’re just U2 and people will have to accept us for what we are.”
The band formed about five years ago at a high school in Dublin that Bono, Larry, guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam all attended.
”We were the original garage band. God, were we awful,” Bono remembered. ”We were a bad band, one of the worst. You couldn’t possibly imagine how bad we were. We were the no-hopers.
”I remember Adam talking about the idea of playing clubs. It wasn’t a popular idea at first. We couldn’t even play covers. It was just two chords,” said Bono.
”We were forced to write our own material from the start,” Adam, the blond-haired bassist agreed. ”We couldn’t play a thing. We just had to write our own songs. It was the only way we would get to play.”
From these humble beginnings the band began to attract some attention. An early deal with Columbia Records in Ireland resulted in a demo tape and a three-song EP, U-2-3.
The eventual deal that Columbia offered them was bad enough that the four aspiring teenagers actually refused it! They waited while their EP circulated amongst the radio stations.
”That EP did a lot of work for us,” Bono conceded. ”We were on the radio and all the English journalists began noticing us. We turned down the CBS (Columbia Records) deal because we knew how bad it was. We waited for the right deal.”
The right deal came in the form of a generous contract from Island records. The company signed U2 and assigned ace producer Steve Lillywhite to record their first album.
”We recorded the album in about three weeks and mixed it the following week,” Bono described of the whirlwind process, ”Then we toured England and after that America. And here we are.
”Some of the songs were written very quickly as well. Like ‘I Will Follow.’ I wrote that in, like, five minutes. It was unbelievable. We were in the studio working on some other song and just took a break and had a new song.
”We overdubbed in a different way, to get textured tones, like bass. Most bands overdub guitars and vocals,” the poised vocalist concluded.
”I overdub basses to get in the bottom end,” added Adam. ”You can layer it better from there. And The Edge sits nicely on top.”
That last line may be the musical understatement of the year. Nicely is hardly the word for The Edge’s explosive guitar. Whether playing his particular style of ferocious lead, or constructing the waves of guitar rhythms so important to U2’s unique sound, nice is hardly a sufficient description.
The Edge goes for the soul. He may not be quite the master of subtlety that Mark Knopler of Dire Straits is, but he still manages to catch you unawares–until you marvel at his virtuoso ability.
The Edge plays mood music that grips you. Like him, U2 plays music that matters, even though they have received some contrary reviews in the popular press. Mostly for the early publicity hype, but also for their slightly transparent lyrics.
”I try to avoid pretension, I just write naturally,” said lyricist and vocalist, Bono. ”I go for rhythms, emotions. Sometimes when I’m up there on stage I’m adlibbing. Just words.
”The lyrics on the album are completely my own, and they must be that way so I can speak honestly. I write about things that affect me, so of course they’re autobiographical.
”There are youth images throughout the album. But look here. We’re not 28-year-old or 30-year-old ‘muso’ bands writing lyrics for 16-year-olds,” Adam concurred. ”We’re trying to be natural, writing from what we know. That makes us truthful and relevant.”
”Right. That’s why the songs are autobiographical,” Bono continued. ”The lyrics are about things that affected me, and they are things that affected a lot of people growing up. I’m the kind of person that asks questions. That’s what I try to do in my songs.
”And then answer them,” the assertive singer declared.
U2’s sound appeals strongly to the younger set. It is the kind of music that is perfect for listening to in cars, on the beach or with a gang of friends. It is loud and aggressive, but with enough mystery to satisfy any amounts of serious scrutiny.
”Our songs just evolve of themselves mostly,” Adam explained the actual songwriting process.
”The inspiration for a particular song can come from anything. The essence of that inspiration is that it affects everyone in the band. Then it’s just a case of it taking its natural course.”
”There are no rules,” added Bono. ”A song can follow a drum beat or a bass line. Sometimes we just start from a title. That’s all. Just a title.”
”We’re going for a band sound,” said Adam.
In concert U2 achieves just that. They manage an overwhelming presence far greater than any logical combination of their four parts. When Bono sings, words seem unimportant. He becomes more than just a voice, another instrument. This makes him a vital ingredient of their sound.
”We try to build an atmosphere or mood, really,” Adam divulged. ”Concerts are not meant to be a complete representation of a record.
”We try and get something going with the audience. We go for emotions that are solids, and the audience is a part of this building process, too.”
U2 make it work in America. Not just in the easy places; San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. But across the Midwest. In Texas. In places that never see new bands, except the local high-schoolers.
They seemed overjoyed to be here, as musicians first, but observers also. They wanted to be in America, to see first-hand what was going on.
They were ready for America.
”It’s funny. Being an outsider, you think America is just one big place,” said Adam. ”You know, full of Americans! It’s not that way at all. It’s made up of individuals.”
”That’s something we found out. There’s no such thing as an American,” Bono agreed. ”We’ve been looking for such a creature, but it just doesn’t exist.”
”Lots of bands have the wrong idea about America,” Adam explained. ”They think this country isn’t into new bands at all. They’re wrong.
”Basically, everyone we’ve met is very interested in what bands like U2 are doing. When you present yourself to them they seem very open and appreciative.”
”We are here in America because we want to be in America,” said Bono. ”It is missionary work of a sort, and a vital link in our careers. You have to make way for your ambitions.
”The live part of this is essential, because I dare a person to come see us and argue. They’ll see a thousand people jumping up and down, ready to explode. They’ll see us giving everything. They’ll see a celebration.
”People have enough bad times,” Bono concluded. ”We’re here to give people pleasure. People enjoy themselves when U2 plays. They can’t not.”
U2 is currently in England working on their second record for Island Records. They will be touring America again in the fall.
© Ukiah Daily Journal, 1981.