U2

There's a mythic aura that, rightly or wrongly, envelops U2's first trilogy of albums, namely “Boy”, “October” and “War”, released between 1980 and 1983. For many, Bono and co. could have stopped right there, or at most with “Under A Blood Red Sky”, the era-defining live album containing the best of that early period, which fully captures their nature as consummate stage animals. “Boy” as a whole is a fine debut, perhaps not a masterpiece; “October”, for its part, marks a small step back from its predecessor and is arguably the weakest chapter of the triptych; while “War” is more technically accomplished, especially in terms of the rhythm section, and also contains two genuine anthems, “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” and “New Year's Day”. All three records convey the urgency, exuberance, recklessness and authenticity of a young band, brash yet naive. They also reveal a solid gift for songwriting, one that Brian Eno's arrival at the mixing desk from the following effort, “The Unforgettable Fire” (1984), would bring out to the fullest. But even more important in this early phase is the band's sheer force on stage. The four earned their fame (and their fees) not only through the material they recorded, but through performances charged with electricity, adrenaline and pathos. Rarely has the label “live band” fit so well as it does with U2, especially this very first incarnation of U2.

“Boy” and its tour

The first full-length album came out on October 20, 1980, and in its own way it was already a kind of anthology of the material U2 had written up to that point. The band, formed in Dublin four years earlier under the name Feedback, later changed to The Hype, had racked up gigs across Ireland and the UK, earned its first write-ups in the music press, and had already written a number of songs, having released the EP “Three” (out in September 1979 on Cbs) and the singles “Another Day” (released the following February, also on Cbs) and “11 O'Clock, Tick Tock” (May, Island).

By the time “Boy” hit record shops, in terms of new wave and related sounds, just in 1980 alone the world had already seen the release of “Closer”, Joy Division's second album, Cure's “Seventeen Seconds”, “Crocodiles” by Echo & the Bunnymen, the self-titled debut by Killing Joke, “The Voice Of America” by Cabaret Voltaire, “Kaleidoscope” by Siouxsie and the Banshees, and “In The Flat Field” by Bauhaus was about to follow. Not to mention Ultravox's “Vienna”, Roxy Music's “Flesh And Blood” and Xtc's “Black Sea”.

As mentioned, the album includes many songs that longtime fans had already known for a while, and it works almost like a way of putting the band's repertoire in order, capturing on tape the strongest material, some of it written a few years earlier and some even already released. Here we find “Twilight” (already the B-side of “Another Day” itself), “Out Of Control” and “Stories For Boys” (which had appeared on the aforementioned “Three”), but also “Shadows And Tall Trees”, “Another Time, Another Place” and “The Electric Co.”, long-standing live-set staples, alongside “A Day Without Me” (the first single from “Boy”, released in August).

The genesis of the record, however, was troubled. The producer originally lined up was in fact Martin Hannett, already behind the desk for the legendary "Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division, but the suicide of his close friend Ian Curtis shook him so deeply that he abandoned the project, forcing U2 to find another producer. Not that they minded, truth be told. Professionally, Hannett had a cold, analytical approach that clashed with the exuberant, chaotic energy of the Irish band. What's more, he favoured synthetic sounds even at the cost of sacrificing the group's own qualities. To get an idea, just listen to the aforementioned single "11 O'Clock, Tick Tock", released two days before Curtis's death. Stepping in to replace Hannett was Steve Lillywhite (who had already worked on "Drums & Wires" by the aforementioned Xtc), bringing a breath of fresh air thanks to a completely different approach from his predecessor: cheerful, engaging, constructive, and it was he who held the hand of a band still technically immature (to put it mildly), struggling badly to translate their live qualities into the studio. It's thanks to him that, sonically, "Boy" turns out reasonably cohesive overall, with the flaws of an ensemble of almost entirely self-taught musicians - whose lack of polish is obvious, especially in the rhythm section - largely concealed. It's no coincidence that he would go on to produce the next two albums as well, besides offering substantial contributions to other works by the Dublin band over the years. Lillywhite also understood that the only member who could be given a bit of room was the self-taught The Edge, probably the only one in the group who could actually play his instrument, and indeed he would go on to pioneer a style later picked up by other guitarists.

Thematically, too, the record is coherent. The lyrics are of course Bono's work, and the underlying theme is the passage from youth to adulthood, condensed in the cover image showing the black-and-white bust of a shirtless boy (it's Peter Rowen, younger brother of Derek - aka Guggi - of the Virgin Prunes, a band from the same city and friends of U2). The word boy appears numerous times in the lyrics, where autobiographical references can be glimpsed, reaching their most dramatic peak in moments like "I Will Follow", U2's first real hit, and "The Ocean", both inspired by the death of the frontman's mother some years earlier. The main qualities of "Boy" lie precisely in its authenticity, in being unfiltered despite its limitations - which is why its shortcomings can be forgiven.

The Boy Tour finally opened the doors of England to the Irish band, which had only been partially visited on previous occasions, and with mixed fortunes (see the self-financed tour-flop of autumn 1979 and the lightning-quick run the following spring in support of "11 O'Clock, Tick Tock"). The promotional dates strictly tied to the debut LP began in September and took U2 to the major English cities (plus the Scottish capital, Edinburgh), with a few additional stops - a first for the band - in continental Europe (Holland, France, Belgium). In December, meanwhile, our heroes discovered America, playing a handful of East Coast dates ahead of their first proper campaign across the States planned for spring. Incidentally, on 8 December 1980, at the very moment John Lennon was being murdered by Mark Chapman in New York, U2 were performing in Buffalo, a city in the same state that takes its name from the Big Apple.

At the start of 1981, Bono and co. resumed touring Britain (and Europe), before the aforementioned return across the Atlantic in March for an extensive tour of nearly three months across the States, through which they consolidated their reputation, managing to secure a decent amount of airplay on local radio - the essential passport to recognition in the US. The "postcard" of the Boy Tour is therefore essentially the one capturing U2's success in the Land of hope and dreams.

The genesis of "October" and the supporting tour

The American run, however, wore the band out, and on returning to Ireland they immediately had to start thinking about the follow-up to "Boy", which, as per their contract with Island, had to come out within the year. Ideas, though, were in short supply - the four of them had spent the tour thinking a lot about playing and very little about writing, so all they had were just a few embryonic songs. The only track that was ready was "Fire", recorded in the Bahamas during a brief holiday at the villa of Island's own president, Chris Blackwell. On top of that, relations within the band were becoming strained due to Bono, Edge and Larry's involvement with a prayer group called Shalom. At one point the guitarist even left the band, and the singer nearly followed him out, before both eventually returned. In the end the group managed to put together ten more tracks which, in truth, were little more than simple demos, not least because during the American tour Bono had had his briefcase containing the lyrics stolen, forcing him to rewrite the songs from scratch, often improvising the words into the microphone during recording. But the music too, while as exuberant as ever, showed more than one flaw. "October" is a batch of sketched-out ideas propped up mostly by the band's usual vigour, at times aggression, which as always they tried to transfer from the stage to within the studio walls. It would be live that these songs would find their ideal expression. The album nonetheless shows more than one point of interest, expressing all the internal turmoil of the ensemble as well as the spiritual tension of a moment in which its members were questioning how to reconcile the rock-star life with Christian principles. The album also introduces a few firsts: The Edge tries his hand at piano for the first time ("I Fall Down", the title track), Bono sings in Latin for the first time (the epic "Gloria"), and among the instruments used there's even an Irish bagpipe ("Tomorrow").

"October" could only be released in October (on the 12th), with the supporting tour kicking off that same month. The first dates were still held in the UK and continental Europe, backed by the second single, "Gloria", which unlike "Fire" made an impression on the UK chart, reaching number eleven, helped also by the video - one of the first to be aired on the newly launched MTV - shot on a barge moored at Grand Canal Docks, Dublin's port area.

By the end of 1981 the band was also testing the waters in the States to prepare for the proper tour set to begin in February. This time, though, the album failed to break through in America, forcing Warner to tighten the purse strings and slot the four of them in as support to the J. Geils Band, a rock/blues outfit from Massachusetts: a considerable step down for U2, who at least managed to avoid being pelted with bottles by fans who'd turned up for the main act. On returning from the States, however, they made up for it by playing several major European summer festivals, including Roskilde and Werchter.

"War" and "Under A Blood Red Sky"

Once the live dates were done, the quartet got to work on the next album, this time with a bit more calm. Curiously, the seed of one of U2's signature songs, "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", didn't take shape at the hands of Bono, who between August and September was on his honeymoon, but of Edge, who one afternoon came up with a guitar riff destined to make history, along with drafting the first sketch of a highly political lyric referencing the situation in Northern Ireland. The track taking shape might suggest the band was shifting gears compositionally, but that wouldn't entirely prove true. Recording of the new album began in September, and once again the four went into the studio having composed almost nothing, hoping for manna from heaven once they crossed the threshold. As the story goes, even the final track, "40", was finished being written in a mad rush while the band who'd booked the studio for the next slot was knocking at the door to come in. At that point, Bono, not knowing what to do, opened at random the Bible he always carried with him, and the page fate had chosen was Psalm 40, which would thus give both title and lyrics to the song that, ironically, would close not only "War" but also every single one of the band's concerts for the rest of the 1980s.

The chosen title was the most fitting for an LP that opens by tackling the theme of the Troubles. But war is meant in a general, global sense. For a couple of years now the band had been travelling regularly around the world and had not remained indifferent to the ongoing international tensions, from the Cold War to the Falklands conflict, to the arrest of Lech Walesa in Poland (to whom the other anthem, "New Year's Day", is dedicated). "War" is a snapshot of the world in 1983: as noted, it deals with armed conflict but also with youth unrest, with child prostitution, as well as - as always - with love and faith. In a sense, "War" presents itself as the true sequel to "Boy" after the atypical interlude of "October". Continuity is guaranteed by Lillywhite, but this time round the sound is rougher, more jagged. Many tracks foreground groove, a street-level, combat-rock feel. However, the second single, "Two Hearts Beat As One", would not be a great success, and the band would release no further singles from it. The four Dubliners seem to proceed in fits and starts: a solo here (Larry's remarkable drum break on "Like A Song" is a case in point), a riff there ("New Year's Day"); a seductive violin over here ("Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Drowning Man"), an eye-catching feature over there (the Coconuts on "Red Light"). What should be stressed, however, as mentioned, is the overall progress made by the group, and in particular by the rhythm section. "War" has an unexpectedly danceable soul, born precisely of the synergy between Adam and Larry, whose technical skills had improved so markedly as to dispel any doubts about their worth. It's no coincidence that the first danceable remixes of U2 tracks began to circulate starting with this record.

With recording finished in November, U2 embarked on a brief warm-up tour of Britain. The pre-War Tour kept them busy until Christmas, then in January "New Year's Day" started getting played on radio and MTV (the video had been shot the previous month in a snowy Swedish setting), giving "War", released on 28 February 1983, the top spot on the British chart and a debut at number twelve on the American one.

The proper tour began on 26 February and kept the Dublin band busy almost exclusively in Britain, before the move to the United States in April, this time not as a support act but, more importantly, no longer in clubs but in arenas capable of holding several thousand spectators. This is why a bigger stage was set up and a stage designer was hired to oversee the set, stage costumes and lighting. We're obviously not yet talking about the mammoth live productions of the '90s, but for the first time U2 paid attention to the visual side of their shows, even devoting thought to their look, which in this case took on a warlike tone - pacifist fighters, one might say. And on stage, alongside the giant blow-up of the album cover (the same boy from "Boy", but grown up now and scarred in the face) looming behind Larry, there also flew a white flag symbolising surrender (as in the title of one of the new songs, "Surrender"), which Bono, during the show, would grab and wave with the anger of someone tired of violence: an image that would become the "trademark" of this first phase of the band's career.

And this time U2 truly broke through in America. The shows were packed, people recognised them on the street - it wasn't full-blown mass hysteria yet, but it was close. There was, however, one date marked in red on the calendar: 5 June, a date that would change their destiny forever. That day, the tour was due to stop at the natural amphitheatre of Red Rocks, near Denver, Colorado. It would be the biggest venue they'd ever played up to that point, with a capacity of over seven thousand. There was just one problem: the venue, a fairy-tale setting carved into the rock, sits at 1,600 metres above sea level, and weather is necessarily a factor to take into account in such cases, with the possibility of a last-minute cancellation very much on the cards. Fair enough, these things happen. The issue, though, was that the band had decided to film the performance to turn it into a concert film, and for that they'd sunk practically all the money earned from the tour. Right on cue, just hours before the show was due to start, it began raining so hard that the already sluggish advance ticket sales, held back by fears of bad weather, ground to a complete halt. The four of them, however, didn't lose heart, and set about calling up local radio stations one by one, urging listeners not to skip the show, and all that effort paid off: as if by magic, a couple of hours before start time the rain stopped, and the show was able to go ahead as planned.

In the end, the arena filled to only a third of its capacity, but the cameras made sure no one would notice. The footage would only be released the following year on VHS, but a couple of songs ("Gloria" and "Party Girl") could already be heard on the mini-LP of the same name, also recorded live, released in November 1983. "Under A Blood Red Sky", both the album and the video, is rightly considered one of the finest live releases in rock history, and even though the rest of 1983 would hold further memorable moments in store for the band (the European summer festivals, the euphoric homecoming show in Dublin on the eve of the August bank holiday, and a brief but memorable first tour of Japan), it was the Red Rocks show that would symbolically close this first chapter of the Irish band's career. Then would come the triumph of "The Unforgettable Fire", but the foundations had already been firmly laid in this first, thrilling four-year span of U2's life.

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