U2 release 1980's most epic single

U2: I Will Follow

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On October 24, 1980 U2 released one of their most famous singles, "I Will Follow". Bono has said that the song is about a mother's love for her son. As many fans know, Bono's mother died from a brain aneurysm when he was just 14. That makes the line "A boy tries hard to be a man/ His mother takes him by his hand/ If he stops to think he starts to cry/ Oh why" Her name was Iris . In the bridge Bono gets as close as he can to saying her name : "Your eyes make a circle/ I see you when I go in there/ Your eyes, your eyes, your eyes, your eyes"

As I turn up the volume in the car and see my son tapping his fingers to Larry Mullen, Jr's beat, it's hard to imagine that the single did not chart in England and drew mixed reviews from critics. 

Paul Du Noyer of NME liked it, writing that it "...stands out from the drab ranks of dull-but-worthless and just plain-awfuls, distinctive for the strength of its individuality, the way that U2 actually seem to believe in the song. Brittle guitar gibber away over a dense, muffled, driving beat; the number pushes forward with such propulsion it starts to soar ,over and away from heavy rock's leaden limitations."

The critic for Smash Hits was not as big a fan.

Anyone who's seen U2 in concert knows the impact the song has on the crowd. One of the great singles from 1980 no matter how poorly it charted.