U2 release 1980's most epic single

U2: I Will Follow

[Purchase]

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.

 

U2 releases its cinematic debut Boy

U2 : I Will Follow

[Purchase]

On October 20, 1980 U2 released their debut album Boy. You can hear the early influences on a band that would influence so many bands of the 1980's. I can hear the guitars of the Buzzcocks, the anthemic lyrics of The Clash, the energy of The Skids and the propulsion of Joy Division. The members of the Irish band were all still under 21years of age and under the influence of Steve Lillywhite who would produce the first three albums.

Bono told BP Fallon:

For the LP we wanted a more cinematic sound.We wanted this big screen Panavision feel. There was a lot of little music about at the time. A lot of underground bands making little noises: beep beep and squeak squeak and they were doing it all in the name of art. And we felt we should stamp on this music. That we should develop a big and a broad sound.

 

The result is an album full of energy and grandeur, a sound that would propel U2 through the decade. The debut paved that way, especially among the critics. Red Starr of Smash Hits sums it up"

Smash Hits

Right from the start U2 had the glory. These are songs that must be played loudly and in front of large crowds. U2 may have been young but they seemed to know exactly what would it take to be the biggest band of the 80/s.