My First Memories Volume 3 - U2

The Joshua Tree, March 1987. On a train. On a yellow (!) Phillips personal stereo.

U2 are now 'bleedin' massive', ubiquitous, a major global brand. However, in the early part of 1987, I was only just starting to hear whispers about them. Almost none of my classmates were fans or champions for this Irish Rock band, at a time when Anglo-Irish relations were tense to say the least. I can't possibly say if these things were related, but the musical tide was certainly about to change in a big way. My perception of Ireland would be tested directly a couple of years later in a Maths class. A visiting Irish teacher took the class and as an ice-breaker asked each of us to list the first 3 things that came to mind when we thought of Ireland. Me? Pat Jennings, Green...and U2. You may imagine the debate that ensued in a classroom in a Tory stronghold in Thatcher's Britain, but I digress.

While in those days especially U2 were unafraid to share their social and political opinions freely, it was the musical backdrop that I found completely mesmerising. How can you not be moved by the epic rising intro to 'Where the Streets have No Name', let alone the soaring anthem that it becomes? At a time when I was starting to get some interest in Heavy Metal, here seemed to be something altogether less direct, but so much more sophisticated. It seemed to be sincere, honest, raw, pained, euphoric, anthemic, sparse, eery, celebratory, fierce, mellow, historic - all at once. The next 2 tracks ('I Still Haven't Found what I'm Looking for' and 'With or Without You') further cemented my feelings that this was monumental, legendary material unfolding right before me. It's still their benchmark album.

So much has been written about U2 that I won't even attempt to explain their place in music history, only to say it's a place that's richly deserved. Though I would continue to enjoy the relatively safe sounds of Dire Straits, The Eagles and Eric Clapton for a couple more years, listening to U2 offered something altogether more awakening and spiritual. The world was about to agree.