Saturday December 10 2011
A rare recording of U2 performing at the Dandelion Market on August 11, 1979, is attracting worldwide interest.
Posted on YouTube by long-time fan Pete McCluskey, the clip is gold not just for an early outing of debut single 'Out Of Control' but for the between-song chatter of a teenage Bono.
"I taped the whole thing on what was known as a 'personal stereo' back then, but you'd consider it more like an aircraft carrier-size cassette machine under my coat," Pete recounted to me.
But it's not just the Bono banter U2 fans want to hear --
it's over 40 minutes of U2's set that Saturday afternoon which Pete has on tape.
Many of the tracks, including 'Cartoon World' and 'Life On A Distant Planet', are ones which U2 never committed to vinyl.
Pete has no plans to release his tape but last year sold a numbered 12-inch copy of their first single to a Dutch collector for over €1,500.
"I'd had decades of enjoyment listening to that record so it was time another U2 fan to have it," he said.
For those interested in beginnings of U2 and other rival locals bands of the era, including The Vipers, Atrix, Scare Bleu and The Blades, we highly recommend new website
http://u2theearlydayz.com/
