The Forgotten Decade of U2...

[Hoodlem]

...THE 70's!!!

The 80's and 90's and the 00's get far too much attention. There actually another decade in which U2 did exist. Lets here it for the decade that no one remembers!

Who can forget such highlights as these?

• That first Practice in Larrys Kitchen!
• Dik Evans getting the ax!
• winning the battle of the bands!
• THE CHECKERED PANTS!!!
• That epic performance of Street Missions on Irish TV!
• Favorite songs such as The Fool, The Speed of Life, The Dream is Over, Street Missions, Things to Make and Do, Boy/Girl, Touch, Alone in the Light...etc...classics all!

So let's hear it for the most neglected and underrated decade in the history of U2...The decade that started it all.

Feel free to post you appreciation here along with your favorite 70's moments.

 

[JMScoopy]

The Fool and Street Mission guitar solos

 

[Zoots]

[*]That first Practice in Larrys Kitchen!
[*]Dik Evans getting the ax!
[*]winning the battle of the bands!
[*]THE CHECKERED PANTS!!!

I know nothing about this stuff except some little trivia that Dik Evans was the 5th member for a short while and that it all started in Larry's Kitchen.. that's it.

Does any generous soul here have any audio/video/rare footage of the early days?

 

[sassykat]

Zoot
get one of the books about the band for Christmas. Their beginnings are really interesting at least to U2 fans

 

[GibsonGirl]

Re: Re: The Forgotten Decade of U2...

Does any generous soul here have any audio/video/rare footage of the early days?

Here's some bad audio from a show the band did in 1979 (live at the Cork Opera House).

Cartoon World: http://s56.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=2H24MD843HXTI1YX51RB453HEB

Boy/Girl: http://s56.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=0VKKOH94ORKC3TDHM5RFW0363

They sound spectacularly shit. I used to have hilarious videos (Street Mission ) but they're on the computer that died. I don't know if I can get them back again.

 

[Zoots]

Zoot
get one of the books about the band for Christmas. Their beginnings are really interesting at least to U2 fans

I've been kinda thinking of getting 'U2 at the end of the world' after hearing all the praise for it here. Wonder if it covers the early days...

 

[Zoots]

Re: Re: Re: The Forgotten Decade of U2...

I used to have hilarious videos (Street Mission ) but they're on the computer that died. I don't know if I can get them back again.

Thanks Gibby! I actually have the Street Mission video with me. I can upload it if you like. But I'm looking for the Celebration video!

 

[GibsonGirl]

Also, here's some somewhat rare early studio tracks. (Tonight isn't complete)

Tonight: http://s56.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=3NOQF8AHYF5AD0P3GAYYOLIFU4

Inside Out: http://s56.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=1OWDA719CUVFB0E4PKJSV6V6YY

Jack In The Box: http://s56.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=0LDVW4IZFPPYG1KCPSDCD5HZC3

 

[GibsonGirl]

Re: Re: Re: Re: The Forgotten Decade of U2...

Thanks Gibby! I actually have the Street Mission video with me. I can upload it if you like. But I'm looking for the Celebration video!

Oh my word, I used to have that. The A Celebration video is spectacularly horrible. Those pants! If you could upload the Street Mission video for me, I'd be very grateful!

I also used to have them playing The Magic Carpet. I miss that one.

 

[Zoots]

Here's the Street Mission video...

http://s62.you sendit.com/d.aspx?id=13TQCKXDCQUIJ0SOTL59BRVAX

That solo!

 

[U2DMfan]

worst pants ever

I laughed for a solid 5 minutes when I saw that video.

 

[JMScoopy]

Holy Shit! I never heard Inside Out before. It's pretty damn good!

 

[Zoots]

Wow, I'm loving all this rare audio!!! Never heard this stuff before except for the studio versions of Cartoon World and Boy Girl!

 

[Carek1230]

The clothes and the hair!

 

[forty]

LOL, I've always loved that "Street Mission" video. They kicked *so* much ass there...

 

[cobl04]

I really like Another Day. That has some of my favourite guitar, right there.

And on Dik Evans - he was the fifth member for a while until Adam basically kicked him out - he asked if he was going to college for a degree or something like that.

 

[clifedge]

Can anyone list how much known recorded material there is from U2 in the 70s?

 

[JMScoopy]

Can anyone list how much known recorded material there is from U2 in the 70s?

Apparently there is a hell of alot more than what i thought there was!

 

[Irishteen]

U2 in the 70's , they sure made some great songs back then

The Fool
Street Mission
Out Of Control
11 O'Clock Tick Tock early demo
Speed of Life
Cartoon World
Lost On A Silent Planet
Inside Out

 

[thrillme]

I really like Another Day. That has some of my favourite guitar, right there.

And on Dik Evans - he was the fifth member for a while until Adam basically kicked him out - he asked if he was going to college for a degree or something like that.

Nah, Dik Evans wasn't kicked out, he left, to join the Virgin Prunes if I remember correctly.

Then went off to school because he was a genuis, according to Bono.

 

[Axver]

I love the confusion over song titles.

The Magic Carpet, Judith, The Blind The Deaf And The Dumb, combos of Life/Lost On A Distant/Silent Planet ...

My pick is Lost On A Silent Planet, and it's a fun song too.

 

[Zooropa1310]

A great book on the early U2 years... "Killing Bono" by... Some guy. Great great book . It focuses on the beginning, before they even thought of a band. Bono at 14 in the school halls with Alli, the first concert, first call for a record deal... Everyone should read.



That goes for my advertisement

 

[yolland]

Nah, Dik Evans wasn't kicked out, he left, to join the Virgin Prunes if I remember correctly.

Then went off to school because he was a genuis, according to Bono.

from Assayas' Conversations with Bono:

BONO:...and [Edge's] brother, Dik, was a genius. The government was paying for him to go to college in computer engineering. More than just a scholarship, where they pay your studies--they were paying him to study. He was that good. And then he joined the Virgin Prunes. So there were two mad musicians in the house for the Evans family.

According to an interview on virginprunes.com, Dik finished this degree, then started and ran his own computer consulting business, all while still playing with the Virgin Prunes, which he co-founded with Gavin and Guggi. After leaving the band in 1983, he earned a PhD in artificial intelligence technology, the field he now works in. He also was involved with some of the Coil/Current 93/Nurse With Wound guys' projects in London during the mid-late 80s.

And yeah, everything I've read except for Neil McCormick's book (told from the perspective of someone who was openly sore about not having made the original lineup himself) suggests he left U2 primarily because he was more interested in the kind of confrontational performance art stuff Gavin wanted to do, than what U2 were aiming for.

I like how the band's oldest friends always get lumped into this "leechy failed potential U2 member" box, as if they couldn't also be worthwhile human beings with something unique to offer in their own right.

 

[blueyedpoet]

anyone want to post some more of these older songs?

 

[Meghan]

Internet's gonna be expensive this month.

Thanks though, everybody.

 

[Ellay]

Bono's voice in Street Mission (and much of the contract demo's for that matter) is bloody horrendous.

PS. You missed the gem of Adam's first bass lesson off the list - I wonder if his teacher possibly guessed how things would pan out.

 

[PopDaisy]

I really like Another Day. That has some of my favourite guitar, right there.

If anyone is familiar with the U.S. band Carbon Leaf, sections of that song really reminds me of a lot of their music.

 

[Utoo]

Everyone check out www.audiofind.ru. It's a Russian site, but it's easy to navigate (and no viruses yet! ). Just type U2 in the box in the middle of the screen & you'll get a slew of official releases and bootlegs. All the way on the bottom are a few early bootlegs---including the Cork Opera House show, and the Dublin National Stadium show (after which the band signed with Island). They're free downloads. The site cycles through which they offer for free, but those two are usually available. If not, check back later in the day or in the next few days & they'll come up.


As for history, I'd really recommend Eamon Dunphy's "Unforgettable Fire" book.....even though it's often slagged by some fans all because of one article that Neil McCormick wrote (he didn't like it). You can probably get a cheap used copy on Amazon & it's worth the few bucks.

 

[Ellay]

Everyone check out www.audiofind.ru. It's a Russian site, but it's easy to navigate (and no viruses yet! ). Just type U2 in the box in the middle of the screen & you'll get a slew of official releases and bootlegs. All the way on the bottom are a few early bootlegs---including the Cork Opera House show, and the Dublin National Stadium show (after which the band signed with Island). They're free downloads. The site cycles through which they offer for free, but those two are usually available. If not, check back later in the day or in the next few days & they'll come up.

Nice one, i'd not come across that site before..

 

[Nisse]

U2 in the 70's , they sure made some great songs back then

The Fool
Street Mission
Out Of Control
11 O'Clock Tick Tock early demo
Speed of Life
Cartoon World
Lost On A Silent Planet
Inside Out

11 O'Clock Tick Tock = The Silver Lining, and the chorus was better with Edge's vocal!

Others:
Shadows And Tall Trees (awesome guitar solo live)
Another Time, Another Place
Alone In The Light
Trevor (later Touch)
Jack In The Box
The Magic Carpet (Judith/Lost On A Silent/Distant Planet/Deaf Dumb Blind)
False Prophet
Tonight
Twilight
The Dream Is Over (former The King's New Clothes)
Pete The Chop
Concentration Cramp
Another Day
Stories For Boys
Boy/Girl

the 70's rocked!