1979-01-27

McGonagles, Dublin, Ireland

Set List of Show:

Additional Music

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

Show Details:

U2 return to McGonagles to play an afternoon show on a Saturday afternoon, a new initiative by McGonagles in an attempt to reach a younger audience than are allowed into the shows at the licensed establishment in the evenings. Admission is £1.00.

The show is advertised in Hot Press, “U2, the fast-rising Dublin band, inaugurate a new series of Saturday afternoon dates at McGonagles this weekend (27th). Ticket prices will be £1.00. The intention is to break through to a younger audience, presently denied live music by the licensing laws and by the club’s late night opening policy. If the experiment is a success, U2 will repeat the formula and will possibly be followed into McGonagle’s by other local bands.”

Hot Press reviews the show. Bill Graham had attended, “Last Saturday week, U2 played twice. The matinee was at McGonagles an enterprising foray to capture the teen audience barred by licensing laws and late night opening. Unprofessionally, my clock stopped so I lost an hour, only appearing to catch the last four numbers. Neither I nor U2 were happy with the sound but the band did succeed in their primary aim of attracting and impressing a sizeable underage contingent. They return there this weekend.” U2 play the first two matinee shows, and then other acts fill the bill for later shows.

U2 play two shows on this day, the early show at McGonagles, and then a later show at Trinity College.

U2 played McGonagles a number of times in the late 1970s. The venue, located at 21A South Anne Street, started hosting concerts in 1978 and continued to do so until 1992. Prior to that, it was known as The Crystal Ballroom. Bono’s parents, Iris and Bob would often go dancing at The Crystal Ballroom and Bono would later write about the venue in “The Crystal Ballroom”: “My mother died when she was at her father’s funeral. I was only 14. And in this song I am singing, ‘Everyone is here tonight, everyone but you.’ And it’s me wanting to see my mother dance again in the Crystal Ballroom and for her to see what happened to her son.” On July 1, 2018, Bono remembered from stage that U2 had played McGonagles 29 times in their career. That night was their 30th performance at Madison Square Garden, making it U2’s most played venue, but up until that point, McGonagles appears to have been the most played.

Little is known about the show itself. The set list is not known.

Officially Released Tracks