1980-02-26

National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

Set List of Show:

Set List:

  • "Silver Lining"
  • "Speed of Life"
  • "Life On A Distant Planet"
  • "Stories for Boys"
  • "Trevor"
  • "Another Time, Another Place"
  • "Another Day"
  • "Pete the Chop"
  • "The Dream Is Over"
  • "Cartoon World"
  • "Jack in A Box"
  • "Shadows and Tall Trees"
  • "A Day Without Me"
  • "Twilight"
  • "Boy / Girl"
  • "Out of Control"
Encore:

  • "The Electric Co."
  • "Out of Control"
  • "Another Day"

Additional Music

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

Show Details:

This show is a famous one in U2 history, as they pushed to get into the National Stadium to try to impress record executives who would be in town. Attendance at the show was said to be 2400, and U2 were supported at the show by The Shade and The Kids. Unlike many shows at the time, with the bigger venue there was a range of ticket prices, and tickets cost £1.50, £2.00 or £2.50. The show was recorded and a bootleg of the main set exists, although Hot Press talks about a stinging encore including “The Electric Co.” which is not part of that bootleg. After the show U2 signed their first contract with Island Records with Nick Stewart who was at the show as part of the A&R Department of Island Records.

In NME Nick Stewart remembers, “I arrived on a very wet and wild February night, if there could be said to be a royal box in this stadium, I was in it. The band came on and played ‘11 O’Clock Tick Tock Tock’ and the stage was invaded. After about four numbers, I turned to Michael Deeny, who’s the godfather of Irish music, and said, ‘For fuck’s sake! This is the Led Zeppelin of the 1980s!’ I knew I was watching something special. Musically, I found them a little naive, but the way they got their own crowd going, the way Bono handled it . . . I just thought, ‘I’ve got to have this band . . .’” Stewart later went backstage to meet the band, “in the smallest dressing-room I’ve ever seen” and offered the band a record contract subject to approval by Island head Chris Blackwell.

The set list we share has a few things that should be noted. “Silver Lining” is an early title for “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” and although they were still using the “Silver Lining” lyrics at this point, the title may have already switched. A show a few weeks later in Cork has “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” on the written setlist. That show in Cork also lists “Life On A Distant Planet” under its alternate title, “No Man’s Land”.

In a review by Bill Graham, he mentions “So U2 saw the stuka dive to a set that includes what could be a self-descriptive encore, ‘The Electric Company’ and their Irish singles ‘Out of Control’ and ‘Another Day’. Their’s is a music of boundless outstretching and even foolhard exhilaration. It is not for premature cynics. When they re-enter Britain it will be instructive to find how many romantics remain.” Graham also shares, “A thousand arrived and were persuaded of U2’s calibre that the band are no longer just club contenders. U2 entered the hall and made it their own.” although he does admit, “The sound was over bassy, Bono’s gestures sometimes were dissipated in the less compressed setting and the road crew’s audience treatment was erratically inexperienced.” We’ve added the additional tracks Graham mentions into the encore.

Related News

Officially Released Tracks

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