1980-11-21

Nite Club, Edinburgh, Scotland

Set List of Show:

Main Set:

"Stories for Boys"
"The Ocean"
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
"Touch"
"An Cat Dubh"
"Into the Heart"
"Another Time, Another Place"
"The Electric Co."
"Twilight"
"Shadows and Tall Trees"
"I Will Follow"

Encore:

"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
"The Ocean"
"Father is an Elephant"

Additional Music

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

A Little Night Music

Show Details:

U2 play their first show in Scotland in Edinburgh at a bar called the Nite Club. The band is reported to sell out the venue, at an attendance of 400 people, and Bono mentions this during the show, “This is the first time in your country, it’s sold out, we’re very flattered.”. The show is opened by Medium, Medium. It is not known if the set list is complete, but it is likely that a few songs are missing. It is known that the band repeats “The Ocean” and “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” in the encore of the show. Bono also includes the “Cry” and “Send in the Clowns” snippets in “The Electric Co.” on this night.

A review by Henry Mathias in The Student reviewed the show by Altered Images and U2. “There is no doubt about it, U2 are something special. All four members come from Dublin and were at the same school: Bonjo (vocals), The Edge (guitar), Adam Clayton (bass), Larry (drums) and they must rate as one of the most compelling bands to come out of Ireland over the years. U2 have a marvellously powerful chemistry: fast driving bass and drums blend effectively with The Edge’s searing, paint-stripper guitar sound, while Bono’s rousing passionate voice climbs and dips confidently above, between, below, within. Their evocative music is characterised by its alternating between a wall of soaring sound and sparse soft melodies — the set reaches climax after climax, each song bubbling under then bursting forth with urgency.”

“‘Another Time, Another Place”, “Stories for Boys” and “I Will Follow” (their new single) are the most memorable examples of this melodic power. U2 songs are also unfashionably sentimental, I mean, we can’t have no punks singing all this romantic stuff about childish innocence, “Twilight” and “Shadows and Tall Trees”, can we? But Bono is a charismatic figure and performs with such conviction on stage that he managed to convey the emotion of their material with a genuine heartfelt passion. And the audience responded as he rushed upstage, buried his head in his hands, taking us into his dark, sensitive world of youthful insecurity and mystery. (There could be a comparison with Penetration and more particularly Joy Division, but you can dance to U2 and they’re not half as depressing.)”

“Father is an Elephant” is a song that U2 were developing for October that was played only a handful of times in late 1980. The song was written for Bono’s father Bob, and he dedicates the song to him on this night. Some of the elements of that song go on to become “Rejoice” when the album is released the following year. The full set list is likely known but the order may not be as printed here.

Officially Released Tracks