1981-06-06

Friars Club, Aylesbury, England

Set List of Show:

Known Set List:

"Carry Me Home"
"Touch"
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
"I Will Follow"
"I Fall Down"
"An Cat Dubh"
"Into the Heart"
"Fire"
"Another Time, Another Place"
"The Electric Co."
"Things to Make and Do"
"Stories for Boys"
"Boy / Girl"
"Out of Control"

Known Encore: (Incomplete)

"I Will Follow"

Additional Music

Snippets of Other Songs Performed by U2:

Show Details:

U2 return to Aylesbury’s Friar’s Club for an appearance coming off the heels of their US tour. A show on June 4 in Salford had been planned, but was cancelled due to the band not being back from North America in time. Thus this show became the first show back in Europe. Support for U2 is provided by Altered Images, who had also been booked for the Salford show. The show is a 12th birthday party for The Friar’s Club, and tickets are £3.25 in advance, and at the door on the night of the show. One has to be a member of the Friar’s Club to purchase a ticket, and membership cost an additional £0.25 if one wasn’t a member and wanted to attend. The show is advertised as starting at 7:30pm in newspaper ads for the concert.

The show opens with a surprise. A new song, “Carry Me Home” makes its debut in the set tonight. U2 have been working on the new album, October and had debuted “Fire” and “I Fall Down” in the North American tour, and “Carry Me Home” is the third new song heard. U2 will play the song again a few nights later in London, however, the song disappears at that point and isn’t on the album, and is never played again. The song features Bono repeating “Carry Me Home” throughout the song and isn’t close to being a finished song.

A review in Record Mirror by Mike Gardner reads, “It’s the 12th birthday of Friars, the homecoming of Ireland’s finest from a lengthy Stateside jaunt and it’s Saturday night. It had to be a good ‘un. By the time lead vocalist Bono incites the bopping hoards to “knowck the walls down” at the beginning of ‘I Will Follow’ the party is in full stride. The familiar bouncy brass of Adam Clayton, the forthright percussive attack of the excellent Larry Mullin on drums, the heartbeat of the outfit, and the distinctive cut and thrust of The Edge’s guitar are all intact after their US trip.” The review mentions a number of songs played including “12 O’Clock Tick Tock”. “When I Fall Down” is called “a cascading wash of chords” and “Fire” is “a blistering helter skelter whirlpool of sound, both punchy and romantic.” The review ends with a question, “Shouldn’t all parties be this good?”

A review in a local paper The Herald of the show reads, “Even by the high standards set at previous anniversary celebrations the Friars Aylesbury 12th birthday party was something quite special. Held on Saturday it featured two groups new to the club, U2 and Altered Images. Rarely can the main band and support band have complemented each other so well.”

The set list here is taken from a printed set list of the show which appeared for auction in 2011. Additionally it is known that “I Will Follow” was played in the encore from one of the reviews above, but the other songs played in the encore are unknown at this time.

Officially Released Tracks