When U2 Came To Town The First Time

I’m embarrassed. I can’t remember how I first met U2. I know I was in London and it was before they had any music out. I’m guessing I met Paul McGuinness, their manager at the time, and that he introduced me to the band. Or maybe it was Steve Lillywhite, who I met at an XTC session for Drums and Wires. Anyway, eventually I wound up with an advance tape of Boy and I wrote about it and said the Rolling Stones had been my favorite band for the better part of two decades and that now U2 was my favorite band. Later their U.S. record label sent out one of the reviews I wrote with the promo album to American rock writers and djs.

When U2 came to the U.S. they would use bands from my 415 label as opening acts. In early 1981 they had Romeo Void open shows at San Jose State, 2 nights at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco and then bigger shows at California Hall in San Francisco and the Palladium in L.A. Two years later, Romeo Void did a big show with them at the San Francisco Civic. Also in 1981 SVT opened a show for them at a club in Buffalo (Uncle Sam’s). In 1985, they took the Red Rockers on a large venue tour— 15 concerts— with them that started in Dallas, included 3 nights at the L.A. Sports Arena, 2 nights at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, a night in Honolulu, lots of shows between the coasts, and then ended at the Sun Dome in Tampa, after which the Red Rockers disbanded. I can’t believe Wire Train never opened for them. When In A Chamber came out, Bono told the press it was his favorite album of 1984.

Later, working at Warner Bros, I was really excited when they decided to take the BoDeans on a big U.S. stadium tour, a great boost for the band's under-appreciated career. Even into the ‘90s, U2 was still putting my bands on as opening acts. I remember going to Paris to see Belly play with them at huge concert in 1993 at a racetrack. Lou Reed had put the Velvet Underground back together and they were on that same Paris show— and on 4 other big stadium shows in Europe.

Anyway, back to the first tour-- clubs… and college radio stations. These 2 pictures, shot by Larry Butler, were when the band was visiting KUSF, the station I worked at that sponsored the 2 Old Waldorf gigs. I interviewed the band and I wish I could say I remember the questions and answers… but I don’t. Somewhere I think I have a cassette on the interview but God knows where it is— I’ll probably find it when I find the photo of Otto. Peter Standish, who is in the center of the group shot up top, was music director of the station at the time and I bet he has a cassette of it. (The other dj in the photo, over between Adam and Bono, is Tim Maloney, who was one of the people at the University of San Francisco who wanted to turn the station into a new wave powerhouse and got me the gig as “professional advisor.”)

Time goes by so quickly, doesn't it? Last summer, Bono's son's band, Inhaler, put out its debut album, It Won’t Always Be Like This, and it entered the U.K. charts at #1. Never heard them? Cheer Up Baby.