Martyn Goddard/Corbis via Getty ImagesRespected U2 fan site AtU2 has acquired what’s believed to be the earliest known live recording of the Irish rockers: a tape of an afternoon show the band played on August 11, 1979, at Dublin’s Dandelion Market.
The concert was recorded by Pete McCluskey, who played guitar with the event’s support act, The Strougers. U2’s set featured several songs that would appear on the group’s 1980 debut album, Boy, and included two previously unheard tunes: “Concentration Cramp” and “In Your Hand.”
AtU2 has posted audio snippets of both songs on its YouTube channel. The fan site also points out that “Concentration Cramp” is musically similar to another early U2 song, “Live My Life Tonight.”
The only U2 performance from the show that’s previously been heard is a rendition of “Out of Control,” which McCluskey posted on YouTube in 2011.
The tape was acquired from McCluskey by AtU2’s Tours team, which has made it their goal to amass in-depth details about every known U2 concert.
In an interview with the fan site, McCluskey reveals that he almost missed the concert because his guitar was locked in his apartment and his mother, who had the key, had gone shopping. He recalls that his father showed up at the apartment and biked six miles into town and tracked down his mom. The guitarist then took a cab ride to venue and was able to play the gig, and record U2’s set.
McCluskey tells AtU2 that he “hadn’t realized the significance of [the tape] and its place in history until quite recently.”
The previously known oldest U2 concert recording was of an October 22, 1979, show at the Cork Opera House in Cork, Ireland.
Here’s the full set list from the August 11, 1979, concert, according to AtU2.com:
“Out of Control”
“Speed of Light”
“In Your Hand”
“The Fool”
“Concentration Cramp”
“Another Time Another Place”
“Stories for Boys”
“Shadows and Tall Trees”
“Cartoon World”
“Alone in the Light”
“Street Mission”
“Black Dog” (Led Zeppelin cover) (snippet)/”Life on a Distant Planet”
“Twilight” (snippet)/”Boy-Girl”
“Out of Control”
“Glad to See You Go” (Ramones cover)
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