A new book telling the story of the night that a young fourpiece band from the north side of Dublin played their first official gig as U2 nearly fifty years ago is set for publication.
Becoming U2 by Brian O’Connell goes behind the scenes at an Evening Press/Harp Lager battle of the bands competition in the Stella Ballroom in Limerick on 18 March, 1978 which saw U2 win the first prize of £500 and a chance to audition for a recording contract.
Limerick-based writer O’Connell says, “It was a classic sliding doors moment. And yet very little was known – or has been written – about it.”
The nascent band had been together for just sixteen months when they entered the competition, which had been advertised with the headline “£500 Prize for Top Pop Group”.
Bono, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, and David Evans aka The Edge had been working under the name Feedback and later The Hype after a 14-year-old Mullen had famously placed a handwritten ad on the noticeboard at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in North Dublin, reading, “Drummer seeks musicians to form band.”
U2 on RTÉ in 1979
The Limerick show was the first time they performed as U2, a name suggested to them by Steve Averill of fellow Dublin act The Radiators From Space. Averill would go on to design all of the band’s album covers.
As the band recalled in the book U2 by U2, “There was prize money of £500 and a record deal. We had entered as The Hype and we realised that if we won it, then we would be stuck with The Hype. So we had to change the name before the competition.”
In Becoming U2, O’Connell recounts that when the result of the competition in Limerick was announced, there were boos as well as cheers. “What the hell is going on?”, asked one disgruntled audience member. “They can’t even play their instruments.”
“We had no real idea how winning in Limerick would change our lives.” Mullen would later reflect.
Becoming U2 features eight pages of photographs and is priced at €32.95 in hardback and €16.95 in paperback
Speaking about writing the book, which is only available from the Hot Press online shop, O’Connell says, “It took time and a lot of leg-work but it was worth it to meet and talk to so many of the musicians and the organisers – and to hear what they thought of U2 on the night, and what they made of it when the winners were announced.”
The author spoke to key members of the Irish punk and new wave movement to gauge what they thought of the nascent U2, as they took their first baby steps on the road to global domination.
“Immediately I read the first draft, I knew that this could be something special,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes says.
“Reading it you can see and hear and feel what it was like in the Stella Ballroom on that fateful night. But you also get a powerful sense just how differently things might have turned out. It is great fun, as well as full of unique insights.”
Becoming U2 features eight pages of photographs and is priced at €32.95 in hardback and €16.95 in paperback.
U2 are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Photo credit: Olaf Heine
On Thursday, U2 were announced as 2027 Persons of the Year by MusiCares, the charity supporting the health and wellbeing of the music community.
In a statement, the organisation said, “As the band marks 50 years together, Adam Clayton, Bono, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. will be recognized for their enduring contributions to music and their longstanding commitment to philanthropy and humanitarian causes.
“Throughout their career, the members of U2 have used their platform to support a wide range of causes, including global health, disaster response, addiction recovery, mental health and access to music education.
“Their work, both together and individually, has reflected a consistent commitment to giving back alongside their music.
U2 will be celebrated at the 36th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala on the 5th of February, 2027 in Los Angeles in an evening featuring a tribute concert with artists and musicians celebrating U2’s music and impact.
Earlier this year the band swung back into action with the release of two new EPs and are said to be currently working on a new album which will be released to mark their 50th anniversary.