Credit: Far Out / MUBI
Sun 16 August 2026 15:00, UK
U2 were certainly never a bona fide overnight success. But there was something in those early days, the rugged hopefulness of it all, that Bono found infinitely more endearing than any number one.
In a way, that would probably be the same for any band. They may know that the quality of their work would never compare to what they are now, but the complete lack of jadedness and pretension, coupled with a sweet dose of naivety, is a chalice to the point that it’s crushing to know you’ll never receive it back.
Undeniably, it’s a rose-tinted way of looking at things, but even still, the fondness with which Bono and The Edge both reminisced on their early days was so powerful that it was impossible not to jump on the nostalgia train. They had scores of chart-topping hits and albums to come, but there was one rudimentary song that firmly secured a place in their hearts.
To all intents and purposes, Boy was a bit of a ramshackle attempt at a debut album, leaning solely on the material of U2’s rather shoestring 40-song repertoire. However, ‘I Will Follow’ always felt a cut above the rest, clearly manifested in the fact that it’s the only song from that early time period that the band will still happily play today.
At that specific moment in the beginning of the ‘80s, Bono frankly didn’t know what the hell he was doing as a musician or a writer, something he freely admitted to later down the line. “I didn’t really begin spending a lot of time on lyrics until halfway into the ‘80s, so this and a lot of the early songs were written very quickly – in just minutes in many cases,” he confessed.
But there was an unbridled approach to ‘I Will Follow’, not least because of the fact that it was tenderly written in memory of his mother, who sadly died when the frontman was just 14 years old. In this sense, the whole of Boy was a reflection on his early years and what it took for him to become a man. It’s just that no one expected that man to become a world-beating rock star.
Bono spoke in general terms, but the true crux of his intended message was always more than evident. “The idea here was really just a very personal feeling, a song about unconditional love: ‘If you walk away, I will follow’. It would be high up on my list,” he said, proving how the songs with the most personal memories attached are always the ones to last a lifetime.
Further reading: From The Vault
It was a sentiment echoed by The Edge, who noted he “was happier with that song than anything else” that featured on Boy. Its strength was found in its simplicity, which spoke volumes to the type of songwriting that U2 would go on to create in later years. Their words have always been laid bare, with no second thoughts about it.
In this sense, ‘I Will Follow’ may not be the band’s most powerful or sonically technical song, but all of those things pale into insignificance when you consider what lies at the heart of it. This was a young man grieving his mother, and no matter where his lavish career would end up taking him, deep down, he would always remain that little boy.
ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE 
The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter
All the latest Classic Rock content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.