The Edge reveals the one gig that landed U2 a record deal: “It was one of our best shows”
The biggest stumbling block for every musician is securing a record deal. It’s one thing to know that you have something great, but it’s a nightmare when you’re trying to convince the bigwigs to actually take a chance on this strange musical art project that you put together. While U2 has been in the good graces of big business for years, The Edge remembered that the moment they got a deal, it happened almost completely by accident.
Which is confusing, considering where the band were at the time. Their first handful of EPs had shown them to be a logical extension of what post-punk had been doing around that time, and when there’s someone like Bono bellowing from the rafters, it becomes a little bit hard to ignore any song with his incredible voice.
Then again, there are just as many detractors when it comes to their first releases. A track like ‘I Will Follow’ is a good frontrunner for what made them so special, but there are also just as many songs that would have record executives scratching their heads as they try to find out what the hell the hook of the song was.
And let’s not forget The Edge’s guitar playing. The whole process behind getting U2’s sound didn’t always focus on the screaming solos, and since bands like Van Halen were quickly gaining steam around the time the Irish icons were hitting the clubs, The Edge’s lack of guitar pedals didn’t showcase his genius in the best way.
As the guitarist later told Sam Jones, there was no one who would even touch them when they were first putting their songs together, saying, “We got to London. We did a lot of famous gigs, but unfortunately, we were quite sporadic live in those days. A lot of the crowds were too laid-back, and we probably weren’t at our most confident. We saw every London record company, and every one of them passed.”
Seeing that kind of turnout usually means that most bands should pack it in and find a real job, but quitting wasn’t in U2’s DNA. They were going to do everything they could to get an album deal, and their manager, Paul McGuinness, had another plan once the group arrived back in Dublin.
Since they were more comfortable with their stomping grounds, McGuinness organised a massive homecoming show that changed everything. As The Edge explains: “We said, ‘We’ll at least get something out of this’, so we agreed. It was one of our best shows. What we didn’t know was that an A&R man from Island Records had missed us. He had been away and, without telling us, went straight to the gig in Dublin. He saw the show and went backstage saying, ‘I want to sign you guys.’”
Even though U2 was bound to go onto bigger and better things no matter what they did, that Dublin show was a case of being at the right place at the exact right time. It’s one thing to face one rejection after another, but any group that keeps pushing away at it can find their way in the door sooner or later.
