The Early Years

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A few weeks ago, Bono and The Edge were interviewed on Jonathan Ross. Mr. Ross pulled out a favorite clip of every U2 fan, "Street Mission"...(fast forward to 4:43)

Bono's reaction is like many of ours, after seeing the band grow over the years, you can't help but chuckle and groan at the shiny suit Bono is wearing or be amazed at how much hair The Edge once had. Larry looks 12 in that clip, and holy shit, he's smiling! Adam looks a bit like Napoleon Dynamite...the hair, the glasses. With Bono's facial expressions, I half expect jazz hands each time I watch the clip...but it never happens. Damn shame too.

After watching the interview, I did a little early years research and came up with some gems which I'd like to share with you so you can laugh as much as I did.

"Life on a Distant Planet", 1979.

Bono's moptop hairdo, along with the gloves and strange dance moves in the beginning reminds me a bit of David Bowie here and yet the backdrop is very psychedelic...ahhh, the 70's. I wish I would have been around to witness Bono's spastic, Elaine-esque dance moves of the early years...because they are quite impressive to watch here. Lots of windmill action. And The Edge is wearing gloves too? Oh dear... Very New Romantic, without the New Romantic sound, thank God. Glad Adam never started wearing red lipstick...well, not till much later, anyway.

"Stories for Boys" - 1980

The Blonde Fro has begun! It's not as epic as it will become, but oh Adam, there are many fashion events to come from you yet, my boy. That outfit Bono is wearing looks familiar, seems he was not afraid to wear the same bad outfits over and over again. Good for him, I applaud his recycling efforts. I really enjoy the stage persona that Bono has going on, because it's very fitting of the song about being a kid. The pulling of the neckline, almost nervous hair mussing...really great.

"Touch" - 1981

First off, I have to say THANK YOU for whomever found this footage and uploaded it. There is more from this show and for as old as it is, it's great quality. The Edge looks generally unimpressed with being on stage in this clip, do I see an eyeroll? The Fro has grown quite a bit from the last clip and now, there's a scarf dangling from it, that matches the awesome vest. Adam had the New Romantic look down pat. It also appears that Larry has a fan on him, which makes him look very rock and roll...and like he's a part of a different band, filling in for these lot. He's very rock and roll and the rest of the band looks like a mis-guided New Romantic band playing strange punkish music.

"Boy/Girl" - 1981

This is from the same show that the "Touch" clip is from. Bono pulls a young girl out of the crowd and puts her on his shoulders. I guess his affinity for kids started very early. But it makes me wonder, who the hell brought their kid to a club gig? Unless it was a crew member...then maybe. I shouldn't talk though, my parents took me to club gigs when I was that age...I guess it's just jealousy talking...

Rejoice - 1982

A favorite song of mine...that gets grossly overshadowed by Bono...and his hair. I have pictures of my mother in the 80's with the same frosted hairdo that Bono has here. And look at Adam go! He clearly likes this song, don't blame him, it's a great one. You know, I think my mom had that weird jacket thing Bono's wearing too...hm...

"Rejoice" - 1982

Again, because I love this song...and again, LOOK AT ADAM GO! He digs this song. If they bring it back now, do you think Adam would rock out? It might destroy the "I'm fucking cool" stage presence he's had going for awhile...but damn it would be awesome. Let's start a petition, "Bring Back Rejoice So We Can See Adam Dance On Stage Again".

And for those who haven't seen the full clip, here's "Street Mission" - 1978.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed these clips. I've got many more up my sleeve spanning through the years. Many thanks to all the people who uploaded and shared these videos, they are classics!

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Chelsea Andrus published on July 27, 2009 2:13 AM.

TAKING DUBLIN BY STORM: Bono and Larry Mullen Jr belt out another rock anthem last night was the previous entry in this blog.

Yes we can still break into a smile is the next entry in this blog.

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