I Will Follow

Media Review:

Review: I Will Follow [Ireland]

3 stars (out of 5)

By JT Griffith, All Music Guide

"A Day Without Me" is the answer to an interesting trivia question: "What was the first U2 single from their debut album?" "I Will Follow" is the best-known track but was actually U2's second from 1980's Boy and was timed to coincide with the LP's release. It became, months later, U2's first single released in the U.S. The band released two live tracks in support of this Irish number one single. The Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand versions have different covers but are identical musically. They contain a rare version of "Boy/Girl" live from the Marquee in London. The studio version was on their first single, U2 Three. The Ireland and the Australia/New Zealand versions both have cover pictures of the boy made famous on early U2 covers. Peter Rowan is the brother of Derek "Guggi" Rowan of the Virgin Prunes. Rowan appeared on the cover of several albums and singles, most famously War. Years later he was the shy skateboarder auditioning in the film The Commitments and played Sonny in The Snapper. The Ireland cover is a longer shot of Rowan's profile. The version of I Will Follow released in the U.S. and Canada has a live take on "Out of Control" from the March 1981 Paradise show in Boston. This is an important single in U2's history because "I Will Follow" was the first "indie rock" hit; their underground popularity began when fans first found this single. All releases of this single were on 7" vinyl. The I Will Follow single has never been released on CD.

© AMG/Macrovision Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Media Review:

Review: I Will Follow [US/Canada]

2 1/2 stars (out of 5)

By JT Griffith, All Music Guide

"A Day Without Me" is the answer to an interesting trivia question: "What was the first U2 single from their debut album?" "I Will Follow" is the best-known track but was actually U2's second from 1980's Boy and was timed to coincide with the LP's release. It became, months later, U2's first single released in the U.S. The band released two live tracks in support of this Irish number one single. The version of "I Will Follow" released in the U.S. and Canada has a live take on "Out of Control" from the at the March 1981 Paradise show in Boston. This is an important single in U2's history because "I Will Follow" was the first "indie rock" hit; their underground popularity began when fans first found this single. If you bought this single in the U.S., you would have begun the frustrating experience of U2 collecting. The U.S. version used the same picture as the cover of Boy. However, the Ireland and the Australia/New Zealand versions both have cover pictures of the boy made famous on early U2 covers. So, if cover art is your thing, you would need the other two versions of the 7". Peter Rowan is the brother of Derek "Guggi" Rowan of the Virgin Prunes. Rowan appeared on the cover of several albums and singles, most famously War. Years later he was the shy skateboarder auditioning in the film The Commitments and he played Sonny in The Snapper. The Ireland cover is a longer shot of Rowan's profile. The Australia/New Zealand version has the more familiar picture from War. The Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand versions have different covers but are identical musically. They contain a rare version of "Boy/Girl" live from the Marquee in London. The studio version was on their first single, U2 Three. All releases of this single were on 7" vinyl. The I Will Follow single has never been released on CD.

© AMG/Macrovision Corporation. All Rights Reserved.