Earliest known live recording of U2 unearthed

From Planet Rock.

The earliest known bootleg recording of U2 in existence has been unearthed featuring two previously unheard songs.

Still fledgling musicians aged between 17 and 19, U2 played an intimate mid-afternoon show at the now-demolished Dublin venue The Dandelion Market on 11th August 1979.

One of ten U2 concerts that took place at the tiny venue between May and December of that year, fellow local band The Strougers supported U2 on the day and guitarist Pete McCluskey recorded the show on tape.

With the help of dedicated U2 fan site ATU2, the Dandelion Market tape has now been resurrected and it’s the earliest known full live recording of the band.

Before now, the oldest U2 recording in circulation was at the Cork Opera House more than two months later on 22nd October 22nd 1979.

The Dandelion Market tape features embryonic versions of ‘Out of Control’, ‘Stories for Boys’ and ‘Shadows and Tall Trees’ that would later appear on U2’s debut album ‘Boy’, together with the discarded early songs ‘Cartoon World’ and ‘Street Mission’ that never got an official release.

However, the most curious are two previously unheard songs (unless you were at the concert) called ‘Concentration Cramp’ and ‘In Your Hand’ and it’s highly probably this is the only time they’ve ever been committed to tape.

Listen to a snippet of ‘Concentration Cramp’ here:

And here’s ‘In Your Hand’:

Pete McCluskey told ATU2: “I am pleased that I recorded the show, and hadn’t realised the significance of it and its place in history until quite recently.”

McCluskey previously uploaded the opening track ‘Out of Control’ to YouTube in 2011, which you can listen to here:

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