| Tech Note | Riot In Hamburg
October Hamburg, Germany
03 November 1981
(46:50)
1. Gloria
2. Another Time, Another Place
3. I Threw a Brick Through a Window
4. An Cat Dubh
5. Into the Heart
6. Rejoice
7. Cry/The Electric Co.
8. I Fall Down
9. October
10. Stories For Boys
11. I Will Follow (take 1)
12. I Will Follow (take 2)
13. I Will Follow (take 3)
14. Twilight
NOTE: This is a fantastic recording of one of the most infamous U2 concerts. The sound is so clear that this may well be a soundboard recording. There is absolutely no crowd noise between tracks also supports the soundboard theory. However, the bootleg does not have the "feel" of a soundboard recording, so I have listed it as excellent plus audience. Keep in mind that this recording is from 1981, so an excellent audience recording from this era is not going to be as good as one from PopMart. As I have mentioned sound quality is awesome and there is absolutely no crowd noise. This bootleg would be perfect if sound clarity were just a bit better.
Here's some information on the concert, taken from "U2 Live: A Concert Documentary":
U2 share the bill with The Psychedelic Furs but for reasons unclear they do not play. Rumor has it that they refused to play because they had not had time to do a soundcheck. Most of the audience have come for the Furs. "Sorry for the delay, the piano broke down, things like that," Bono explains but the damage is already done. Halfway through "Gloria" something is thrown on stage. Bono stops the song. "In Dublin, people who come to our concerts show people that start throwing things the way out. I expect that here, or we leave the stage."
U2 toil to break through the hostile, oppressing tension. "Right," Bono says firmly. "The atmosphere in here has got to change. You've been sold a dummy tonight; you expected to see two bands, there's one band. It's not our fault, it's not The Psychedelic Furs fault. They wanted to be here. This is called 'I Fall Down'. Let's break through this!" During "I Will Follow" a few hooligans work off their irritation on bystanders, and the band stop the song. "This isn't a circus, right? Hey you! Shall I tell you something about violence? I come from a country where violence is real, not pretend violence." Edge starts "I Will Follow" again, and Bono shouts as if possessed, "And again, we start from the beginning! We go up, we go up, 'I Will Follow!'" Ten seconds later, things go wrong again. "Look, there's some people back here who wanna eat you up. They're called security people. We don't want them, right? We wanna get on with this. Is there anybody here who wants to hear what we're doing, or should we just go now?" Some weak cheers satisfy the band; "I Will Follow" is essayed for the third time. They finish the set with all their energy, but there is no reason for an encore.
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