U2: Rare Footage At The Leixlip Castle, July 27, 1980

U2: Rare Footage At The Leixlip Castle, July 27, 1980 

This was an open Air Festival in Leixlip Ireland in County Kildare just across the border from County Dublin. The grounds of Leixlip Castle are about 10 miles from downtown Dublin as the crow flies. It was U2's first show at an open air festival before a large crowd, estimated 30,000 tickets sold for the day, although the crowd appears a bit smaller than that when U2 are on stage, probably early in the lineup for the day.

THE POLICE headlined the show:
The openers, not in order were:
John Olwan
Moondogs
U2
Skafish
Q-Tips
Squeeze

The video link is about 5 minutes and has some performances from the opening bands, fans walking to the venue, and several clips of U2, with U2's first stage prop being connected Pipes in the shape of U2 behind Larry.

At the time, U2 were still recording Boy, which was 3 months away from its release on October 20, 1980

At this point U2 had released:
EP U2-3 -September 26, 1979
Single Another Day - February 26, 1980
Single 11'Oclock Tick Tock - May 16, 1980

Here is the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_icAbFMJ3k

Fantastic find, can’t wait to watch this later (tomorrow).

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt" - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

The whole audio for THE POLICE is on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkV3W7IyVWk audience recording, not great quality, distorted. 112 minutes. The Bottle incident is at 54:20 during Roxanne. Stewart Copeland got hit with a bottle from the crowd, forcing them to stop for a minute.

The Police were in the middle of recording their third album Zenyatta Mondatta in Holland and traveled up for this show as well as a show at Milton Keynes Bowl in England the day before. 2nd time Don't Stand So Close...., De Do Do Do, De Da Da, When the World is Running Down, were performed live, the first being the day before in Milton Keynes England.

The Police setlist:
Voices Inside My Head
Don't Stand So Close To Me
Walking On The Moon
Fall Out
Bring On The Night
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Truth Hits Everybody
The Bed's Too Big Without You
Driven To Tears
When The World Is Running Down You Make......
Message In A Bottle
Roxanne (With The Bottle Incident !)
Can't Stand Losing You
Next To You

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 08:28:27 PM

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Do you also want his birth certificate?

Quote from: wons on May 04, 2023, 01:44:34 AM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 08:28:27 PM

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Do you also want his birth certificate?

I've been to Dublin a lot, and I was just curious about the route he took that day from whatever Dublin neighborhood he lived in to the show at Leixlip Castle which is in County Kildare. The River Liffey actually flows right by Leixlip Castle.

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 08:28:27 PM

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Haha, I've been Wonsed! I was living at that time in a leafy suburb on Dublin's lovely southside, near the sea, about five miles from the city centre. I cycled to Leixlip that day. I cycled everywhere at that time - my bike was a Carlton Corsa 10-speed, you may want to know. Leixlip, in Kildare but close to the west Co Dublin border, was out in the countryside at that time - it is now just another ribbon suburb. I went via Saggart and Newcastle - ie cross-country - rather than through the city centre, as it was a more pleasant journey. I cycled to Slane in Co Meath the following summer to see U2 supporting Thin Lizzy, which was a round trip of about 70 miles, and the summer after that I cycled to Punchestown racecourse to see them at the Hot Press benefit gig. Public transport in Ireland was very rudimentary at that time, though in fairness to CIE, the semi-state public transport company, they used to put on extra buses for big gigs. I just preferred to cycle, as getting the bus would have involved four bus trips (one into town, one to the gig, one from the gig to town and then one home) and an awful lot of hanging around. When U2 toured Ireland, as they usually did in December or Jan/Feb in the early years (and around May 1980 for the 11 O'Clock Tick Tock tour) I used to get a CIE rambler ticket, which was valid for a week, cost only £8 and allowed one to get any CIE train or bus around the country during that week. So, for example, I went Dublin-Galway, Galway-Dublin, Dublin-Sligo, Sligo-Dublin, Dublin-Cork and Cork-Dublin over the course of three days in December 1980 to see U2. The Cork show was probably the best show of theirs of the 60 or so that I've seen. I used to travel to see them in England and Scotland in the early days too (ie 1980-1982). Their gigs in Cork were always special, as they had a very warm bond with the audience there who used to frequent the Arcadia.

Quote from: wons on May 04, 2023, 01:44:34 AM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 08:28:27 PM

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Haha, I've been Wonsed! I was living at that time in a leafy suburb on Dublin's lovely southside, near the sea, about five miles from the city centre. I cycled to Leixlip that day. I cycled everywhere at that time - my bike was a Carlton Corsa 10-speed, you may want to know. Leixlip, in Kildare but close to the west Co Dublin border, was out in the countryside at that time - it is now just another ribbon suburb. I went via Saggart and Newcastle - ie cross-country - rather than through the city centre, as it was a more pleasant journey. I cycled to Slane in Co Meath the following summer to see U2 supporting Thin Lizzy, which was a round trip of about 70 miles, and the summer after that I cycled to Punchestown racecourse to see them at the Hot Press benefit gig. Public transport in Ireland was very rudimentary at that time, though in fairness to CIE, the semi-state public transport company, they used to put on extra buses for big gigs. I just preferred to cycle, as getting the bus would have involved four bus trips (one into town, one to the gig, one from the gig to town and then one home) and an awful lot of hanging around. When U2 toured Ireland, as they usually did in December or Jan/Feb in the early years (and around May 1980 for the 11 O'Clock Tick Tock tour) I used to get a CIE rambler ticket, which was valid for a week, cost only £8 and allowed one to get any CIE train or bus around the country during that week. So, for example, I went Dublin-Galway, Galway-Dublin, Dublin-Sligo, Sligo-Dublin, Dublin-Cork and Cork-Dublin over the course of three days in December 1980 to see U2. The Cork show was probably the best show of theirs of the 60 or so that I've seen. I used to travel to see them in England and Scotland in the early days too (ie 1980-1982). Their gigs in Cork were always special, as they had a very warm bond with the audience there who used to frequent the Arcadia.

Thats great! Thanks for all the information!

First part of a show from Tullamore a few months before the Leixlip show.

01. Another Day
02. 11'Oclock Tick Tock
03. Shadows And Tall Trees - (last time this was played live I believe)
04. A Day Without Me
05. Twilight (cut)


Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUja6glJsA

Here is a bootleg of the first 5 songs U2 played at the Leixlip concert. Quality of the recording is not that great, distorted and maybe a little sped up.

U2 Setlist July 27, 1980 Leixlip Castle

01. Another Day
02. 11'Oclock Tick Tock
03. Shadows And Tall Trees - (last time this was played live I believe)
04. A Day Without Me
05. Twilight (cut)

Also played that day
06. An Cat Dubh
07. Into The Heart
08. Saturday Night
09. Electric Co.
10. Another Time Another Place

You here and see a bit of Electric Co. in the first link in the first post above.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkUja6glJsA

That's not the Leixlip gig, unfortunately - it's a misidentified recording of a gig they did in Tullamore a few months earlier on the Tick Tock tour. It's clearly an indoor venue, whereas Leixlip was an outdoor festival. U2 opened with Tick Tock at Leixlip, they played Saturday Night, A Day Without Me and Electric Co and most likely Out of Control. I'm pretty sure they didn't play An Cat Dubh and Into the Heart at Leixlip - the first time I can recall hearing those was at the Gorey Arts Festival they did in Co Wexford on August 20th, 1980 - another absolute cracker of a gig, one of their best (and loudest).

Quote from: MPare1966 on May 04, 2023, 02:18:11 AM

Quote from: wons on May 04, 2023, 01:44:34 AM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 08:28:27 PM

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Do you also want his birth certificate?

I've been to Dublin a lot, and I was just curious about the route he took that day from whatever Dublin neighborhood he lived in to the show at Leixlip Castle which is in County Kildare. The River Liffey actually flows right by Leixlip Castle.

All cool, wons. I was yanking your chain.

Quote from: wons on May 04, 2023, 01:44:34 AM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 08:28:27 PM

Quote from: wons on May 03, 2023, 06:12:45 PM

Quote from: Mr Bourke on May 03, 2023, 05:54:30 PM

I was there. U2 opened the show and were one of the best acts of the day, along with Q-Tips and Squeeze (Jools Holland was extraordinarily charismatic). Headliners The Police were like watching paint dry, apart from when someone threw a bottle at Sting, which livened up the proceedings temporarily (a bootleg of the incident can be found on YouTube). U2 debuted Electric Co and Saturday Night (the only live performance of the latter, as far as I know). A Day Without Me was played with one guitar - Bono augmented Edge with rhythm guitar subsequently. It was by far the biggest crowd U2 had played at that point (Sting had wanted them on the line-up). Bono said at one point: "Now I know how the pope felt - a reference to Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland the previous September, which included a mass in the Phoenix Park before a crowd of more than a million people (also including me). Good times, eh?

Cool! Where did you live at that time?

Dublin. I had seen U2 a lot by then, including most of their Dandelion Market gigs, and saw a lot of them in the following few years. They were at their best from the spring of 1980 until the autumn of 1982 - after they they never quite had the dynamism that they had in those peak years.

Where in Dublin? City center? One of the Suburbs on the south side of the Liffey, Sandymount, Blackrock, Clondalkin, Crumlin, Dalkey, Killiney, Dundrum; north side of the Liffey, Bono's neighborhood Finglas, Artane, Swords, Malahide, Ronanstown, Ballyfermot, Howth?

Haha, I've been Wonsed! I was living at that time in a leafy suburb on Dublin's lovely southside, near the sea, about five miles from the city centre. I cycled to Leixlip that day. I cycled everywhere at that time - my bike was a Carlton Corsa 10-speed, you may want to know. Leixlip, in Kildare but close to the west Co Dublin border, was out in the countryside at that time - it is now just another ribbon suburb. I went via Saggart and Newcastle - ie cross-country - rather than through the city centre, as it was a more pleasant journey. I cycled to Slane in Co Meath the following summer to see U2 supporting Thin Lizzy, which was a round trip of about 70 miles, and the summer after that I cycled to Punchestown racecourse to see them at the Hot Press benefit gig. Public transport in Ireland was very rudimentary at that time, though in fairness to CIE, the semi-state public transport company, they used to put on extra buses for big gigs. I just preferred to cycle, as getting the bus would have involved four bus trips (one into town, one to the gig, one from the gig to town and then one home) and an awful lot of hanging around. When U2 toured Ireland, as they usually did in December or Jan/Feb in the early years (and around May 1980 for the 11 O'Clock Tick Tock tour) I used to get a CIE rambler ticket, which was valid for a week, cost only £8 and allowed one to get any CIE train or bus around the country during that week. So, for example, I went Dublin-Galway, Galway-Dublin, Dublin-Sligo, Sligo-Dublin, Dublin-Cork and Cork-Dublin over the course of three days in December 1980 to see U2. The Cork show was probably the best show of theirs of the 60 or so that I've seen. I used to travel to see them in England and Scotland in the early days too (ie 1980-1982). Their gigs in Cork were always special, as they had a very warm bond with the audience there who used to frequent the Arcadia.

Would it have been faster to take the 52 bus to Leixlip?