Boy

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Boy · U2's debut album was recorded from July to September 1980 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. The band worked for the first time with producer Steve Lillywhite, after the plan with Martin Hannett fell through. Lillywhite loved experiments: he put Larry Mullen Jr.'s drums in a stairwell and recorded broken bottles and cutlery being dragged along a spinning bicycle wheel.

The lyrics deal with growing up, innocence and the transition from boy to man, and that is also the idea behind the sleeve with a boy's face. The Edge plays with echo and long, floating chords instead of blues riffs. I Will Follow, about the early death of Bono's mother, became one of the first U2 songs to be played on American radio. Boy received mostly positive reviews.

Listening

Track list

1. 1I Will Follow3:37Apple Music ↗
2. 2Twilight4:22Apple Music ↗
3. 3An Cat Dubh4:46Apple Music ↗
4. 4Into the Heart3:28Apple Music ↗
5. 5Out of Control4:14Apple Music ↗
6. 6Stories for Boys3:02Apple Music ↗
7. 7The Ocean1:35Apple Music ↗
8. 8A Day Without Me3:13Apple Music ↗
9. 9Another Time, Another Place4:33Apple Music ↗
10. 10The Electric Co.4:47Apple Music ↗
11. 11Shadows and Tall Trees / Saturday Matinee5:15Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

See also

• U2