Dublin showcases earliest photos of baby-faced U2
DUBLIN (AP) - In the beginning, there was Bono. And what a baby face he had.
Photographs documenting the gritty beginnings of U2 in the smoky pubs and clubs of 1970s Dublin are being unveiled Thursday at an exhibition in the band's home city. Much of the exhibition by photographer Patrick Brocklebank has never been seen before.
Brocklebank's black-and-white images capture the teenage Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen in 1978 and 1979 gigs, their vibrant hairdos and fashion missteps, and their clowning around in impromptu shoots and scruffy nighttime hangouts.
At the time, fellow teenager Brocklebank recalls he thought U2 might just be the one local act to reach the big time - not because they sounded better than their rivals, but because they were harder-working.
"I actually preferred a few of the other Dublin bands at the time, the Virgin Prunes and the Blades," Brocklebank said. "But the U2 people really stood out because they were organized. They knew what they wanted to achieve, even then.
"And of course Bono was never meek or mild. He was the ideal frontman," he said. "Sometimes in the pub after a gig, you would hear Bono before you saw him. He always had a forceful personality that set him apart from the crowd."
U2 manager Paul McGuinness is launching the exhibition Thursday night at The Little Museum of Dublin, a townhouse whose walls are filled, floor to ceiling, with eclectic memorabilia of Ireland.
Photographs documenting the gritty beginnings of U2 in the smoky pubs and clubs of 1970s Dublin are being unveiled Thursday at an exhibition in the band's home city. Much of the exhibition by photographer Patrick Brocklebank has never been seen before.
Brocklebank's black-and-white images capture the teenage Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen in 1978 and 1979 gigs, their vibrant hairdos and fashion missteps, and their clowning around in impromptu shoots and scruffy nighttime hangouts.
At the time, fellow teenager Brocklebank recalls he thought U2 might just be the one local act to reach the big time - not because they sounded better than their rivals, but because they were harder-working.
"I actually preferred a few of the other Dublin bands at the time, the Virgin Prunes and the Blades," Brocklebank said. "But the U2 people really stood out because they were organized. They knew what they wanted to achieve, even then.
"And of course Bono was never meek or mild. He was the ideal frontman," he said. "Sometimes in the pub after a gig, you would hear Bono before you saw him. He always had a forceful personality that set him apart from the crowd."
U2 manager Paul McGuinness is launching the exhibition Thursday night at The Little Museum of Dublin, a townhouse whose walls are filled, floor to ceiling, with eclectic memorabilia of Ireland.
