U2 The Joshua Tree tour, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, 1st August 1987
Support Acts: Run Rig, Love & Money, The Mission, The Pogues
I went with my mate Ian to see U2 play at Edinburgh Murrayfield Stadium in August 1987 as part of the Joshua tree tour. By now U2 were headlining stadiums everywhere, and were one of the biggest acts in the world. We arrived in time to catch rousing support performances by The Mission and the Pogues who warmed the crowd up for the main act. The Joshua Tree is U2’s landmark album, which reached No 1 in the UK and US album charts, and solidified their position in the premier rock league. The album contains a number of important U2 songs including the epic track “Where The Streets Have No Name” which often opened their set during the tour, but which strangely the band didn’t play at this concert.
U2 were playing quite a few covers during this tour, and Bono was also including snippets from classic rock songs during their performances. At Edinburgh U2 started with two covers: “Stand By Me” (Ben E King) and “C’mon Everybody” (Eddie Cochran) and also played “People Get Ready” (Curtis Mayfield) and Help! (The Beatles). They also included the odd line from “Riders On The Storm” and “Break On Through” (The Doors), Van Morrison’s “Gloria” (rather than their own song of the same name); “Ruby Tuesday” and Sympathy For The Devil” (The Stones); and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Joy Division) thus showing their influences. I remember thinking it strange that they would start with two covers. I great concert, but very different from seeing the band in a small venue. We ran into old mate Gilly, who lives in Scotland, which was great. A great day, seeing a band who were writing and performing at their peak at the time. 
Setlist: Stand By Me; C’mon Everybody; I Will Follow; Trip Through Your Wires; I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / Exodus (snippet); People Get Ready; MLK; The Unforgettable Fire; Exit / Riders On The Storm (snippet) / Van Morrison’s Gloria (snippet); In God’s Country; Sunday Bloody Sunday; The Electric Co. / Break On Through (snippet); Help; Bad / Ruby Tuesday (snippet) / Sympathy For The Devil (snippet); October; New Year’s Day; Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Encore(s): Bullet The Blue Sky / Loch Lomond (snippet); Running To Stand Still; With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet) / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet)/Fight For Your Right (To Party) (snippet) / Party Girl; 40
I lost touch with U2 after this tour and it was some 18 years or so before I went to see them again.
Archive for the ‘The Pogues’ Category
24 Nov
U2 The Joshua Tree tour, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, 1st August 1987
12 Dec
The Pogues Newcastle Academy 14 Dec 2010
The Pogues Newcastle Academy 14 Dec 2010
I’ve only seen the Pogues once before back in the 80s supporting U2 at Murrayfield. This winters tour has been billed as the farewell Christmas tour, so I figured that it was time to catch them again while I still had the chance. Laura fancied seeing them, as she has taken a liking to Fairytale of New York, and has recently sung it at a gig with her friend Will.
We arrived around 8.30pm, after the support act has finished, expecting the Pogues to take the stage around 9pm. The venue had advertised their start time as 8.50pm. What actually happened was a long wait while the crowd got increasingly restless, with some people starting to “boo”. I’ve never see the Academy as full as this. You couldn’t move at all downstairs. Laura figured that the crowd would be quite wild at a Pogues gig, so we stayed at the back in a safe spot.
We were beginning to think that Shane had let us down, but around 10pm the Pogues came out to a great (and impatient!) roaring welcome from the crowd. Shane was in good form, was singing well and seemed pretty sober. The crowd went mental (it was a good idea to stick near the back of the hall), the band played their all, and we all got to sing along to The Irish Rover, Dirty Old Town and (of course) Fairytale of New York. Great stuff; gets you in the mood for Christmas.
Setlist: Streams of Whisky; If I Should Fall From Grace With God; The Broad Majestic Shannon; Boat Train; A Pair of Brown Eyes; Tuesday Morning; Sunnyside of the Street; Repeal of the Licensing Laws; Body of an American; London Girl; Thousands Are Sailing; Dirty Old Town; Bottle of Smoke; Sickbed of Cuchulainn
Encore 1: Sally MacLennane; Rainy Night in Soho; Irish Rover
Encore 2: Fairytale of New York; Fiesta
Pogues website: http://www.pogues.com
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