U2: Live At Hammersmith Palais (12/6/1982)

U2 kicked off their Innocence + Experience tour in Vancouver last week, and so far the reviews have been fantastic. Like a lot of other life-long U2 junkies, I’ve been following the set lists each night via social media. I think I might have actually squealed a little bit when I first saw that the band had played “The Electric Co.” in San Jose on Tuesday night– now THAT is how you make a U2 fanatic happy!

I’ll be seeing Bono and the boys at The Forum in Los Angeles next weekend, so it’s understandable that I have been on a huge U2 listening binge recently. Yesterday, I ripped a great vinyl bootleg that I acquired at Waterloo Records in Austin sometime back in the late ’80s. For years, I thought it was an actual BBC transcription LP that had been sent out to radio stations– eventually, however, I discovered that it was just a very well-done forgery. That means it may not be worth much, but it doesn’t take away from the very high quality of the concert (taken from a 1983 BBC broadcast) presented on the vinyl!

The LP captures U2 live at the Hammersmith Palais on December 6, 1982, during the very limited “Pre-War” tour. All of the classic early U2 live staples are present, as well as some of the best tracks from the soon-to-be-released War album. The encore even contains a very rare live performance of the 1982 single “A Celebration,” and that alone makes this bootleg a must for any U2 fan.

I cleaned up a few crackles and pops during the ripping process, but there are still a few noticeable ones on side 2. I hope they do not detract from your enjoyment of this wonderful U2 artifact. Shake!

U2: BBC Transcription Services

Recorded live at the Hammersmith Palais on 12/6/1982

Vinyl rip courtesy of the Analog Kid

1. Introduction (Richard Skinner)

Introduction (Richard Skinner)

2. “Surrender” (U2)

Surrender

3. “I Threw A Brick Through A Window/A Day Without Me” (U2)

I Threw A Brick Through A Window/A Day Without Me

4. “An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart” (u2)

An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart

5. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” (U2)

Sunday Bloody Sunday

6. “I Fall Down” (U2)

I Fall Down

7. “Cry/The Electric Co.” (U2)

Cry/The Electric Co.

8. “October” (U2)

October

9. “New Year’s Day” (U2)

New Year’s Day

10. “Gloria” (U2)

Gloria

11. “I Will Follow” (U2)

I Will Follow

12. “Fire” (U2)

Fire

13. “A Celebration” (U2)

A Celebration

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Bonus Tracks!

The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.

U2: “The Electric Co.” (U2)

From the album Boy

Island Records, 1980

The Electric Co.

U2: “A Celebration” (U2)

Island Records, 1982

A Celebration