More about: U2

U2 burst onto the scene with 1980’s punky album Boy. It immediately established the group as a distinctive band embodying elements of new wave and punk, but sounded different from many other groups of the era. The album contained 'I Will Follow', a clear indicator of The Edge’s guitar tone and Bono’s unique vocals—hallmarks of the group. Other tracks on Boy like 'Electric Co' have become firm fan favourites and the album has kept high levels of acclaim, often being listed as one of the group’s strongest records over 40 years later. 

It was perhaps inevitable in some ways that the follow-up to the success of Boy impacted on anticipation for October, its 1981 follow-up. Often overlooked within the group’s back catalogue, October suffers too, for being followed by the monolithic album War, a project that helped launch U2 into the mainstream. 

It’s a shame that October, which turns 40 today (12 October 2021) has gone comparably under the radar, for if you strip away the albums on either side of it and appreciate it on its own terms, it has a clear quality and is a fascinating glimpse of a band honing its craft. Many reviews at the time highlighted the group’s prowess as a live band but noted they might be limited in terms of sound. In hindsight this couldn’t have been further from the truth but it perhaps is indicative of the other groups around at the time and how U2 fitted into the market.  

Today, October sounds very clearly like U2, but without some of the bombast that would come on albums like The Unforgettable Fire or Joshua Tree. Tracks like opener 'Gloria' are hard to resist, with its soaring chorus and Edge’s guitar shimmering throughout, and there is a real charged energy to 'I Fall Down' and 'I Threw A Brick Through A Window'. The rawer sound is refreshing and intriguing in contrast to the stadium-filling anthems that would come just an album or two later. 

Bono’s lyric book was stolen during production of October, and purely from a songwriting point of view, that may have impacted the album’s quality. Retrospectively though, it's hard to tell that the production was as chaotic as this. While this is not as cohesive an album as those that follow, it is certainly worth a listen for fans of the band who may have passed it by. 

October works well in the quieter moments, showing that the group was more than just The Edge. 'Tomorrow' is a sumptuous ballad that gives Bono a chance to fully show the breadth of his vocal range, and nods at more traditional Irish music with the use of yearning Uilleann pipes, while the title track is an eerie slow track built around the piano, stripping back the group’s sound.  

Perhaps the difficulties encountered on this album proved a valuable learning curve for the group: after this, they were able to fine tune so many elements that had worked to date and innovate further with their sound and lyrics on War and The Unforgettable Fire. Both of course paved the way for them to become the stadium rock giants they are today. It's a shame that the band themselves seem to often ostracise themselves from October, rarely treating any of the tracks to a live outing. 

October is certainly not U2’s finest effort, coming prior to the string of albums that would cement their status. It is however, still an excellent LP and well worth a revisit, if only as an insight into the group’s growth both lyrically and sonically: a stepping stone between Boy and War. And if not for that, then perhaps because today, 12 October 2021, is its birthday.

More about: U2