{"id":6067,"date":"2026-10-03T09:59:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=6067"},"modified":"2026-10-03T09:59:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T13:59:41","slug":"3-songs-that-reveal-the-post-punk-roots-of-u2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/3-songs-that-reveal-the-post-punk-roots-of-u2\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Songs That Reveal the Post-Punk Roots of U2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U2\u2019s new song, \u201cSilencio\u201d, sounds like classic rock. But the Irish band emerged during the late-1970s punk and post-punk explosion. And those forms, like rock and roll, were a rebellion against what came before. Still, that didn\u2019t stop U2 from eventually becoming one of history\u2019s most durable classic rock institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So while the world awaits U2\u2019s upcoming LP, <em>Carnaval De Luz<\/em>, let\u2019s visit the early days of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr., and three songs that reveal the post-punk roots of U2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cI Will Follow\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"U2 - I Will Follow\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-sLzV00gNUo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opening track on U2\u2019s debut album is an announcement wrapped inside a song. Yes, the title describes unconditional love, which Bono had written about his late mother, who had died when he was a young teen. But The Edge\u2019s piercing guitar riff is another kind of announcement. With the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=amd_5VoVt1I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sharp energy of Siouxsie And The Banshees\u2019 guitarist, John McKay<\/a>, The Edge launched an opening post-punk salvo. U2 already sounded like a future stadium band bursting at the seams on their humble debut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cGloria\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"U2 - Gloria\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ybYgP48X2DY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Echoing Van Morrison\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/facts\/them\/gloria\">garage rock anthem<\/a> of the same name, the first track on <em>October<\/em> sounds like Joy Division if you had replaced Ian Curtis\u2019s bleak lyrics with hope. In Joy Division\u2019s best-known song, Curtis repeats that love will tear us apart. But \u201cGloria\u201d feels like the reverse sentiment: Love will bring us together. Meanwhile, atop an angular post-punk groove, Bono submits in a kind of punk Latin toward a higher power, a girl, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cSunday Bloody Sunday\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (Lyric Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zhMD7nt1LIg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U2\u2019s third album, <em>War<\/em>, arrived in 1983. This time, they open with a battle cry for peace. Rejecting the then-ongoing violence in Northern Ireland, like many U2 songs, the message is aimed at a global audience. You can hear echoes of The Clash as U2 begins what became a long history of turning a parochial protest into a universal anthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also, Mullen\u2019s drumming on \u201cSunday Bloody Sunday\u201d threads a stiff-armed post-punk beat with the sound of everyday people taking their protest to the streets. And marching in time, both The Edge and Adam Clayton play weaving guitar and bass parts that didn\u2019t originate in the classic rock tradition. Then there\u2019s Bono, connecting the political rage of Joe Strummer to the street poetry of Patti Smith. This is the sound of U2 in its scrappy early days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Photo by Lynn Goldsmith\/Corbis\/VCG via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U2\u2019s new song, \u201cSilencio\u201d, sounds like classic rock. But the Irish band emerged during the late-70s punk and post-punk explosion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":973477,"featured_media":6072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":316,"post_id":2139}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"savage_platform_markdown_available":false,"savage_platform_markdown_version":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"Photo by Lynn Goldsmith\/Corbis\/VCG via Getty Images","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[27,18,155],"byline":[316],"class_list":["post-6067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lists","tag-post-punk","tag-rock-music","tag-u2"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Lists","term_id":14,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/lists\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"post-punk","term_id":27,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/post-punk\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>3 Songs That Reveal the Post-Punk Roots of U2 - Songfacts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U2\u2019s new song, \u201cSilencio\u201d, sounds like classic rock. 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