Cork city had a huge influence on the early development of U2

A mutual love affair between U2 and Cork meant the city was hugely important to the band’s early development, writes Des O’Driscoll

ON A FINE Sunday evening in August 1985, some of the crowd at the Lark By The Lee concert in Cork began to drift away from the Lee Fields at the end of Freddie White’s set.

A woman parked nearby wound down the window of her car and shouted out to a couple of the lads passing her by: “Don’t leave yet, U2 are coming on next.”