I Will Follow

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“I Will Follow”
“I Will Follow” cover
UK cover
Single by U2
from the album Boy
Released October 1980
Format 7" vinyl
Genre Post-punk
Length 3:37
Label Columbia / Island
Producer Steve Lillywhite
U2 singles chronology
"A Day Without Me"
(1980)		 "I Will Follow"
(1980)		 "Fire"
(1981)
Alternate Covers
U.S. / Canada cover
U.S. / Canada cover
New Zealand cover
New Zealand cover
Boy track listing
N/A "I Will Follow"
(1)		 "Twilight"
(2)
Under a Blood Red Sky track listing
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock"
(2)		 "I Will Follow"
(3)		 "Party Girl"
(4)
The Best of 1980-1990 track listing
"Where the Streets Have No Name"
(7)		 "I Will Follow"
(8)		 "The Unforgettable Fire"
(9)

"I Will Follow" is the opening track from U2's debut album, Boy. It was written by Bono after the tragic death of his mother, who died of a brain hemorrhage at the funeral of her father. The song was released as a single, and has since become a fan favorite live; it is the only song U2 has performed on every tour since they released their first album. It was U2's first music video. It was directed by Meiert Avis in Dublin, Ireland. Both appeared on the compilation album and video collection The Best of 1980-1990.

Contents

[edit] History

"I Will Follow" was written approximately three weeks before U2 entered the studio to record Boy. [1] Bono has said that he wrote the song from his mother's perspective and was about the unconditional love a mother has for her child.

"I Will Follow" had a second single release as a live version in the Netherlands and Germany in 1981, and a third release in the U.S., lifted from the Under a Blood Red Sky album, in 1983.

It is one of the band's biggest hits, and the most frequently performed, at over 757 performances.[2] It has been played extensively on every tour (except for Zoo TV where it only made about a dozen appearances). The Edge usually plays this song on his favorite guitar, the Gibson Explorer. The only exceptions were Lovetown Tour and PopMart Tour. On Lovetown, it was segued into directly after "Where the Streets Have No Name," during which Edge used a yellow Fender Stratocaster with Lace Sensor pickups. In 1997 on the PopMart Tour, the song was segued into immediately after "Mofo," for which Edge used a Gibson Les Paul Custom.

The song appears on the live albums/DVDs Live from Boston 1981, Under a Blood Red Sky, Live from the Point Depot, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, Elevation 2001: Live from Boston and U2 Live from Paris. It also appears on the bonus DVD that is included with the U218 Singles compilation and as a bonus track for UK/Australia releases of the CD.

The song was covered by Fear Factory on their 2005 album Transgression. It was also played on U2's 2004 Saturday Night Live appearance as the show's credits rolled. It was also featured in the 1982 movie The Last American Virgin.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] Version 1

  1. "I Will Follow" (Album Version) – 3:37
  2. "Boy/Girl" (Live from London, September 22, 1980) – 3:24

This was the 7" version released in Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It is the version on The Complete U2 digital box set.

[edit] Version 2

  1. "I Will Follow" (Album Version) – 3:37
  2. "Out of Control" (Live from Boston, March 6, 1981) – 4:25

This was the 7" release in the U.S. and Canada. The cover features the same image from the U.S. and Canada releases of Boy to avoid accusations of pedophilia due to the image of the naked boy.

[edit] Version 3

  1. "I Will Follow" (Live from Hattem, May 14, 1982) – 3:51
  2. "Gloria" (Album Version) – 4:12

This was the 1982 live release from The Netherlands, recorded for the Veronica TV concert series Countdown. It was recorded at the Heem hall in Hattem in the northeast of The Netherlands. This live recording was re-issued in Germany in 1983. However, it has never been released on CD or any other format since. The cover features a picture of Bono holding a white flag with a "U2" logo, taken at the 1982 Werchter festival (Belgium).

[edit] Version 4

  1. "I Will Follow" (Live from West Germany August 20, 1983) – 3:40
  2. "Two Hearts Beat as One" (Import Mix) – 3:42

This was the 1983 live single released to promote Under a Blood Red Sky in the U.S. The single was released in a generic red sleeve with no cover artwork.

(A fifth version is said to exist, containing a live recording from The Netherlands from 1981. However, this is the same version as version 3 cited above).

[edit] Chart positions

[citation needed]

[edit] 1981 Release

Year Chart Position
1981 US Mainstream Rock Tracks 20

[edit] 1982 Release

Year Chart Position
1982 Netherlands Top 40 12

[edit] 1983 Release

Year Chart Position
1984 US Billboard Hot 100 81

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bono in San Antonio. U2 Magazine No. 3 (May 1, 1982). Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  2. ^ I Will Follow Performances. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
U2's singles discography
1980s

1980: "Another Day" • "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" • "A Day Without Me" • "I Will Follow" • 1981: "Fire" • "Gloria" • 1982: "A Celebration" • 1983: "New Year's Day" • "Two Hearts Beat as One" • "Sunday Bloody Sunday" • "40" (Germany only) • 1984: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" • 1985: "The Unforgettable Fire" • 1987: "With or Without You" • "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" • "Where the Streets Have No Name" • "In God's Country" (North America only) • 1988: "One Tree Hill" (Australia / New Zealand only) • "Desire" • "Angel of Harlem" • 1989: "When Love Comes to Town" (with B. B. King) • "All I Want Is You"
1990s
2000s

2000: "Beautiful Day" • 2001: "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out Of" • "Walk On" • "Elevation" • 2002: "Electrical Storm" • 2004: "Vertigo" • 2005: "All Because of You" • "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" • "City of Blinding Lights" • "One" (with Mary J. Blige) • 2006: "The Saints Are Coming" (with Green Day) • 2007: "Window in the Skies" • 2008: "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" (with The Dubliners, Kíla, and A Band of Bowsies)