Maps of Music

October (1981)

Where the lyrics of October take you, and where it was really made.

The briefcase holding the band's in-progress lyrics was lost on tour, and the rest of the album was written in a rush in the studio.

Key places

Where October was recorded (1981)

Recording site Windmill Lane Studios — The band recorded October at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, as it had done for the debut album Boy. The sessions began in July 1981. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Cover photo site by the Dublin docks (1981)

Album cover Grand Canal Dock — The cover photo of the four band members was shot at Grand Canal Dock near Hanover Quay in Dublin, not far from the recording studio. Bono had walked through the area each morning and liked its industrial look. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• October: second studio album by the Irish rock band U2
• Released 12 October 1981 by Island Records
• Produced by Steve Lillywhite, who had also produced the debut album Boy
• Lyrics were inspired by the members' involvement in the Christian group Shalom Fellowship
• Religion and spirituality are the main themes of the record
• A remastered edition with bonus material came out in 2008

Background

• Written after the third leg of the Boy Tour in February 1981
• Bono lost a briefcase with in-progress lyrics and musical ideas in March 1981, backstage in Portland, Oregon
• The band had little time to write on tour, so Bono improvised lyrics in the studio
• Shalom Fellowship pressure nearly broke the band up; the Edge and Bono discussed leaving
• They decided to continue as U2 and later withdrew from Shalom
• The album was followed by the October Tour, 1981 to 1982

Recording

• Recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, as the debut album had been
• The sessions began in July 1981 and lasted about two months
• Lillywhite called the sessions 'completely chaotic and mad'
• Mullen's drums were recorded in the studio, not in the stairway as on Boy
• The briefcase was recovered in October 2004, and Bono called its return 'an act of grace'

Cover

• The cover photo of the four members was shot by Ian Finlay at Grand Canal Dock near Hanover Quay, Dublin
• The shoot was spontaneous, done on an overcast day during the recording sessions
• The location idea came from Bono, who walked through the area each morning and liked its industrial look
• Designer Steve Averill took visual inspiration partly from Russia's October Revolution
• Island Records first dismissed the gatefold idea; the final cover used a widescreen photo wrapped across front and back

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976 by teenage pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
• Members: Bono (lead vocals), the Edge (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Adam Clayton (bass), Larry Mullen Jr. (drums).
• The band was first named Feedback, then The Hype, and in March 1978 took the name U2.
• They won the Pop Group '78 talent contest in Limerick and signed with Island Records in 1980.

Career

• Debut album Boy (1980); War (1983) was their first UK number-one album.
• The Joshua Tree (1987) made them international stars and was their greatest critical and commercial success, selling about 25 million copies.
• The band reinvented their sound in the 1990s with Achtung Baby (1991) and the Zoo TV Tour.
• Their 2009–2011 360° Tour held records for the highest-grossing concert tour until 2019.
• In 2023 they released Songs of Surrender and began the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live residency at Sphere in Las Vegas.
• Estimated record sales: about 170 million worldwide; 22 Grammy Awards; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees (2005).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews of October were more mixed than those of its predecessor Boy
• Sounds (Dave McCullough) praised the album and named 'Gloria' possibly the band's finest moment
• Melody Maker (Adam Sweeting) wrote a favourable review and linked the band's sound to its ties with its homeland
• Hot Press (Neil McCormick) called it a musical and spiritual growth for U2, and the most uplifting rock LP of the year
• The Boston Globe (Bill Flanagan) called the album brilliant, spiritual without being preachy
• The Sunday Telegraph (Trevor Dann) said the album was greater than the sum of its songs
• NME (Barney Hoskyns) published a negative review, criticising the plaintive vocals and forced power of the sound
• Rolling Stone (Jon Pareles) praised the Edge's guitar but found Bono's lyrics silly and clichéd
• Musician (J. D. Considine) said the album was a joy to hear but its lyrics were weak
• Record Mirror (Mark Cooper) said the album developed the autumnal side of U2 but did not transform their sound
• Los Angeles Times (Richard Cromelin) faulted Lillywhite for over-producing and for the stalling second side
• The Guardian (Robin Denselow) called 'Tomorrow' the most surprising track

Reappraisal

• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine) said the band tries too hard to move forward on the album
• Erlewine found the music pompous at times but singled out some songs as thoroughly impressive
• Limited radio play was noted as part of the album's early reception
• The album was reissued in 2008 with remastered tracks, rarities, and new liner notes

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Bono conceived the title October before the song of the same name was written, and called it 'an ominous album title'.
• Lillywhite later called the decision to record the drums in the studio 'one of the things that didn't work so well'.
• The 2004 return of the lost briefcase was greeted by Bono as an act of grace.
• Bono's mother, who died when he was young, is the subject of the lament 'Tomorrow', which features Vinnie Kilduff on Uilleann pipes.
• Shalom Fellowship had members attend every prayer meeting, and Mullen said the group pressured the band to give up music.
• Clayton later said the band had been so self-absorbed that they did not listen to what was being said about the cover.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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