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"I Will Follow" is the opening track from U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
's debut album, Boy
Boy (album)

Boy is the debut album from Republic of Ireland rock and roll band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews....
. It was written by Bono
Bono

Paul David Hewson , also known by his stage name Bono, is the main vocalist of the Ireland rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2....
 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.






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"I Will Follow" is the opening track from U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
's debut album, Boy
Boy (album)

Boy is the debut album from Republic of Ireland rock and roll band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews....
. It was written by Bono
Bono

Paul David Hewson , also known by his stage name Bono, is the main vocalist of the Ireland rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2....
 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
The Best of 1980-1990

The Best of 1980?1990 is the first greatest hits compilation by Music of Ireland rock music band U2, released in November 1998. It mostly contains the group's hit singles from the eighties but also mixes in some live staples as well as one new recording....
.

History

"I Will Follow" was written approximately three weeks before U2 entered the studio to record Boy. 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
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 and Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 in 1981, and a third release in the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, lifted from the Under a Blood Red Sky
Under a Blood Red Sky

Under a Blood Red Sky is a live album by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released in 1983. Along with its companion concert film, Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, the release helped establish U2's reputation as a remarkable live band, making the band a popular live college rock act....
 album, in 1983.

Live

It is one of the band's biggest hits, and the most frequently performed, at over 757 performances. It has been played extensively on every tour (except for Zoo TV where it only made about a dozen appearances). The Edge
The Edge

David Howell Evans , more widely known by his nickname and stage name The Edge , is a British people Irish people musician known best as the guitarist, keyboardist, and main backing vocalist for the Ireland rock band U2....
 usually plays this song on his favorite guitar, the Gibson Explorer
Gibson Explorer

The Gibson Explorer is a type of electric guitar. The Explorer made its debut in 1958. The Explorer offered a radical, "futuristic" body design, much like its sibling, the Gibson Flying V....
. The only exceptions were Lovetown Tour
Lovetown Tour

The Lovetown Tour was a concert tour by the Ireland Rock music band U2, which took place in late 1989 and early 1990....
 and PopMart Tour
Popmart Tour

The PopMart Tour, often referred to as simply PopMart, was a worldwide concert tour by the Republic of Ireland Rock music band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album, Pop , the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums from 1997 through 1998....
. On Lovetown, it was segued into directly after "Where the Streets Have No Name
Where the Streets Have No Name

"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock music U2, from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. It was released August 1987 as the third single from The Joshua Tree....
," during which Edge used a yellow Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster

The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously to the present....
 with Lace Sensor
Lace Sensor

The Lace Sensor is a guitar pickup designed by Don Lace and manufactured by AGI since 1985.This line of electric guitar pickups was used exclusively by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation from 1987 to 1996....
 pickups. In 1997 on the PopMart Tour, the song was segued into immediately after "Mofo
MOFO (song)

"Mofo" is the sixth and final single from U2's 1997 album Pop . It was the first time U2 released more than five singles from one album.Continuing a common theme in U2's lyrics, the song was partially written about Bono's mother, whom he lost at the age of fourteen....
," for which Edge used a Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul

The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. The Les Paul was originally designed by Ted McCarty and endorsed, named and used by then popular jazz/Pop music guitarist Les Paul....
 Custom.

The song appears on the live recordings/films Live from Boston 1981, Under a Blood Red Sky
Under a Blood Red Sky

Under a Blood Red Sky is a live album by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released in 1983. Along with its companion concert film, Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, the release helped establish U2's reputation as a remarkable live band, making the band a popular live college rock act....
, Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky
Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky

Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky is a concert film by U2. It was the band's first video release, originally released in November 1984 on VHS and Betamax, and later on Video CD and Laserdisc....
, Live from the Point Depot
Live from the Point Depot

Live from the Point Depot is a digital live album by U2 released through the iTunes Store on November 23, 2004 as part of the digital box set, "The Complete U2." The show was recorded during U2's Lovetown Tour on New Year's Eve 1989 at the Point Theatre in Dublin....
, PopMart: Live from Mexico City
Popmart: Live from Mexico City

PopMart: Live from Mexico City is a concert video release by Rock music Musical ensemble U2 from their PopMart Tour. Recorded on December 3, 1997 at Foro Sol on the band's featured stop in Mexico City, Mexico, it was released on VHS and Video CD in November 1998, and was re-released in September 2007 on DVD....
, Elevation 2001: Live from Boston and Live from Paris
Live from Paris

Live from Paris is a video and live album by U2, recorded at the band's concert at Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris, France on July 4, 1987....
. It also appears on the bonus DVD that is included with the U218 Singles
U218 Singles

U218 Singles is a greatest hits-style compilation album by the Irish rock band U2, released in November 2006. It contains eighteen songs: sixteen of their most successful single , "The Saints Are Coming" and "Window in the Skies" ....
 compilation and as a bonus track for UK/Australia releases of the CD.

Track listings


Version 1

  1. "I Will Follow" (Album Version) – 3:37
  2. "Boy/Girl" (Live
    Recorded live track

    A recorded live track is a song or audio sequence recorded from live performances .Live song tracks typically have concert hall noise . Despite redundancy and inaccuracy, compared to original studio-recorded versions, live versions of songs have quite a bit of popularity....
     from the Marquee
    Marquee Club

    The Marquee is a legendary music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts....
    , London, ) – 3:24


This was the 7" version released in Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
. It is the version on The Complete U2
The Complete U2

Released by Apple Computer on the iTunes Store, The Complete U2 is a digital set by U2 released on November 23, 2004. It is the first major release of a purely-digital online set by any artist....
 digital box set.

Version 2

  1. "I Will Follow" (Album Version) – 3:37
  2. "Out of Control" (Live from Boston
    Boston, Massachusetts

    Boston is the State capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region, and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England." Boston city proper had a 2007 est...
    , ) – 4:25


This was the 7" release in the U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. 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.

Version 3

  1. "I Will Follow" (Live from Hattem, May 14, 1982) – 3:51
  2. "Gloria
    Gloria (U2 song)

    "Gloria" is the opening track and second single from U2's 1981 album, October . It features a chorus in Latin, from the liturgical "Gloria in Excelsis Deo." It was one of their lowest-charting singles , peaking at #55 on the UK singles chart....
    " (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, until the 2008 remastered issue of October, on which it appeared as one of the bonus tracks on the deluxe edition. The cover of the original single features a picture of Bono holding a white flag with a "U2" logo, taken at the 1982 Werchter festival (Belgium).

Version 4

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

    "Two Hearts Beat as One" is the seventh track on U2's 1983 album, War . It was released as the album's second single but only in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, as opposed to "Sunday Bloody Sunday ", which was released only in the mainland of Europe....
    " (Import Mix) – 3:42


This was the 1983 live single released to promote Under a Blood Red Sky
Under a Blood Red Sky

Under a Blood Red Sky is a live album by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released in 1983. Along with its companion concert film, Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, the release helped establish U2's reputation as a remarkable live band, making the band a popular live college rock act....
 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).

Chart positions


1981 Release

YearChartPosition
1981US Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock stations, which are counted in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart....
20


1982 Release

YearChartPosition
1982Netherlands Top 4012


1983 Release

YearChartPosition
1984US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
81


See also

  • List of covers of U2 songs - I Will Follow


External links