U2 'fecked off stage' in Mullingar in the 1970s

Mullingar was one of two towns in Ireland that U2 found hard to break in their early days, according to their bassist Adam Clayton.

During an interview with the U2 superstar for his Where Is My Mind podcast, Niall Breslin asked Clayton if he remembered being “fecked off stage” in the 1970s when the he and his bandmates who went on become U2 played in Bagnall's, the Patrick Street pub that today is Clarke's Bar.

Clayton said that he did remember it as Mullingar was one of two places that they received a less than positive response when they were starting their musical careers.

“The two places that were really hard to break in Ireland was Mullingar and Ballina. They were two places we got into fights with people, well not in Mullingar. When we were trying to play gigs outside of Dublin in 1976 [the gig actually took place in October 1978, according to a number of online sources], it's hard to describe how vilified punk rock was in Ireland.

“Outside of the capital cities, by that I mean Cork, Galway and Dublin, it was really showband territory and cover versions. The idea of young band going down there and playing their own songs and being dressed as we were was never going to be accepted.”

Responding to Clayton's story about his ill fated gig in the town, Bressie joked, “I have never been more proud of Mullingar”.

Clayton is the second world renowned figure to appear on an episode of Where is My Mind in recent weeks. In the previous episode, the 96th of the hugely successful podcast series, Bressie interviewed Depak Chopra, one of the global leaders in the fields of mindfullness and wellbeing.