U2 fans invited to take in the U2 Wall

September 1979 – a band called U2 appeared on their very first magazine cover. Today, as the biggest band on the planet bring The Joshua Tree Tour to their hometown, the band grace the cover of Hot Press for a record 44th time.

To celebrate, Hot Press invites U2 fans in Dublin for the Croke Park show to come witness first-hand the remarkable history of the world’s most iconic band. The Hot Press Covers Exhibition – featuring all forty-plus of Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam’s Hot Press covers, signed by the band – is now open at Ireland’s National Photographic Archive in the heart of Temple Bar.

Central to the The Hot Press Covers Exhibition – part of Hot Press' HP40 birthday celebrations – is the U2 Wall, a remarkable visual history of the band’s development.

Admission to the Exhibition is FREE.

Hand-restored and hand-printed to A2 size on museum quality paper, each of the historic Hot Press U2 covers has been signed by the band.

And it is not just the cover images: every front cover has its own U2 headline that cumulatively deliver an ongoing narrative on the band at a particular moment.

Between the photographs, typography and the different design approaches, the covers offer an extraordinary insight into a band on the ascent, and the Irish life and culture by which they were surrounded.

The Exhibition was officially opened by The President Of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins – himself a former Hot Press columnist.

A must for music fans, there’s also a host of international stars who have also signed their covers, including Croke Park special guest Noel Gallagher – along with the likes of Grace Jones, Blur, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, Patti Smith, Kasabian, Sting, Elvis Costello, The Waterboys, Elvis Costello, Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, Simple Minds, The National and Paolo Nutini...

…while Irish names such as Bob Geldof, Hozier, Gabriel Byrne, Van Morrison, Enya, Imelda May, Snow Patrol, Kodaline, Glen Hansard and Colin Farrell – among many more – are also among the signatories.

In addition, there’s an area devoted to those We Have Loved And Lost: Rory Gallagher, Philip Lynott, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Prince – as well as Hot Press' Bill Graham, who introduced U2 to Paul McGuinness.

Visitors to the exhibition this weekend will be able to purchase their favourite prints – each of the 44 U2 prints will be available for high-quality printing on demand.

From today, for a limited time only, two special Collector’s Edition Sets will also be available at the Exhibition.