“They asked for permission for a stage invasion, via friends from Dublin…”

The Downtown Kampus gigs opened at the Arcadia in Cork in November ‘77 and took off very quickly, so by the time 1978 came around, U2 were keen to play. I gave them their first support slot with XTC in October ‘78. I was impressed by their attitude as a young band, and the following May gave them another prestigious support with The Only Ones – they had gone down really well with the crowd a few months earlier, so I knew it would be a stormer of a gig.

After that, it was equal billing on a four-header with DC Nien, The Virgin Prunes, and Steve Rapid’s band Z; then, double-billing with DC Nien or The Prunes – and then they were headlining with local supports. I had also booked them, in the early days, for a short series of gigs I ran in Thurles, so I promoted about a dozen shows with them in all.