"The crowd wasn’t huge – I suspect that the gig lost money for MCD, who were the promoters. But there was no doubting that Thin Lizzy were the real, proper star turn. And The Bureau – an offshoot of the original Dexy’s Midnight Runners after the band split up – conjured up some punchy soul sounds. ![]() "I remember Hazel O’Connor getting well into the festival spirit. But they came through it unscathed, winning enough new fans to make it all worthwhile. That took U2 outside their comfort zone and with less than the full crowd having arrived, they really had to work at it. It was very ambitious to introduce the uileann pipes in a huge open-air setting, where the sound tends to drift off into the ether. As it turned out, Slane was a good day for the band rather than a great one. "Doing a big Irish festival wasn’t a complete novelty for the band: they had played support to The Police in a major festival-style gig in Leixlip just over a year previously, in July 1980. They also used uileann pipes for the first time, being joined onstage by Vinnie Kilduff of In Tua Nua, who also featured on October. ![]() In the event they played three tracks – ‘Gloria’, ‘Rejoice’ and ‘October’ – from the upcoming album, which was finished and released in October 1982. Their debut album Boy had more or less run its course, and they were in the middle of recording the follow-up, October. The gig caught the rising Irish superstars-to-be in a curious moment. But the Irish highlight pre-Lizzy was undoubtedly provided by U2. "Mama’s Boys were the scheduled opening act – though whether they actually played is a different subject! Northern Irish outfit Sweet Savage did the business. But the shift in a heavier direction was reflected in the first Slane bill, with outfits like Mama’s Boys, Sweet Savage and Rose Tattoo all lining up. "At least partially as a result, Chinatown, which they released in October 1980, wasn’t one of Thin Lizzy's great records. In the heel of the hunt, he decided that Thin Lizzy should go for more of a hard rock feel. "While Lizzy were spared a lot of the hostility and unpleasantness which was dumped on most hard rock bands at the time, and Philo had successfully befriended the guys from the Sex Pistols, the Boomtowm Rats and other leading punk and new wave lights, he felt a need to compete. "There was an extent to which the band had been diverted from their course – first by the arrival of punk, but also by the emergence of what was termed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. ![]() "We knew at the time that the winds of change that had blown in rock ’n‘ roll over the past five years had affected Lizzy. "So the prospect of seeing them with Slane Castle as a backdrop was a really tantalising one. "From an Irish perspective, Thin Lizzy were a huge band, and Philip Lynott – in so many ways – was the ultimate rock star," he continues. The fact that it was on the Slane river, with Slane Castle itself looming above it all, added enormously to the atmosphere. ![]() "It was an amazing venue, with a natural amphitheatre-like feel. "I remember the feeling, when the gig was announced, that something special might just be happening in Slane," reflects Hot Press editor Niall Stokes. Attended by 18,000 music fans from across the country, the gig was headlined by Thin Lizzy, with support from U2, Hazel O'Connor and more. On August 16, 1981, music history was made – with the first ever rock concert at Slane Castle.
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