U2’s rooftop gig: quick facts
- When: 27 March 1987.
- Where: the roof of the Republic Liquor Store at 7th and Main in downtown Los Angeles.
- Why: to film the video for “Where the Streets Have No Name”, from The Joshua Tree.
- What happened: more than a thousand fans filled the streets below, and the police eventually pulled the plug.
- The result: a Grammy for Best Performance Music Video.
In 1987 four lads from Dublin climbed onto the roof of a liquor store in Los Angeles, plugged in, and played. Within minutes the streets below were packed, traffic was stopped, and the police were on their way. It became one of the most famous music videos ever made.
The idea
U2 were about to become the biggest band in the world. The Joshua Tree, released in March 1987, was flying up the charts, and “Where the Streets Have No Name” was its soaring opening track. For the video, director Meiert Avis and the band borrowed an idea from the Beatles, who had played their final gig on the roof of their London office in 1969. As Bono joked, it wasn’t the first time they’d ripped off the Beatles.
The day itself
Word spread fast. By the time U2 started playing on the roof of the Republic Liquor Store in downtown LA, more than a thousand people had gathered in the streets below, and the crowd kept growing. The band played an eight-song set, including “Where the Streets Have No Name” several times over for the cameras.
Eventually the police moved in and shut it down. According to the director, getting busted was part of the plan all along: it gave the video its sense of danger and excitement. You can see the police arriving in the final cut.
Why it still works
The video captures U2 at the exact moment they went from big to enormous: the swirling guitar intro from The Edge, Bono’s huge voice, a city skyline, and a crowd that couldn’t believe what it was seeing. It won the Grammy for Best Performance Music Video, and decades later, “Where the Streets Have No Name” is still the moment in every U2 concert when the lights go up and the whole stadium jumps.
From Mount Temple to the world
U2 formed in 1976 at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, when a 14-year-old Larry Mullen Jr pinned a note on the school noticeboard looking for musicians. Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton answered. They have since sold well over 150 million records, more than any other Irish act.
U2 rooftop FAQ
Where did U2 film Where the Streets Have No Name?
On the roof of the Republic Liquor Store at 7th and Main in downtown Los Angeles.
When was the U2 rooftop concert?
27 March 1987.
Did the police shut down U2’s rooftop gig?
Yes, and the director says that was part of the plan.
More Irish music
- Enya’s Only Time
- Hozier’s Take Me to Church
- Bono and Glen Hansard’s Christmas Eve busk
- With or Without You as Gaeilge
Featured image: still from U2’s official YouTube (Vevo) channel.
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