// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
U2 celebrate 50th anniversary at the school where they formed
U2 were all pupils at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in the mid-1970s
Exactly 50 years after they formed, U2 returned to Dublin to play a gig at the school where they met.
”We‘ve escaped from the lab,” declared Bono, as they quartet took to a stage in the playground. “How’s the experiment working for you?”
The pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive may not have been born when U2 were the world’s biggest band, but they gave them a hero's welcome, waving signs that said, “I love U2“, “It’s a beautiful day - no school”, and, “Bono, my mum says hi!”
The group treated them to a career-spanning set that included hits like I Will Follow, Vertigo and With Or Without You, as well as their latest single, Silencio.
As they played, teachers pulled down pupils who’d climbed on their classmates' shoulders, before getting swept up in the moment and dancing along themselves.
As he looked out from the same stage where U2 made their debut in 1976, Bono became emotional.
“Thanks for, er… Yeah... I didn’t… Wow,” said the frontman, temporarily lost for words.
The band played their first gig at a school talent competition, covering Peter Frampton's Show Me The Way and Bye Bye Baby by the Bay City Rollers
The band played seven songs at the end of the school day: I Will Follow, Vertigo, Beautiful Day, Out of Control, Silencio, One and With or Without You