The anthemic ‘The First Picture of You’ is a pristine example of how that can, in fact, work beautifully. In its own way, this is indicative of the era of live distortion and rock ‘n’ roll energy was shunned for polished studio products. Having only formed in 1982, Liverpool band The Lotus Eaters found themselves in the strange position of having a hit before they had even played a gig. ‘The First Picture of You’ – The Lotus Eaters Anyone can try to help, but Bono sounds like he’s fighting a lost cause.ġ. Bono might be doing everything he can to help his friend, but it’s not his choice to save him or not. The lyrics also paint a dark picture, telling the story of a man who is lost in the world and the narrator desperately trying to save him from himself. Although this is a rock song, Bono’s melody sounds closer to something you’d hear out of a seedy jazz club until he takes it up the octave and puts a lot more passion into his voice. Made up mostly of The Edge playing bell-like chimes on his guitar, ‘Drowning Man’ feels removed from rock altogether as Bono sings anything that comes off the top of his head. The band had their own sound, but ‘Drowning Man’ doesn’t sound like it’s from this world. While The Joshua Tree was just around the corner, War was the band’s most militant album, tackling topics that most other acts were afraid to touch on songs like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’.

Around 1983, U2 were on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.

Heads will roll lyrics