The story is well known among some circles. It's August 1981 and the Greenbelt Arts and Music Festival is on, a Christian festival then held at Odell Castle. A young Irish band are slotted into the line-up at the last minute, their appearance only publicly announced on the day itself. U2 charge on stage early in the evening and perform an electrifying 23 minute set on borrowed instruments. They open with a scintillating 11 O'clock Tick Tock, thrill the crowd with an early performance of With A Shout, and conclude with an encore of their new single, Fire. Veteran Greenbelt attendees who were there still fondly recall the brief set to this day.

For years, U2 fans have believed this concert took place on 24 August 1981. Pimm Jal de la Parra's U2 Live: A Concert Documentary gives this date, and it has been replicated by online tour databases - including this one. Only one problem with this: the Greenbelt festival did not even begin until four days later.

So when did U2 play at Greenbelt? The 1981 festival was held over four days, 28-31 August. On the 29th, U2 played at Rock On The Tyne, while on the 31st, they were in Edinburgh. The appearance was squeezed in on Sunday the 30th. A Greenbelt publication confirms this: see here (opens as a PDF document; see the 1981 page, which is the 10th page of the document).

The Greenbelt concert listing is now correctly located at 30 August 1981. Thanks to David E. for bringing this to our attention!

Posted on September 19, 2009 by Axver