Michael 'Micky Mac' McNamara remembers a night in 1978 when he compered a battle of the bands competition in Limerick. He recalls being impressed by the arrival of U2 in a Jaguar which he thinks was Adam Clayton's father's car.

Micky Mac asked the four brash young men what they were called. Bono replied that they were the Hype but the were changing their name to U2 and asked what Micky Mac thought of the new name. The DJ said, "Not a great name, if you don't mind me saying so."

Dave Fanning has a long association with U2. It was on his show that listeners were asked to chose the 'A' side for the first single. Dave Fanning has also been give the opportunity to broadcast U2's singles before anyone else in the world.

The photograph accompanying this clip is an early shot taken for the RTÉ Guide's music pages, in November 1979.

U2 are standing on the pedestrian bridge outside the RTÉ grounds at Donnybrook, Dublin - some of RTÉ's buildings are partly visible in the background. From left to right; Adam Clayton (bass guitarist), Larry Mullen (drummer), The Edge (David Evans, guitarist) and Bono (Paul Hewson, lead singer).

A still from this shoot was published in the RTÉ Guide's 'Sound and Vision' column on 21 December 1979. The photographer was Eve Holmes.

© RTÉ Stills Library 2071/094

Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Libraries and Archives.

If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us.

RTÉ Libraries and Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us.