Boy (album)
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| Studio album by U2 | ||||
| Released | 20 October 1980 | |||
| Recorded | July–September 1980 | |||
| Studio | Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin | |||
| Genre | Post-punk | |||
| Length | 42:52 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | Steve Lillywhite | |||
| U2 chronology | ||||
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| North American cover | ||||
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| Singles from Boy | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Austin Chronicle | |
| The A.V. Club | A |
| Chicago Tribune |  |
| Entertainment Weekly | B |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.3/10 |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Sounds | |
| The Village Voice | C+ |
Boy is the debut studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 20 October 1980 on Island Records. Thematically, the album captures the thoughts and frustrations of adolescence. It contains many songs from the band's 40-song catalogue at the time, including two tracks that were re-recorded from their original versions on the band's debut release, the EP Three. Boy was recorded from July–September 1980 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin; it was their first time at the studio, which became their chosen recording location during the 1980s. It was also their first time working with Lillywhite, who subsequently became a frequent producer for the band's recorded work.
Boy included U2's first hit single, "I Will Follow". The album's release was followed by the group's first tour of continental Europe and the United States, the Boy Tour. The album received generally positive reviews from critics. It peaked at number 52 in the UK and number 63 in the US. In 2008, a remastered edition of Boy was released.
Originally, Joy Division producer Martin Hannett (who also produced U2's "" single) was penciled in to produce the album, but was too distraught after the suicide of Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis.Boy was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin from July to September 1980, with Steve Lillywhite producing. Lillywhite had first come to prominence for his work on the 1978's debut single of Siouxsie and the Banshees, "Hong Kong Garden" which featured a peculiar hook played by a glockenspiel. U2, who listened to Siouxsie and the Banshees, used Lillywhite's skills to add the distinctive glockenspiel part on "I Will Follow". The drums were recorded in the reception area of the recording studio due to Lillywhite's desire to achieve "this wonderful clattery sound". They had to wait until the receptionist went home in the evenings as the phone rang through the day and even occasionally in the evening.
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