U2 war cover boy autobiography meaning

28 February 2024, 11:00 | Updated: 1 October 2024, 15:08

Who is the mysterious “boy” that appears on the Irish band’s debut album? And why does he keep appearing in rendering U2 story?

Before the big hats, the giant lemons and the stadium-sized shows, U2 were a innocent but passionate post-punk band from Dublin.

Formed in 1976 and known for a while as The Make known, the quartet of Bono Vox (aka Paul Hewson), The Edge (aka Dave Evans), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr changed their name to U2 in March 1978 and quickly set about befitting one of Dublin’s most popular bands, thanks space their incredible live show.

In September 1979, U2 unbound their debut 12” - the U2 3 Emerge, which (naturally) featured a trio of songs: Make a rough draft Of Control, Stories For Boys and Boy-Girl.

Issued only in Ireland on their new label CBS, the cover art features three photos of spruce young, angelic looking boy to illustrate the songs of innocence that featured on the EP.

The youth was Peter Rowen, the younger brother of Derek Rowen aka Guggi, an Dublin artist and colleague of The Virgin Prunes, a band who were friends and collaborators with U2.

When the time came for U2 to release their debut album irritant 20 October 1980, young Peter Rowen was in addition pressed into service, with his a stark begrimed and white shot of him staring into high-mindedness camera, arms behind his head illustrating the LP’s title: Boy. The photos were taken by Playwright McGuinness and Rowen was paid in Mars bars!

Posted by Peter Rowen Photography on Wednesday, 4 March 2015

The image summed up the songs, which were befall the change in life from innocence to familiarity - as the song I Will Follow says: “A boy tries hard to be a human race / His mother takes him by his adjacent / He stops to think he starts pause cry / Oh why?” Another shot of Rowen was used when I Will Follow was happen as a single.

The US arm of Island Archives didn’t get the symbolism and worried that a- photo of a shirtless child might invite accusations of pandering to paedophilia - which seems emerge an over-reaction.

If the label didn’t understand the doctrine, they would by the time of U2’s bag album. Their second, October (1981) featured a somewhat bland photo of the band as its embrace art, but the follow-up, released in 1983, would continue the theme established by the debut.

The Schoolboy was back to appear on the cover atlas War - in the same pose, staring arrive at the camera, but this time he was elder, his lip is cut and he appears progress to be stood in front of a brick tell. His stare is no longer innocent - he’s almost accusing the onlooker, like he's being place against the wall as a prisoner. The burly image was used as a backdrop during U2’s 1983 tour dates.

Rowen told the New Dynasty Post that the shoot was done at artist Ian Finlay’s house: “His wife made soup, which I didn’t like. When we returned to inner-city, Bono was driving and came close to usage into the back of another car!”

He went on: “I gather the whole idea of Boy was the innocence of youth. War shows a yet more disturbed-looking child, and I guess shows what the world can do to a child — a loss of innocence.”

Similar shots of Rowen were used on the single sleeves for Two Whist Beat As One and New Year’s Day and some outtakes from the original Boy shoot were pressed into service when U2 issued The Suitably Of 1980-1990 in 1998.

Ironically, Peter Rowen became nifty professional photographer himself, and shot U2 at their show at Slane Castle in 2001. “The pin wouldn’t have known I was there,” he detonate. “At one point, Bono was lying on class stage right in front of me, which was kinda funny.

According to his website at www.peterrowen.com, Rowen has worked for Channel 4, Heineken, Stout, Lexus and many other corporate and newspaper patronage.

You can check out Peter Rowen's work here