First gig at St. Fintan’s High School

In April 1977, Feedback played their first gig for a paying audience at St. Fintan’s High School . Shortly thereafter, the band changed their name to “The Hype”. Dik Evans, who was older and by that time attending college, was becoming the odd man out of the group. The other members were leaning towards the idea of a four-piece ensemble. In March 1978, the group changed their name to “U2”, selecting it from a list of six options suggested by Steve Averill , a punk rock musician with the Radiators from Space and a family friend of Clayton. The band chose U2 for its open-ended interpretations, visual strength on posters, and because it was the name that they disliked the least. Dik Evans officially left the band with a farewell concert at the Presbyterian Hall in Sutton on 4 March. During the show, which featured the group playing cover songs as the Hype, Dik ceremonially walked offstage. The remaining four members returned later in the concert to play original material as U2. Dik joined the Virgin Prunes , a band made up of mutual friends of U2; early on, the Prunes served as U2’s default opening act , and the two groups often shared members for live performances to fill in for occasional absences. On 18 March, the four-piece U2 won the “Pop Group ’78” talent contest sponsored by the Evening Press and Guinness ‘s Harp Lager as part of Limerick Civic Week. The win was an important milestone and affirmation for the fledgling act. The contest prize consisted of £500 (equivalent to £2,732 in 2025) and a recording session for a demo that would be heard by the record label CBS Ireland . U2’s demo tape was recorded at Keystone Studios in Dublin in April 1978, but the results were largely unsuccessful due to their inexperience.