by Robert Hilburn

It's funny how easy it is to forget dates in pop music.

Even the most history-conscious fan would probably have to turn to a reference book to confirm the specific date of such landmark events as Live Aid (July 13, 1985) and the Woodstock weekend (Aug. 15-17, 1969).

But there's one date that many Irish rock fans will never forget: May 17, 1986.

That was the day of Self-Aid, a 14-hour benefit concert in Dublin that has been described as both an extraordinary moment in Irish social history and the greatest pop event ever in the country.

The show -- featuring 30 pop and rock acts, including U2, Van Morrison and the Boomtown Rats -- was broadcast live, reportedly attracting the largest viewing audience in the country's history.

Self-Aid, however, was not just a showcase for Irish musicians. It was an attempt -- in the spirit of such other socially conscious campaigns as Live Aid and U.S.A. for Africa -- to draw attention to the problem of unemployment in the country.

The concert also spawned a live double album in Ireland, part of which has just been released here as a single album by MCA Records.

"Live for Ireland" -- which features one number each by 13 artists -- suffers at times from the democratic tendency to have lots of acts represented, rather than focusing on just the most compelling acts. Still, the LP is an important work on a variety of levels.

Because there was no album made of the Live Aid or Farm Aid concerts, "Live for Ireland" is a rare sample on record of the altruistic pop-rock spirit of the '80s.

It also documents a crucial period in the career of U2, whose "The Joshua Tree" just won a Grammy for best album of 1987.

U2, at the time of Self-Aid, was a still-young band whose earlier albums were such purposeful and uplifting works that the quartet was widely hailed as the possible Who of the '80s.

Yet U2 had been largely out of sight for nearly 10 months before the concert.

During the time away, the group was exploring its next step. On one hand, there was the intoxicating notion that -- yes! - it would try to reach for the musical and thematic depth that could result in the sociological power and impact associated with the Who and other great '60s rock bands.

But the four members of U2 are unusually introspective and they also may have thought about taking a step back from the pressures and expectations surrounding them.

Though it would be a year before U2 would release "The Joshua Tree," the band's performance at Self-Aid was a virtual declaration of intention. The group planned on forging ahead boldly.

One tip-off was the selection from the concert that is included on the live album: a customized medley of Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" and John Lennon's "Cold Turkey." The medley was a slap at the conservative social policies of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, more broadly, an attack on social insensitivity and greed. At the time, nearly 250,000 people were unemployed in the nation of 3.5 million.

There's an urgency and anger in the voice of U2's Bono Hewson as he offers these updated lines of "Maggie's Farm":

But Self-Aid was far from just U2's show. Other affecting moments on the album include the poignancy of Elvis Costello's version of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross," the soulful idealism of Van Morrison's "Here Comes the Knight" and Paul Brady's wistful "The Island." Among other artists represented on the MCA album: the Pogues, Christy Moore, Chris De Burgh, the Chieftains, Clannad, and Cactus World News.

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