When U2 Played Free Concert to 20,000 at Justin Herman Plaza

In 1987, U2 announced a last-minute free daytime concert in SF. Watch the full concert

By Johnny Funcheap - posted 4/10/2020 No Comment

We’re all stuck inside, so we wanted to look back at some classic concerts that have taken place in the Bay Area. That brought to mind in 1987 when U2 announced on the radio at the last minute they were doing a free daytime concert at Justin Herman Plaza in SF.

The show drew around 20,000 people even though fans only had about 2 hours notice.

U2 were known at the time for being very ernest and playing concerts for a lot of social causes. This was an attempt to be a little more playful, dubbed the “Save the Yuppies” concert.

1987 – Free “Save the Yuppies” Concert in Justin Herman Plaza

Free outdoor concert in front of the old Embarcadero Freeway where Bono got in trouble for spay painting on the fountains.

Here are some other full live concerts from U2 when you’re done with this one.

1997 – PopMart at Oakland Coliseum

At the time, U2 had the biggest video screen ever made.


1992 – ZooTV Tour at Oakland Coliseum

Filmed impressively on a smuggled in Sony Handycam CCD-TR7


1985 – The Unforgettable Fire Tour at Cow Palace

Low quality video, but remember… this was before cell phones!

1981 – U2 Live at California Hall

Baby-faced U2 on their first visit to San Francisco at defunct concert venue that was on Polk between Turk and Eddy