15 summers ago, in July 2011, U2 came to Montreal on their 360 Degrees tour. But unlike their previous show in 1997, this time, they wouldn't be playing at Olympic Stadium. It was deemed unsafe, and there was nowhere else large enough to accommodate the band's massive stage structure, nicknamed "The Claw." So the band spent their own money to adapt the old Blue Bonnets racetrack into a world-class concert venue. And the resulting shows would become two of the most memorable shows in Montreal concert history. Randy Renaud revisits that magical weekend on the Chronicles of Rock.

Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

At the start of 1982, the Glasgow band, Simple Minds, were deeply in debt and contemplating breaking up. But a surprise hit single in the spring of that year changed their minds and their fortunes. They then went into the studio that summer to record the album that would become their masterpiece. To herald the arrival of summer, Randy Renaud has the story behind an album that radiates summer warmth: Simple Minds' New Gold Dream 81-82-83-84.

Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers came to Morin Heights, in the Laurentians, to do some skiing and to record their fifth album. It would become the most successful of their career, reaching number one on record charts around the world. But it would also prove to be their last. Randy Renaud revisits the story behind its creation and the tensions that pulled the band apart on this week's edition of the Chronicles of Rock.