interested in the band. McGuinness and Hayden devised a promotional strategy for the release that hinged on the Irish music magazine Hot Press and radio DJ Dave Fanning. Hayden used his rapport with the magazine's editor Niall Stokes to pitch the idea for a cover story about U2. Hot Press had never featured a group without a recording history on their cover, but the magazine had been critically supportive of U2 to that point. Hayden and McGuinness argued that since "some people were prepared to lay their necks on the line" for the band, they deserved the magazine's support; Hot Press accepted the proposal. Hayden and McGuinness were also successful in asking Fanning to play the record's three songs on his radio programme on RTÉ and poll listeners on which one should appear on the A-side. A different member of U2 appeared on the show each night to play a different track. As a result of the listener poll, "Out of Control" was voted to be the A-side of the record, while the runners-up, "Boy/Girl" and "Stories for Boys", became the B-side. A listening session was held at Windmill Lane Studios for the CBS staff to meet the members of U2 and hear the songs from Three for the first time. According to Hayden, since sales and store staff were traditionally ignored within the record industry, the listening session made them feel more enthusiastic and invested in the promotional plan for Three. After receiving the record shipment from a local pressing factory, Hayden personally numbered each 12-inch copy from 1 to 1,000. He contacted record stores that specialised in rock music and secured orders by promising them certain numbered copies, such as 1–25, 500, or 999. Three was released by CBS Ireland in the Irish market on 26 September 1979. The 12-inch vinyl sold out almost immediately, becoming the highest-selling 12-inch record in Irish history. The 7-inch single spent two weeks on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at number 19. After Geoff Travis of the record label Rough Trade Records imported copies of Three into the UK, the British music press took notice of U2. Following Three, the band released the singles "Another Day", "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", and "A Day Without Me" before releasing their debut studio album, Boy, in 1980. "Out of Control" and "Stories for Boys" were re-recorded for Boy. Live versions of the two songs were