Fanning has always supported young, new Irish talent and played bands' demo tapes.
With the move to RTÉ Radio 2 (RTÉ 2FM), and with producer Ian Wilson at the helm, they started The Fanning Sessions.
Hundreds of sessions were recorded.

For the very first session, Fanning invited the band he had championed and played most often on demo tape over the previous 2 years – a young four-piece Dublin band called U2.
His friendship with, and support for, the band, led to Fanning's listeners deciding on the A-side and B-sides of the band's first single release. (
This was in the pre-CD days, when singles were only released on vinyl).
The band came into Fanning's show for five nights in one week – a major seal of approval from Fanning and Wilson – and the listeners picked "Out of Control" as the first single, with "Stories for Boys" and "Boy/Girl" on the B-side.

Between ’77 and ’79, Fanning was resident DJ at Dublin's city center McGonagles nightclub.
The club hosted most local acts and many international ones.
U2 played there many times.
The band also played The Baggot Inn for six consecutive Tuesday nights in 1979 with support from The Blades.
Fanning DJ'd for the entire run between sets.
He joined the band on their tourbus through Ireland (dates in Cork, Galway, Belfast, Dublin) on the release of their third album War.
He made various TV documentaries on the band – at Self-Aid in ’86, in Modena in Italy the following year during the band's Joshua Tree Tour and has interviewed the band many times on radio and TV down through the years.
In 1987 at the time of the release of The Joshua Tree his annual radio interview with the band was conducted in the nude following Bono's request to "shake things up for the hell of it".

Fanning's friendship with the band has continued.
At a surprise birthday party, held at Dublin's Mother Redcaps in 1989 all four members of the band paid tribute to Fanning; the band's manager Paul McGuinness presented him with a special present referring to Fanning as "the world's best DJ".
Besides being guaranteed the world exclusive on all U2 releases, the band recorded a specially-filmed musical tribute to Fanning when he was presented, in 2004 (by Larry Mullen) with the Irish Music Industry's top award – The Meteor Industry Award.

In September 2016, Fanning stepped in for the band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio for its weekend celebration of forty years of the band.
Fanning has always supported young, new Irish talent and played bands' demo tapes. With the move to RTÉ Radio 2 (RTÉ 2FM), and with producer Ian Wilson at the helm, they started The Fanning Sessions. Hundreds of sessions were recorded.
For the very first session, Fanning invited the band he had championed and played most often on demo tape over the previous 2 years – a young four-piece Dublin band called U2. His friendship with, and support for, the band, led to Fanning's listeners deciding on the A-side and B-sides of the band's first single release. (This was in the pre-CD days, when singles were only released on vinyl). The band came into Fanning's show for five nights in one week – a major seal of approval from Fanning and Wilson – and the listeners picked "Out of Control" as the first single, with "Stories for Boys" and "Boy/Girl" on the B-side.
Between ’77 and ’79, Fanning was resident DJ at Dublin's city center McGonagles nightclub. The club hosted most local acts and many international ones. U2 played there many times. The band also played The Baggot Inn for six consecutive Tuesday nights in 1979 with support from The Blades. Fanning DJ'd for the entire run between sets. He joined the band on their tourbus through Ireland (dates in Cork, Galway, Belfast, Dublin) on the release of their third album War. He made various TV documentaries on the band – at Self-Aid in ’86, in Modena in Italy the following year during the band's Joshua Tree Tour and has interviewed the band many times on radio and TV down through the years. In 1987 at the time of the release of The Joshua Tree his annual radio interview with the band was conducted in the nude following Bono's request to "shake things up for the hell of it".
Fanning's friendship with the band has continued. At a surprise birthday party, held at Dublin's Mother Redcaps in 1989 all four members of the band paid tribute to Fanning; the band's manager Paul McGuinness presented him with a special present referring to Fanning as "the world's best DJ". Besides being guaranteed the world exclusive on all U2 releases, the band recorded a specially-filmed musical tribute to Fanning when he was presented, in 2004 (by Larry Mullen) with the Irish Music Industry's top award – The Meteor Industry Award.
In September 2016, Fanning stepped in for the band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio for its weekend celebration of forty years of the band.
Dave Fanning