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Angel of Harlem

 

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Angel of Harlem



 
 
"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum

Rattle and Hum is the name of both an album and a companion motion picture recorded by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2. Both were released in 1988....
. It peaked at #9 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock stations, which are counted in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart....
. A homage to Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
, it was released with two different B-sides
B-Sides

B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy , consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns....
; one was an original U2 song called "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel", while the other was a live version of Rattle and Hum's "Love Rescue Me."

el of Harlem" was written during 1987's Joshua Tree Tour
Joshua Tree Tour

The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Ireland Rock music band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree....
 and the in-studio performance on the Rattle and Hum movie dates from a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River ....
 during the later stages of the tour's third leg.






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Encyclopedia


"Angel of Harlem" is the second single from U2
U2

U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum
Rattle and Hum

Rattle and Hum is the name of both an album and a companion motion picture recorded by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2. Both were released in 1988....
. It peaked at #9 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
, #8 on the Dutch Top 40, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
, and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock stations, which are counted in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart....
. A homage to Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter.Nicknamed Lady Day by her loyal friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing....
, it was released with two different B-sides
B-Sides

B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy , consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns....
; one was an original U2 song called "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel", while the other was a live version of Rattle and Hum's "Love Rescue Me."

History

"Angel of Harlem" was written during 1987's Joshua Tree Tour
Joshua Tree Tour

The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Ireland Rock music band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree....
 and the in-studio performance on the Rattle and Hum movie dates from a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River ....
 during the later stages of the tour's third leg. The song was a regular on 1989's Lovetown Tour
Lovetown Tour

The Lovetown Tour was a concert tour by the Ireland Rock music band U2, which took place in late 1989 and early 1990....
 and was played with B.B. King's band. A stripped-down acoustic rendition was performed on the Zoo TV Tour
Zoo TV Tour

The Zoo TV Tour was an elaborately-staged worldwide concert tour by Republic of Ireland rock music band U2. Launched in support of the album Achtung Baby, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 through 1993....
 in 1992 and 1993 on a b-stage positioned in the midst of the crowd. It was then not played again until 2001's Elevation Tour
Elevation Tour

The Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Ireland Rock music band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2000 in music album All That You Can't Leave Behind, the tour visited arenas in 2001....
, when it was sometimes performed acoustically and sometimes in its original electric style, albeit without the brass section. The only performances on 2005's Vertigo Tour
Vertigo Tour

The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Republic of Ireland Rock music band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2004 in music album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the visited arenas and stadiums from 2005 through 2006....
 came when a fan was pulled on stage in Dallas in late October to play guitar. The fan asked to play "Angel of Harlem" and although Bono
Bono

Paul David Hewson , also known by his stage name Bono, is the main vocalist of the Ireland rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife, Ali Hewson, and the future members of U2....
's knowledge of the lyrics was poor, the band agreed to the request and the fan played the song along with them. It has also been performed on Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide shows on the Australian leg of the Vertigo tour in November 2006, where Bono dedicated the song to Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue

Kylie Ann Minogue, Order of the British Empire, , is an Australian pop singer-songwriter and occasional actress. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s through her role in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987....
 and often ended it with a snippet of Kylie's "I Should Be So Lucky
I Should Be So Lucky

"I Should Be So Lucky" is a Pop music–Dance music song performed by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman for Minogue's debut album Kylie ....
."

Live performances of "Angel of Harlem" appear on Zoo TV: Live from Sydney
Zoo TV: Live From Sydney

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney is a concert video release by rock band U2 from the "Zoomerang" leg of their Zoo TV Tour. Recorded on Saturday, November 27, 1993 at Sydney Football Stadium on the band's featured stop in Sydney, Australia, it was released in May 1994 on VHS and Laserdisc, and re-released in September 2006 on DVD....
 and U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle
U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle

U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle is a concert video release by rock music band U2 from the European leg of their Elevation Tour. Recorded on September 1, 2001 at Slane Castle on the band's featured stop in County Meath, Ireland, it was released on DVD in November 2003....
.

Track listing

  1. "Angel of Harlem" (Single Version) – 3:47
  2. "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" – 5:29
  3. "Love Rescue Me" (feat. Ziggy Marley
    Ziggy Marley

    David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley is a four time Grammy Award-winning Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of Rita Marley and Bob Marley, the roots reggae singer....
    ) (Live from London, October 16, 1988) – 5:24


This is the most common (CD and 12") release. The cassette and 7" versions did not contain "Love Rescue Me." Note that the version of "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" on The Best of 1980-1990
The Best of 1980-1990

The Best of 1980?1990 is the first greatest hits compilation by Music of Ireland rock music band U2, released in November 1998. It mostly contains the group's hit singles from the eighties but also mixes in some live staples as well as one new recording....
 B-Sides disc is actually an edit of the original.

Chart positions


YearSingleChartPosition
1988"Angel of Harlem"UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
#9
1988"Angel of Harlem"US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard Single popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday....
#14
1988"Angel of Harlem"US Modern Rock Tracks
Modern Rock Tracks

Hot Modern Rock Tracks is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the forty most-played songs on modern rock radios, most of which are alternative rock songs....
#3
1988"Angel of Harlem"US Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock stations, which are counted in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart....
#1


See also

  • List of covers of U2 songs - Angel of Harlem


External links

  • - Comprehensive details on various editions, cover scans, lyrics, and more.
  • - Lists all concerts at which "Angel of Harlem" has been performed.