War is the third studio album by
IrishIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
rockRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
band
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
, released on . The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "
Sunday Bloody Sunday"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is the opening track from U2's 1983 album, War. The song was released as the album's third single in March 1983 in Germany and The Netherlands. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted for its militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar, and melodic harmonies...
", "
New Year's Day"New Year's Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the third track from their 1983 album War. The song was released as the album's lead single in January 1983. Written about the Polish Solidarity movement, "New Year's Day" is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and The Edge's keyboard...
", as well as the title, which stems from the band's perception of the world at the time;
BonoPaul David Hewson, KBE , most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife,...
stated that "war seemed to be the motif for 1982."
While the central themes of their earlier albums
BoyBoy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews. Common themes among the album's songs are the thoughts and frustrations of adolescence. The album included the band's first United Kingdom hit...
and
OctoberOctober is the second album by Irish rock band U2, released in 1981. The album featured spiritual themes, inspired by Bono, The Edge, and Larry Mullen, Jr.'s memberships in a Christian group called the "Shalom Fellowship", which led them to question the relationship between the Christian faith and...
focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively,
War focused on both the physical aspects of
warfareWarfarerefers to the conduct of conflict between opponents, and usually involves escalation of aggression from the proverbial "war of words" between politicians and diplomats to full-scale armed conflicts, waged until one side accepts defeat or peace terms are agreed on.Warfare between groups, and...
, and the emotional aftereffects. The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade."
War was a commercial success for the band, knocking
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
's
ThrillerThriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall,...
from the top of the charts to become the band's first #1 album in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. In 2003, the album was ranked number 221 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all timeThe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003.Related news articles: The list was based on the votes of 273 rock musicians, critics and industry figures, each of whom submitted a weighted list of 50 albums...
.
Recording
U2 began recording
War on . The band took a break soon afterwards, as newlyweds
BonoPaul David Hewson, KBE , most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife,...
and
AliAlison Hewson , known as Ali Hewson, is an activist and wife of U2's lead singer Bono.-Biography:...
honeymooned in
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. It has been noted that it was not a typical honeymoon, as Bono reportedly worked on the lyrics for the upcoming album. The lyrics to "
New Year's Day"New Year's Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the third track from their 1983 album War. The song was released as the album's lead single in January 1983. Written about the Polish Solidarity movement, "New Year's Day" is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and The Edge's keyboard...
" had its origins in a love song Bono wrote for his wife, but the song was reshaped and inspired by the Polish
SolidaritySolidarity is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, and originally led by Lech Wałęsa.Solidarity was the first non-Communist-controlled trade union in a Warsaw Pact country...
movement.
The album's opener, "
Sunday Bloody Sunday"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is the opening track from U2's 1983 album, War. The song was released as the album's third single in March 1983 in Germany and The Netherlands. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted for its militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar, and melodic harmonies...
", an ardent protest song, stems from a guitar riff and lyric written by
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his nickname and stage name The Edge , is an Irish musician known best as the guitarist, keyboardist, and main backing vocalist for the Irish rock band U2...
in 1982. Following an argument with his girlfriend, and a period of doubt in his own song-writing abilities, The Edge — "feeling depressed... channeled [his] fear and frustration and self-loathing into a piece of music." Early versions of the song opened with the line, "Don't talk to me about the rights of the
IRAThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which sought to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
,
UDAThe Ulster Defence Association is a loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Its main objective has been to reject unification of Ireland. The UDA is outlawed as a proscribed terrorist group in the United Kingdom....
". After Bono had reworked the lyrics, the band recorded the song at
Windmill Lane StudiosWindmill Lane Studios, also known as the "U2 studio", is a two-storey music recording studio located in Dublin, Ireland. It is located on Windmill Lane, a small street just south of City Quay and the River Liffey and a little north of Pearse Station. It was opened in 1978 by Brian Masterson who is...
in Dublin. The opening drum pattern soon developed into the song's hook. A local
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
ist,
Steve WickhamSteve Wickham is an Irish musician described by Mike Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player" and by New Musical Express as a "fiddling legend." Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home,, Wickham has appeared on recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad...
, approached The Edge one morning at a
bus stopA bus stop is a designated place where a public transport bus stops for the purpose of allowing passengers to board or leave a bus.- Type :There are three main kinds of stops:* Scheduled stop: The bus uses the stop irrespective of demand...
and asked if U2 had any need for a violin on their next album. In the studio for only half a day, Wickham's electric violin became the final instrumental contribution to the song.
During the sessions for "Sunday Bloody Sunday", producer
Steve LillywhiteSteve Lillywhite is a Grammy Award-winning English music producer.- Early career :Lillywhite entered the music industry in 1972, when he worked as a tape operator for Polygram. He produced a demo recording for the band Ultravox, which led to them being offered a recording contract with Island...
encouraged drummer
Larry Mullen Jr. Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Mullen, Jr. is the drummer for the Irish rock band U2. He is the founder of U2, which was originally known as "The Larry Mullen Band" at its inception. He has worked on numerous side projects during his career, including a collaboration with Michael Stipe and Mike Mills...
to use a
click trackA click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, often to a moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where marks were made on the film itself to indicate exact timings for musicians to accompany the film...
, but Mullen was firmly against the idea. A chance meeting with
Andy NewmarkAndrew "Andy" Newmark is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1972 to 1973....
(of
Sly & the Family StoneSly & the Family Stone is an American funk, soul and rock band from San Francisco, California. Originally active from 1966 to 1983, with varied lineups, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
) — a drummer who used a click track religiously — changed Mullen's mind. Mullen used the click track to stay in time for other songs on the album. Mullen said of the album in a 1983 interview, "I think the drumming has always been pretty simple, I don't think it needs to be flashy. For
War I use a click track, something I haven't used before, it's a way of keeping time in my headphones. When I listened to the music in time with the click track I knew I had to bring it down to the real basics. Hopefully for the next LP it will be more complicated, I'll move on. I think of it as a musical progression for myself because I learned a lot recording this album, just about my own style and that's what I wanted to do. I think there is a definite style on
War where there isn't on the previous albums."
The studio version of "40" was recorded right at the end of the recording sessions for
War. Bassist
Adam ClaytonAdam Charles Clayton is the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965. Clayton is well-known for his bass playing on songs such as "New Year's Day", "With or Without You", "Get on Your...
had already left the studio, and the three remaining band members decided they didn't have a good song to end the album. Bono, The Edge, and Mullen Jr. quickly recorded the song with The Edge switching off to both the
electricAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
and
bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
. Bono called the song "40" as he based the lyrics on Psalm 40. In live versions of the song, The Edge and Clayton switch roles, as Clayton plays guitar and Edge plays the bass.
The album was titled
War for several reasons; in 1982, Bono said that the album was called
War because "War seemed to be the motif for 1982," adding that "Everywhere you looked, from the Falklands to the Middle East and South Africa, there was war. By calling the album
War we're giving people a slap in the face and at the same time getting away from the cosy image a lot of people have of U2." The Edge said that "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate."
Composition
The sound of
War is arguably harsher than that of the band's other albums, with the possible exception of
Achtung BabyAchtung Baby is the seventh studio album by rock band U2, released on 19 November 1991. Stung by criticism of their previous album, Rattle and Hum, the album was a deliberate change in musical and thematic direction, incorporating alternative rock, electronic dance, and industrial influences...
. A major reason for this is that The Edge uses far less
delayDelay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
and
echoIn audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room. A true echo is a single reflection of the sound...
than in previous and subsequent works.
War opens with the protest song "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The song describes the horror felt by an observer of
The TroublesThe Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, specifically
Bloody Sunday (1972)Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident in Derry, Northern Ireland, on 30 January 1972. Twenty-seven civil rights protesters were shot by members of the 1st Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment during a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in the...
. Already a departure from the themes of innocence and spirituality displayed on the group's first two albums, "Sunday Bloody Sunday" introduces the album with a startling, military-esque drum beat by Larry Mullen, Jr., a fuming solo by The Edge that segues into
staccatoIn musical notation, the Italian word staccato indicates that notes are separated in a detached and distinctly separate manner or short and separated, with silence making up the latter part of the time allocated to each note. The rhythm is not affected. Notes identified as staccato are often...
bursts reminiscent of machine gun fire, and pointed lyrical couplets such as: "And today the millions cry / We eat and drink while tomorrow they die." The album as a whole is more direct than the ambient
Boy and
October. Bono said in 1983, "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is considered to be among the greatest political
protest songA protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
s, and has remained a staple of U2's live concerts for 25 years.
"Seconds" is a song about
nuclear proliferationNuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
, and the possibility that Armageddon could occur by an accident. The track contains a clip from the 1982 documentary
Soldier GirlsSoldier Girls is a 1981 documentary film by Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill about several women training in the US army.Under the aggressive Sergeant Abing are several young women, some dedicated to defending their country, others who seem to have been forced into joining by circumstance...
. The Edge sings the first two stanzas, making it one of the rare occasions on which where he sings lead vocals.
In continuing the political motif of the album, "New Year's Day" is about the Polish solidarity movement. In 2004,
Rolling Stone placed it as the 427th greatest song of all time. The song remains a staple of the band's live set, and is their third most frequently performed song behind "
I Will Follow"I Will Follow" is the opening track from U2's debut album, Boy. The song was released as the album's second single in October 1980. Along with many songs in the band's early catalogue, such as "Silver Lining" and "Tomorrow", Bono wrote the lyrics to "I Will Follow" in tribute to his mother who...
" and "
Pride (In the Name of Love)"Pride " is the second track from U2's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire, and was released as the album's lead single in September 1984. Written about Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pride" is one of the band's most recognized songs, and appeared as the opening track on the compilation The Best of...
".
"Like a Song..." was intended as a message to those who believed that the band was too worthy, sincere, and not "punk" enough. Bono speculated that the song's punk attitude would have made more sense in the 1950s and 1960's, as opposed to the "dressing up" of the genre in the early 1980s. "Like a Song..." was only played live once.
"Drowning Man" is the fifth track on the album. Its sound is a departure from the other tracks in
War as it is a quiet, atmospheric song heavily influenced by the work of the
Comsat AngelsThe Comsat Angels were a post-punk band from Sheffield, England, active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with spare instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled with some form of heartache." They have been credited as being an influence to current...
. It was never performed live, although there are also unconfirmed reports that it was performed at a concert in 1983.
Other songs concern topics such as
prostitutionProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
("Red Light") and love ("
Two Hearts Beat as One"Two Hearts Beat as One" is the seventh track on U2's 1983 album, War. It was released as the album's second single in the US, UK and Australia.-History:...
").
Release
The album was first released on February 28, 1983.
The boy on the cover is Peter Rowan (brother of Bono's friend, Guggi). He also appears on the covers of
BoyBoy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews. Common themes among the album's songs are the thoughts and frustrations of adolescence. The album included the band's first United Kingdom hit...
,
ThreeThree, also known as U2 3, is the first release by rock band U2. A three-song EP recorded and released in 1979, it was produced by the band with Chas de Whalley and available in Ireland when released.-History:...
,
The Best of 1980–1990, and
Early Demos. Bono described the reasoning behind the cover: "Instead of putting tanks and guns on the cover, we've put a child's face. War can also be a mental thing, an emotional thing between loves. It doesn't have to be a physical thing."
Singles
In , "
New Year's Day"New Year's Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and the third track from their 1983 album War. The song was released as the album's lead single in January 1983. Written about the Polish Solidarity movement, "New Year's Day" is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and The Edge's keyboard...
" was released internationally as the album's lead single. The single reached the top ten in the UK, and was the first release by the band to reach the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. In March 1983, "
Two Hearts Beat as One"Two Hearts Beat as One" is the seventh track on U2's 1983 album, War. It was released as the album's second single in the US, UK and Australia.-History:...
" and "
Sunday Bloody Sunday"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is the opening track from U2's 1983 album, War. The song was released as the album's third single in March 1983 in Germany and The Netherlands. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted for its militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar, and melodic harmonies...
" were released as singles in different regions. "Two Hearts Beat as One", a single in the US, UK, and Australia, reached #18 on the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
; "Sunday Bloody Sunday", released in Germany and the Netherlands, reached #3 on the Netherlands' charts. "40" was not released as a commercial single, but rather as a promotional single in Germany.
Reception
This album became U2's first #1 album in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, supplanting
Michael Jackson'sMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
ThrillerThriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall,...
at the top of the charts. In 1989,
War was ranked #40 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". In 2003, the album was ranked number 221 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all timeThe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time is the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone magazine published in November 2003.Related news articles: The list was based on the votes of 273 rock musicians, critics and industry figures, each of whom submitted a weighted list of 50 albums...
.
War Tour
In support of the album, the band began touring on December 1, 1982. The first month of shows, referred to as the "Pre-War Tour", preceded the album's release and the bulk of the tour, and was meant to showcase and test the new songs in a live setting. The War Tour proper began on February 26, 1983 and lasted until November 30 of that year. In total, the band played 110 gigs to promote
War. Performances often consisted of Bono waving white flags, a sight which became associated with the band after a memorable show at
Red Rocks AmphitheatreRed Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure in Red Rocks Park near Morrison, Colorado , where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large boulders angled outwards...
was captured by the concert film
Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red SkyLive at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky is a concert film by U2. It was the band's first video release, originally released in November 1984 on VHS and Betamax, and later on Video CD, Laserdisc, and DVD...
and shown on
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
. The band also released a live EP in 1983 entitled
Under a Blood Red SkyUnder a Blood Red Sky is a live album by Irish rock band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released in 1983. Along with its companion concert film, Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, the release helped establish U2's reputation as a remarkable live band, making the band a popular live college...
(named after a lyric in "New Year's Day"), a compilation of live recordings from the War Tour.
Track listing
In 1993,
Mobile Fidelity Sound LabMobile Fidelity Sound Lab is a company that produces reissues of albums. All releases are made from the first-generation master recordings and mastered at half-speed, which MFSL claims allows for an improved sound quality. In the past, MFSL has produced cassette tape, LP, CD and VHS releases of a...
remastered the album and released it as a special gold CD. This edition has slightly different running times: most notably, "Seconds" runs 3:22, adding 11.5 seconds in the break section (beginning at approx. 2:03), while "Like a Song..." runs 5:00, extending the playout section (beginning at approx. 4:45).
2008 remastered edition
Following the remastered re-release of
The Joshua TreeThe Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2, released 9 March 1987 on Island Records. Recording took place from July to November 1986 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. The album features the band's exploration of roots rock, with their music exhibiting influences from...
in 2007, it was rumoured that the band would also remaster and re-release
War, along with the albums
BoyBoy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews. Common themes among the album's songs are the thoughts and frustrations of adolescence. The album included the band's first United Kingdom hit...
, and
OctoberOctober is the second album by Irish rock band U2, released in 1981. The album featured spiritual themes, inspired by Bono, The Edge, and Larry Mullen, Jr.'s memberships in a Christian group called the "Shalom Fellowship", which led them to question the relationship between the Christian faith and...
. This was confirmed by U2.com on . The remastered album was released on in the UK, with the U.S. version following it the next day. It was released in three different formats:
- Standard format: A single CD with re-mastered audio and restored packaging. Includes a 16 page booklet featuring previously unseen photos, full lyrics and new liner notes by Niall Stokes. The 10-tracks match the previous release of the album.
- Deluxe format: A standard CD (as above) and a bonus CD. Bonus CD includes b-sides, live tracks and rarities. Also includes a 32 page booklet with previously unseen photos, full lyrics, new liner notes by Niall Stokes, and explanatory notes on the bonus material by The Edge.
- Vinyl format: A single album re-mastered version on 180gram vinyl with restored packaging.
Bonus tracks
Chart positions and sales
Album
| Country |
Peak position |
Certification |
Sales |
| Belgium |
|
Platinum |
30,000+ |
| Brazil |
|
Gold |
50,000+ |
| Canada |
|
3x Platinum |
300,000- |
| France |
|
2x Platinum |
600,000+ |
| Germany |
|
Gold |
100,000+ |
| Netherlands |
|
Gold |
40,000+ |
| Switzerland |
|
Gold |
25,000+ |
| United Kingdom |
1 |
2x Platinum |
600,000+ |
| United States |
12 |
4x Platinum |
4,000,000+ |
Singles
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1983 |
"New Year's Day" |
Billboard Mainstream Rock |
2 |
| "Sunday Bloody Sunday" |
Billboard Mainstream Rock |
7 |
| "Two Hearts Beat As One" |
Billboard Mainstream Rock |
12 |
Personnel
U2
- Bono
Paul David Hewson, KBE , most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife,...
– lead vocals, additional guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
- The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his nickname and stage name The Edge , is an Irish musician known best as the guitarist, keyboardist, and main backing vocalist for the Irish rock band U2...
– guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
, pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, lap steel, backing vocalsA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, lead vocals on "Seconds," guitar and bass guitar on "40"
- Adam Clayton
Adam Charles Clayton is the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965. Clayton is well-known for his bass playing on songs such as "New Year's Day", "With or Without You", "Get on Your...
– bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
, guitar on "40".
- Larry Mullen Jr.
Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Mullen, Jr. is the drummer for the Irish rock band U2. He is the founder of U2, which was originally known as "The Larry Mullen Band" at its inception. He has worked on numerous side projects during his career, including a collaboration with Michael Stipe and Mike Mills...
– drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
Additional personnel
- Kenny Fradley – trumpet
The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
- Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician described by Mike Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player" and by New Musical Express as a "fiddling legend." Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home,, Wickham has appeared on recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad...
– electric violinAn electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
on "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Drowning Man"
- The Coconuts: Cheryl Poirier, Adriana Kaegi, Taryn Hagey, Jessica Felton – backing vocals on "Like A Song...", "Red Light", and "Surrender"
See also
- List of covers of U2 songs - Drowning Man
- List of covers of U2 songs - Like a Song...
- U2 discography
The discography of the Irish rock band U2 consists of twelve studio albums, seven live albums, five compilation albums, fifty-eight singles, and seven extended plays . The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr....