The Fly (U2 song)

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“The Fly”
“The Fly” cover
Single by U2
from the album Achtung Baby
Released October 21, 1991
Format CD, cassette, 7", 12"
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:29
Label Island
Producer Daniel Lanois
U2 singles chronology
"All I Want Is You"
(1989)		 "The Fly"
(1991)		 "Mysterious Ways"
(1991)
Achtung Baby track listing
"So Cruel"
(6)		 "The Fly"
(7)		 "Mysterious Ways"
(8)
The Best of 1990-2000 track listing
"The First Time"
(16)		 "The Fly" (UK and Japan only)
(17)		 N/A

"The Fly" is the seventh song on U2's 1991 album, Achtung Baby and was released as the album's first single. Lead singer Bono described the single as "the sound of four men chopping down the Joshua Tree," [1] due to its shocking departure from the former "classic" U2 sound. He described the song's subject as that of a phone call from someone in Hell who enjoys being there and telling the person on the other line what he has learned. [1] "The Fly" was an introduction to the sonic and electronic experimentation that would dominate U2's 1990s work. The song was also a showcase for Bono's "The Fly" persona on the Zoo TV Tour, a stereotypical leather-clad rock star known for wearing large wrap-around sunglasses and strutting around the stage.

Contents

[edit] History

Described as a "whooshing, industrial, beat-driven" piece[2], "The Fly" shows a heavier, more abrasive side of U2. The band first experimented with such a sound on their cover of Cole Porter's "Night and Day" and "The Fly"'s B-side, "Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk / Korova 1". The song also features one of the most intricate guitar solos The Edge has ever recorded.

Underlined by this new direction, "The Fly" became extremely successful among alternative rock audiences, though it struggled to find airtime on pop radio. The song became U2's second No. 1 single in the UK, following "Desire". It was notable for ending the record breaking 16 week run at the top of the singles chart for Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" but it quickly slid down the chart. In the U.S., it only managed #61 on the Hot 100, a position later surpassed by all the other Achtung Baby singles. Nevertheless, the song was very successful on modern rock radio, reaching the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart and #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It debuted at #1 in Australia.

On the Zoo TV Tour, Edge used an Eric Clapton Stratocaster, accompanied by Bono on a Gibson ES-175. This version included many effects from The Edge, including wah and distortion. These performances included subliminal messages flashing on screen as the band played, often in unison with the pace of the song. The Edge would sing the falsetto part of the chorus, including the part over his guitar solo.

The song was not played on the PopMart Tour, although it was snippetted several times on versions of "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Discothèque" [3].

The version from the Elevation Tour, featured just The Edge on a Gibson Les Paul Custom playing in a lower key with less wah. Bono did not play guitar on these versions, as he usually performed on the heart-shaped stage in the audience. This version is also notable for its added introduction with Bono singing new lyrics over only Edge's arpeggioed chords. His new lyrics would then involve him reciting parts of the chorus of the song. The Edge did not sing in falsetto during the chorus as he has done on the versions from other tours. This tour also included the first extending ending of the song. The band felt that, while the song was good, they hadn't gotten it exactly right. David Bowie told them, upon hearing it, that it needed to be re-recorded. Bono has also said, "It took us fifteen years to really get it right live," assumingly meaning that the intended product is the version played on the Vertigo Tour.

For the Vertigo Tour, "The Fly" was played during the Zoo TV-themed encore, and was often re-paired with "Zoo Station" as on Zoo TV. Edge used a Line 6 Variax 700 Acoustic (custom painted to match the tour's red and black color scheme) and Bono used his signature guitar, the Gretsch Irish Falcon. Larry Mullen also changed the drum beat to the song on this tour, involving more use of the hi-hat cymbal and snare as opposed to the heavy use of the tom rack on past versions. The Edge again used the extended outro to the song, and Bono often snippeted the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as well as other songs over the outro. The subliminal messages played on the LEDs (though using new, original messages) invoked nostalgia of the Zoo TV Tour.

The song is featured on the Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, Elevation 2001: Live from Boston, and Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago live DVDs.

When the covers to "Even Better Than the Real Thing", "The Fly", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", and "Mysterious Ways" are arranged, a picture of the band members driving a Trabant is formed.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Version 1

  1. "The Fly" (4:29)
  2. "Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk / Korova 1" (3:37)
  3. "The Lounge Fly Mix" (6:28)

This was the regular CD and 12" release. The 7" and some of the cassette versions omitted "The Lounge Fly Mix".

When the covers to the "Even Better Than the Real Thing", "The Fly", "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", and "Mysterious Ways" singles are arranged in a larger square, a picture of the band members driving a Trabant is formed.

[edit] B-sides

The single was backed with the following B-sides:

[edit] Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk / Korova 1

"Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk / Korova 1" is a music piece by Bono and The Edge, taken from the score for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of "A Clockwork Orange" [2]. This was the only part of the score which was officially released. The author of the original book, Anthony Burgess was reportedly very unsatisfied with the soundtrack.[citation needed] This song was also featured on the soundtrack to the Johnny Mnemonic movie.

[edit] The Lounge Fly Mix

This is an alternate take of "The Fly", featuring different lyrics and a more dancing, trip-hop sound.

[edit] Alternate versions

There are four released versions of this song:

[edit] Video

The promotional video was the first appearance of The Fly character and displayed the band's "new look". The song was promoted with a music video directed by Ritchie Smythe and Jon Klein. Smythe's contribution was a basic performance video, relying heavily on unfocused, fast, wandering takes. Klein's part featured only Bono sitting in a chair with a remote control, facing a wall with several TV sets. The intro to the video, also filmed by Klein, featured a small portion of the "Lounge Fly Mix", with Bono running in the streets in his "Fly" costume.

The video appears on the DVD for The Best of 1990-2000, along with the directors' commentaries.

[edit] Chart positions

Year Single Chart Position
1991 "The Fly" Australian Singles Chart #1
1991 "The Fly" UK Singles Chart #1
1991 "The Fly" The Irish Charts #1
1991 "The Fly" US Billboard Hot 100 #61
1991 "The Fly" US Modern Rock Tracks #1
1991 "The Fly" US Mainstream Rock Tracks #2
1991 "The Fly" US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales #44
Preceded by
"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams		 UK number-one single
October 27, 1991 for 1 week		 Succeeded by
"Dizzy" by Vic Reeves & The Wonder Stuff
Preceded by
"Give It Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers		 Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single
November 3, 1991 - November 22, 1991		 Succeeded by
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Flanagan, Bill (1995). U2 At the End of the World. Bantam Press, p. 57. ISBN 0593-036263. 
  2. ^ Sams, Aaron. U2 Discography - The Fly single. U2Wanderer.Org. Retrieved on 2007-09-15.

[edit] External links