Vertigo (song)

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“Vertigo”
Single by U2 from the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
B-side	"Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" / "Neon Lights"
Released	November 8, 2004 (2004-11-08)
Format	CD, Maxi-CD, DVD, 7"
Genre	Hard rock
Length	3:11
Label	Island
Writer(s)	U2
Producer	Steve Lillywhite
U2 singles chronology
"Electrical Storm" (2002) "Vertigo" (2004) "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" (2005)
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb track listing
"Vertigo" (1) "Miracle Drug" (2)
U218 Singles track listing
"With or Without You" (4) "Vertigo" (5) "New Year's Day" (6)

"Vertigo" is the opening track and first single from U2's 2004 album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The single was released for airplay on September 24, 2004; upon release the song received extensive airplay and was an international hit. It won Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video at the 2005 Grammy Awards.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Music video 1.2 Chart success 1.3 "Native Son" 2 Track listings 2.1 7": Interscope / B0003580-21 2.2 12": Island / 12IS878 2.3 CD: Island / CID878 2.4 CD: Island / CIDX878 2.5 CD: Island / UICI-5017 2.6 DVD: Island / CIDV878 3 Chart performance 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

U2 performed "Vertigo" in a television commercial for the Apple iPod as part of a cross-marketing plan to promote both the album and Apple's music products (especially the U2 Special Edition iPod and the iTunes Music Store's exclusive digital box set, "The Complete U2").

At the beginning of the song, U2 lead singer Bono counts off in Spanish unos, dos, tres, catorce!. In the live versions on U2.COMmunication and Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago, Bono jokingly announces the language as Gaelic. In English, this translates to "some, two, three, fourteen!" (the proper translation of "one, two, three, four" would be "uno, dos, tres, cuatro.") When asked about this oddity in an interview for Rolling Stone, Bono replied "there may have been some alcohol involved." ^[2]

A Spanish reply of "¡Hola!" is also heard behind the "Hello, hello" of the refrain, as well as "¿Dónde está?" after the line "I'm at a place called Vertigo," meaning "Where is it?" or "Where is he?".

The "Hello, hello" line itself is reminiscent of similar lyrics in the song "Stories for Boys" from U2's debut album Boy; indeed in Vertigo Tour concerts supporting the Atomic Bomb album, the band has included a section of the latter song in their performances of "Vertigo". These concerts have also sometimes featured "Vertigo" played twice, once early in the show and again as a final encore; this too harkens back to U2's early days, when they did not have enough songs to fill out an entire performance and thus had to repeat some at the end.

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Vertigo" at number 58 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Beginning in the 2006-2007 season, whenever the Montreal Canadiens, an NHL hockey team, scored a goal on home ice or finished a victory, this song has been played in celebration, replacing a long-time club anthem.

Vertigo was featured in a season 5 episode of CSI, "Swap Meet"

British R&B artist Lemar covered this song on the 12th of November 2004 for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.

[edit] Music video

The video for the song features U2 performing in a featureless desert as black jet streams emit from behind each band member. On the ground is a huge white bullseye symbol, identical to the logo for Target and also resembling the symbol for DC Comics super villain Count Vertigo. The circular platform that the band performs on constantly elevates up and down in a spiral pattern, as the wind blows in the band's face. It was directed by the team of Alex & Martin.

[edit] Chart success

Upon release, "Vertigo" debuted at #18 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and #46 on the Billboard Hot 100; in the following weeks the track jumped to #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and also moved from #27 to #3 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and from #35 to #9 on the Adult Top 40. It also debuted at #1 on the Hot Digital Tracks chart and, after falling to #4, returned to the top position. The track later moved into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #31; it spent 20 weeks on the chart (It should be noted that at this point in time, Billboard did not include digital downloads as part of the charting process for the Hot 100. This practice started in 2005, and even then, an already fading "Vertigo" received a 20-spot jump on the charts thanks to the downloads. Had Billboard counted downloads in 2004, "Vertigo" would have most likely been another Top 10 hit for U2.).

In the United Kingdom, the song moved from BBC Radio 1's B-list on the first week of its airplay release to the A-list in the second week. The song was released commercially on 15 November; it debuted at #1 and remained there for one week; it spent 9 weeks in the top 40.

The track debuted at #5 on the Aria charts. In The Netherlands "Vertigo" reached #2 (Mega Top 100).

The digital single holds a 2x Platinum status in the United States, selling over 400,000 downloads.

[edit] "Native Son"

During the Atomic Bomb recording sessions, "Vertigo" was originally recorded as a song called "Native Son" with a similar riff and bassline. "Native Son" is about a native man who was against his country due to his lack of freedoms, [1] originally inspired by Leonard Peltier.^[3] It was later rewritten into "Vertigo," which appears on the album. At 3:08 long, "Native Son" is just a few seconds short of the run time of "Vertigo." The track "Native Son" has since been released on the digital album Unreleased and Rare, which is only available through purchasing the entire digital box set, The Complete U2.

[edit] Track listings

[edit] 7": Interscope / B0003580-21

1. "Vertigo" (Single Version Edit) - 3:11

(the same version is on both sides)

[edit] 12": Island / 12IS878

1. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 12" mix) – 5:36
2. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 7" mix) – 3:08
3. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix) – 4:13
4. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee Instrumental) – 5:36

[edit] CD: Island / CID878

1. "Vertigo" (Radio Edit) – 3:11
2. "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" – 3:48

• also released in Europe as a 3" CD (Island / 986 8185)

[edit] CD: Island / CIDX878

1. "Vertigo" (Radio Edit) – 3:11
2. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix) – 4:13
3. "Neon Lights" - 4:07

[edit] CD: Island / UICI-5017

1. "Vertigo" (Radio Edit) – 3:11
2. "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" – 3:48
3. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix) – 4:13
4. "Neon Lights" – 4:07
5. "Vertigo" (HQ video) – 3:11

[edit] DVD: Island / CIDV878

1. "Vertigo" (Live at HQ video) – 3:11
2. "Vertigo" (Audio with photo gallery) – 3:11
3. "Are You Gonna Wait Forever?" (audio) – 3:48
4. "Vertigo" (Jacknife Lee 10" mix – Lisbon Video) – 4:13

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Ireland	1
UK	1
Greece	1
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks	1
Argentina	1
Poland	1
India	1
Italy	1
Latvia	1
Canada	2
Norway Top 20	2
Brazil	2
Mega Top 100 Singles - The Netherlands	2
Finland	2
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	3
Austria	4
Aria	5
New Zealand	5
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	8
Billboard Adult Top 40	9
Billboard Pop 100	10
Japan	10
Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents	15
Belgium	16
Billboard Hot 100	31
Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	35
Billboard Top 40 Tracks	37

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Band's Official Site for the Single
• Vertigo lyrics

Preceded by "Just Lose It" by Eminem	UK number one single November 20, 2004	Succeeded by "I'll Stand By You" by Girls Aloud
Preceded by "American Idiot" by Green Day	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single November 6, 2004	Succeeded by "Pain" by Jimmy Eat World

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