The Unforgettable Fire

The Unforgettable Fire
Studio album by U2
Released 1 October 1984
Recorded

May 7 – August 5, 1984 in Ireland at
Genre Rock, post-punk
Length 42:38
Language English
Label Island
Producer Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois
U2 chronology
War
(1983)		 The Unforgettable Fire
(1984)		 The Joshua Tree
(1987)
Singles from The Unforgettable Fire
  1. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
    Released: September 1984
  2. "The Unforgettable Fire"
    Released: April 1985

The Unforgettable Fire is the fourth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was released in October 1984. The band wanted a different musical direction following the harder-hitting rock of their 1983 album War. They employed Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to produce and assist them experiment with a more ambient and abstract sound. The resulting change in direction was at the time the band's most dramatic.

Recording began in May 1984 at Slane Castle, where the band lived, wrote, and recorded to find new inspiration. The album was completed in August 1984 at Windmill Lane Studios. It features atmospheric sounds and lyrics that lead vocalist Bono describes as "sketches". Two songs feature lyrical tributes to Martin Luther King Jr. The Unforgettable Fire received generally favourable reviews from critics and produced the band's biggest hit at the time, "Pride (In the Name of Love)", as well as the live favorite "Bad", a song about heroin addiction. A 25th Anniversary edition of the album was released in October 2009.

Contents

Background

"We knew the world was ready to receive the heirs to The Who. All we had to do was to keep doing what we were doing and we would become the biggest band since Led Zeppelin, without a doubt. But something just didn't feel right. We felt we had more dimension than just the next big anything, we had something unique to offer. The innovation was what would suffer if we went down the standard rock route. We were looking for another feeling."

 —Bono, on The Unforgettable Fire's new direction.[1]

U2 feared that following the overt rock of their 1983 album War and the subsequent War Tour, they were in danger of becoming another "shrill", "sloganeering arena-rock band".[2] The success of the 1983 Under a Blood Red Sky live album and the Live at Red Rocks video, however, had given them artistic—and for the first time—financial room to move.[3] Following a show at Dublin's Phoenix Park Racecourse in August 1983, one of the final dates of the War Tour, lead vocalist Bono spoke in metaphors about the band breaking up and reforming with a different direction. In the 10th issue of U2 magazine, issued in February 1984, Bono hinted at radical changes on the next album saying that he couldn't "sleep at night with the thought of it all" and that they were "undertaking a real departure".[4] As bassist Adam Clayton recalls, "We were looking for something that was a bit more serious, more arty."[1]

The band had recorded their first three albums with producer Steve Lillywhite, and rather than create the "son of War", experimentation was sought.[5] Both Lillywhite and the band agreed that it was time for a change of producers and not to "repeat the same formula".[1] The band had thought of using Jimmy Iovine to produce a new record. However, they found their early musical ideas for the album to be too "European" for an American producer.[5] They also considered approaching Conny Plank, whose previous credits included Kraftwerk and Echo and the Bunnymen, and Roxy Music producer Rhett Davies.[6]

Guitarist The Edge had a long appreciation of musician Brian Eno's work,[7] admiring his ambient and "weird works".[1] The band were also fond of his work with Talking Heads. Having never worked with music such as U2's, Eno was also initially reluctant.[5] When the band played him Under a Blood Red Sky, his eyes "glazed over" at its overt rockness.[8] Eno had brought along his engineer Daniel Lanois to his meeting with U2 intending to recommend he work with the band instead. Eno's earlier doubts were resolved by Bono's power of persuasion and his increasing perception of what he called "U2's lyrical soul in abundance", traits which had become less evident on the rockist War album. Eno commented that the band were "constantly struggling against it as if as if they were frightened of being overpowered by some softness".[5] Eno was impressed by how they spoke, which was not in terms of music or playing, but in terms of their contributions to the "identity of the band as a whole".[4] Eno and Lanois eventually agreed to produce the record. Eno explained that he focussed on the ideas and conceptual aspects, while Lanois handled the production aspects.[9] In Bill Graham's words, Eno's task was to "help them mature a new, more experimental and European musical vocabulary".[10] Island Records boss Chris Blackwell initially tried to talk them out of hiring Eno, believing that just when the band were about to achieve the highest levels of success, Eno would "bury them under a layer of avant-garde nonsense".[11] Nick Stewart, also of Island Records, said that at the time he thought they were "mad", but that the group's decision to stretch themselves and find an extra dimension became the "turning point in their career".[4]

Recording and production

The first phase of recording took place in Slane Castle.

The songs "Pride (In the Name of Love)", "The Unforgettable Fire", and "A Sort of Homecoming" were worked up at Bono's house in a Martello Tower in Bray in Dublin.[1] Recording for the album began in in early May 1984, with a month-long session at Slane Castle, County Meath in Dublin.[12] Windmill Lane Studios, where they had recorded their first three albums, had no live room, and instead, Slane was chosen as a venue where they could record and play live in rooms with good sound quality.[12] The band and crew stayed in the castle, and living together during the sessions fostered a camaraderie.[13] They chose the castle's Gothic ballroom, which was specifically built for music with a 30-foot high domed ceiling, and it provided a relaxed and experimental atmosphere.[14][15][16] It proved so relaxed, that one day, the band went so far as to record naked. "We got into gaffer art", commented Bono.[3] Their approach at Slane was that rather than use effects and reverberation to revitalise usual studio sound, they would do the opposite and use a live room to "tame...[their]...wild sound".[16]

Randy Ezratty's company Effanel Music, who recorded U2 in Boston and Red Rocks the previous year, was hired with his (then unique) portable 24-track recording system. (The Unforgettable Fire was the first U2 album, and the first project for Eno and Lanois, to employ the now-common "record anywhere but a recording studio" concept pioneered by these artists.) Ezratty's equipment was set up in the Castle's library with cables run into the adjacent ballroom where the band played.[12] The generator powering the studio often broke down and most of The Edge's guitar parts were recorded with the amplifier outside on the balcony with plastic over it to shelter it from the rain.[17] The ballroom turned out to be too large, so recording was moved to a library in the castle which was smaller, surrounded them by books, and provided improved sound quality.[13] Barry Devlin and his film crew visited the castle to make a documentary for RTE-TV about the sessions. The 30-minute programme, The Making of The Unforgettable Fire was released in 1985 on VHS as part of the The Unforgettable Fire Collection.[12]

"With Steve [Lillywhite, producer of U2's first three albums], we were a lot more strict about a song and what it should be; if it did veer off to the left or the right, we would pull it back as opposed to chasing it. Brian and Danny were definitely interested in watching where a song went and then chasing it."

 —Adam Clayton, on how the The Unforgettable Fire's producers approached the album[18]

According to The Edge, Eno was more interested in the more unconventional material and didn't take much interest in "Pride (In the Name of Love)" or "The Unforgettable Fire". However, Lanois would "cover for him" such that the two balanced each other out.[11] Much of the album was later recast in the Windmill Lane Studios,[19] where they recorded from 6 June to 5 August.[20] Keyboards were used for the first time on a U2 album, with a Fairlight CMI used to work up a number of songs, the textures of which were later filled out with strings and other orchestration.[21] At Windmill, tension grew between the production team and the band when largely because the band "couldn't finish anything".[22] Twelve days before the official finishing date, Bono announced he couldn't finish the lyrics, and the band worked 20-hour days for the final two weeks.[23] Bono later said he felt songs like "Bad" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were left as incomplete "sketches."[11]

Composition

A far more atmospheric album than the previous War, The Unforgettable Fire was at the time was the band's most dramatic change in direction.[24] It has a rich and orchestrated sound and was the first U2 album with a cohesive sound.[24] Under Lanois' direction, Larry's drumming became looser, funkier and more subtle, and Adam's bass became more subliminal, such that the rhythm section no longer intruded, but flowed in support of the songs.[25]

The opening track, "A Sort of Homecoming" immediately shows the change in U2's sound. Like much of the album, the hard-hitting martial drum sound of War is replaced with a subtler polyrhythmic shuffle, and the guitar is no longer as prominent in the mix.[19] Typical of the album, the track "The Unforgettable Fire", with a string arrangement by Noel Kelehan, has a rich, symphonic sound built from ambient guitar and driving rhythm; a lyrical "sketch" that is an "emotional travelogue" with a "heartfelt sense of yearning".[26] The band cite a travelling Japanese art exhibit of the same name as inspiration for both the song and album title. The exhibition, which the band attended in Chicago, commemorated the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima.[27][28] However, the open-ended lyric, which Bono says "doesn't tell you anything" do not directly reference nuclear warfare.[29] Rather, the lyrics are about travelling to Tokyo.

The album's lyrics are open to many interpretations, which alongside its atmospheric sounds, provides what the band often called a "very visual feel".[24] Bono had recently been immersing himself in fiction, philosophy and poetry, and came to realise that his song writing mission—which up to that point had been a reluctant one on his behalf—was a poetic one. Bono felt songs like "Bad" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were best left as incomplete "sketches",[11] and he said that "The Unforgettable Fire was a beautifully out-of-focus record, blurred like an impressionist painting, very unlike a billboard or an advertising slogan."[30]

The melody and the chords to "Pride (In the Name of Love)" originally came out of a 1983 War Tour sound check in Hawaii. The song was originally intended to be about Ronald Reagan's pride in America's military power, but Bono was influenced by Stephen B. Oates's book about Martin Luther King, Jr. titled Let The Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a biography of Malcolm X to ponder the different sides of the civil rights campaigns, the violent and the non-violent.[31] Bono would revise the lyrics to pay tribute to King. "Pride" went through many changes and re-recordings, as captured in a documentary included on the The Unforgettable Fire Collection video. "Pride" is the most conventional song on the album—Tony Fletcher of Jamming! magazine said at the time it was most commercial song U2 had written—and it was chosen as the album's first single.[16]

On "Wire" Bono tried to convey his ambivalence to drugs. It is a fast-paced song built on a light funk drum groove.[32] The song shows the influence of Talking Heads, with whom Eno had worked.[33] Much of the song was improvised by Bono at the microphone. [32]

The ambient instrumental "4th of July" came about almost entirely through a moment of inspiration from Eno. At the end of a studio session, Eno overheard Clayton improvising a simple bass figure and recorded it "ad hoc" as it was being played. The Edge happened to join in, improvising a few guitar ideas over the top of Clayton's bass; neither knew they were being recorded. Eno added some treatments and then transferred the piece straight to two-track master tape — and that was the song finished, with no possibility of further overdubs.[34]

Bono tried to describe the rush and then come down of heroin use in the song "Bad".[35]

"Elvis Presley and America" is an improvisation, based on a slowed-down backing track from "A Sort of Homecoming", that takes the album's emphasis on feeling over clarity to its furthest extreme. Another song, "Indian Summer Sky", was a social commentary on the prison-like atmosphere of city living in a world of natural forces.

The sparse, dreamlike "MLK" was written as an elegy to King.

Album and single releases

The Unforgettable Fire was released on 1 October 1984. The album took its name and much of its inspiration from a Japanese travelling exhibition of paintings and drawings at The Peace Museum in Chicago by survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.[11][27] The band spent a few days driving around Ireland with photographer Anton Corbijn looking for potential locations. The castle depicted on the cover is Moydrum Castle.[36] The band liked the image's ambiguity and the Irish mysticism they saw in it.[37] The photograph, however, was a virtual copy of a picture on the cover of a 1980 book In Ruins: The Once Great Houses of Ireland by Simon Marsden, for which U2 had to pay compensation. It was taken from the same spot and used the same polarising filter technique, but with the addition of the four band members.[38]

"Pride (In the Name of Love)" was released as the album's lead single in September 1984, and it was at that point the band's biggest hit. It cracked the UK Top 5 and the U.S. Top 40 and would ultimately become the group's most frequently played song in concerts.[39]

"The Unforgettable Fire" was released as the second single in April 1985. The song became the band's third Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching #6 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 on the Dutch singles chart, but did not perform as well in the U.S.

Reception

 The Unforgettable Fire
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[40]
BBC Music (favourable)[41]
Robert Christgau (B+)[42]
CCM Magazine (favourable)[43]
Helium.com (favourable)[44]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[45]
Sputnikmusic 3/5 stars[46]
 The Unforgettable Fire
Deluxe Edition
Review scores
Source Rating
Pitchfork Media (9.3/10)[47]
Q 5/5 stars[48]
Rolling Stone 4.5/5 stars[49]

Bill Graham of Hot Press wrote in 1996 that The Unforgettable Fire was U2's most pivotal album and that it was "their coming of age that saved their lives as a creative unit."[5] Niall Stokes, also of Hot Press said that "one or two tracks were undercooked" due to the deadline crush but that it was U2's "first album with a cohesive sound" on which "U2 were reborn".[3] Rolling Stone magazine gave the album a score of 3/5 stars, compared to the 4/5 stars given to the two previous albums, Under a Blood Red Sky and War.[45] In the review, Kurt Loder said that "with The Unforgettable Fire, U2 flickers and nearly fades, its fire banked by a misconceived production strategy and occasional interludes of soggy, songless self-indulgence. This is not a 'bad' album, but neither is it the irrefutable beauty the band's fans anticipated."[45]

Tony Fletcher of Jamming! said it was not "...an album full of hits. [It is however] a forceful collection of atmospheric ideas and themes, forgettable at first but strangely haunting and soon firmly implanted." and that Eno's production has removed some of the "heavy metal" from U2 and replaced "emotion [as] the driving force".[16]

The Unforgettable Fire Tour and Live Aid

In support of the album, the band launched The Unforgettable Fire Tour, which saw U2 shows moving into indoor arenas in the United States. Consisting of six legs and 112 shows, the tour commenced in Australia in September 1984 where translating the elaborate and complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks to live performance proved to be a serious challenge.[24] One solution was programmed sequencers, which the band had previously been reluctant to use. Sequencers were prominently used on songs like "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Bad"; since then, sequencers are now used on the majority of U2 songs in live performances.[24] Songs criticised as being "unfinished", "fuzzy" and "unfocused" on the album made more sense on stage. Rolling Stone magazine, for example, critical of the album version of "Bad", described its live performance as a 'show stopper'.[50]

U2 participated in the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium for Ethiopian famine relief in July 1985.[51] U2's performance was one of the show's most memorable; during the song "Bad", Bono leapt down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan. Initially thinking they'd "blown it", it was, in fact, a breakthrough moment for the band, showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.[52] All of U2's previous albums went back into the charts in the UK after their transcendent performance. In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine called U2 the "Band of the 80's," saying that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters."[53]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by U2, with lyrics by Bono. 

No. Title Length
1. "A Sort of Homecoming"   5:28
2. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"   3:48
3. "Wire"   4:19
4. "The Unforgettable Fire"   4:55
5. "Promenade"   2:35
6. "4th of July"   2:12
7. "Bad"   6:09
8. "Indian Summer Sky"   4:17
9. "Elvis Presley and America"   6:23
10. "MLK"   2:31
Total length:
 42:38

In 1995, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab remastered the album and released it as a special gold CD. This edition has slightly different running times, most notably an extended 2:39 version of the instrumental "4th of July".

In 1985, the band also released the supplementary Wide Awake in America EP, which offers live performances of "Bad" and "A Sort of Homecoming" along with two B-sides (previously unavailable in North America).

The Unforgettable Fire Collection

The Unforgettable Fire Collection
Video by U2
Released 1985
Recorded 1984–1985
Genre Rock
Length 51:00
Language English
Label Island, PolyGram, Columbia
Director Meiert Avis, Barry Deviln, Donald Cammell
Producer James Morris
U2 video chronology
Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky
(1983)		 The Unforgettable Fire Collection
(1985)		 Rattle and Hum
(1988)

After the album's arrival in 1984, U2 released The Unforgettable Fire Collection—a VHS compilation of the album's music videos with a 30-minute making-of documentary of the album. The documentary was later included as a bonus feature on the band's live video release, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, as the site of the concert film—Slane Castle—was the same as the location of the documentary.

  1. "The Unforgettable Fire" – directed by Meiert Avis
  2. "Bad" – directed by Barry Devilin
  3. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" – directed by Donald Cammell
  4. "A Sort of Homecoming" – directed by Barry Devlin
  5. The Making of the Unforgettable Fire documentary – directed by Barry Devlin

25th anniversary edition

A remastered 25th Anniversary edition of the album was released on 27 October 2009 by Mercury Records.[54] The album's remastering was directed by The Edge, who also directed the remastering of the band's previous releases. Four physical editions of the album are available, two of which contain a bonus CD, and one with a DVD. The bonus CD features B-sides from the album, live tracks and two previously unreleased songs: "Disappearing Act" and "Yoshino Blossom." The DVD features the same material as the original VHS version.

The four editions are as follows:[55][56]

Bonus CD

No. Title Notes Length
1. "Disappearing Act"   Unreleased track from The Unforgettable Fire sessions 4:35
2. "A Sort of Homecoming" (live) From Wide Awake in America EP 4:07
3. "Bad" (live) From Wide Awake in America EP 8:00
4. "Love Comes Tumbling"   B-side from "The Unforgettable Fire" single 4:52
5. "The Three Sunrises"   B-side from "The Unforgettable Fire" single 3:53
6. "Yoshino Blossom"   Unreleased track from The Unforgettable Fire sessions 3:39
7. "Wire" (Kervorkian Remix)   5:12
8. "Boomerang I" (instrumental) B-side from "Pride (In the Name of Love)" single 2:48
9. "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (extended single version) A-side from "Pride (In the Name of Love)" single 4:43
10. "A Sort of Homecoming" (Daniel Lanois Remix)   3:18
11. "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (long version) B-side from "Pride (In the Name of Love)" single 4:11
12. "Wire" (Celtic Dub Mix) From 1985 NME 7" vinyl promo 4:36
13. "Bass Trap"   B-side from "The Unforgettable Fire" single 5:15
14. "Boomerang II"   B-side from "Pride (In the Name of Love)" single 4:50
15. "4th of July" (long version) B-side from "Pride (In the Name of Love)" single 2:26
16. "Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come"   B-side from "The Unforgettable Fire" single 3:15
Total length:
 69:34

Bonus DVD

In addition to the music videos and documentary from The Unforgettable Fire Collection, the DVD includes:

  1. "MLK"
  2. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
  3. "Bad"
  1. "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
  2. "Bad"

Charts and certifications

Album

Country Peak position Certification Sales
Australia 39[57]
Canada 5[58] 3× Platinum[59] 300,000+[59]
France Gold[60]
The Netherlands Gold[61]
New Zealand 1[57]
Norway 6[57]
Portugal 27[57]
Sweden 6[57]
United Kingdom 1[62] 2× Platinum[63]
United States 12[64] 3× Platinum[65]

Songs

Year Song Peak
IRE
[66]		 CAN
[67]		 NL
[57]		 NZ
[57]		 UK
[68]		 US
Main Rock
[64]		 US
Hot 100
[64]
1984 "Pride (In the Name of Love)" 2 27 5 1 3 2 33
"The Unforgettable Fire" 1 — 4 3 6 — —
"Wire" — — — — — 31 —
1985 "Bad" — — — — — 19 —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Personnel

U2
Additional personnel

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 McCormick (2006), p. 147
  2. ↑ Pond, Steve (1987-04-09). "The Joshua Tree Album Review". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/u2/albums/album/108063/review/6067670/the_joshua_tree. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Stokes (1996), p. 50
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 McGee (2008), p. 74
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Graham (1996), p. 21
  6. ↑ Graham (1996), p. 21; Stokes (1996), p. 50; McGee (2008), p. 74
  7. ↑ Graham (1996), p. 22
  8. ↑ McCormick (2006), p. 148
  9. ↑ Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois Remember the Making of U2's Unforgettable Fire Pitchfork
  10. ↑ Graham (1996), pp. 21-22
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 McCormick (2006), p. 151
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 McGee (2008), p. 75
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Dobuzinskis, Alexn (2009-10-26). "U2 took "unforgettable" trip to castle for '84 album". Reutersn. http://www.reuters.com/plaarticle/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE59P56220091026. Retrieved 2009-10-27. 
  14. ↑ Stokes (1996), pp. 50-51
  15. ↑ Graham (1996), p. 23
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Fletcher, Tony (1 October 1984). "U2: The Pride of Lions". Jamming!. 
  17. ↑ Graham (1996), p. 22-23
  18. ↑ 1984 interview on American radio with Carter Alan, taken from Graham (1996), p. 22
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Graham (1996), p. 23
  20. ↑ McGee (2008), pp. 75-76
  21. ↑ McGee (2008), p. 76
  22. ↑ McCormick (2006), p. 152
  23. ↑ Graham (1996), p. 23; Stokes (1996), p. 50.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 Parra (1994), pp. 52-56
  25. ↑ Stokes (1996), pp.50-51
  26. ↑ Stokes, Niall (1996). Into The Heart: The Story Behind Every U2 Song. Australia: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 55. ISBN 0-7322-6036-1. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Stokes (1996), p. 54.
  28. ↑ Graham (21996), p. 24.
  29. ↑ Stokes (1996), pp. 54-55; Graham (1996), pp. 24-25.
  30. ↑ U2.com | Discography
  31. ↑ McCormick (2006), p. 145.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Stokes (1996), p. 53
  33. ↑ Stokes (1996), p. 53; Graham (1996), p. 24.
  34. ↑ Stokes, Niall, Into the Heart: The Stories Behind Every U2 Song.
  35. ↑ McCormick (2006), p.152
  36. ↑ U2: U2faqs.com - Geography FAQ
  37. ↑ McCormick (2006), p. 155.
  38. ↑ McCormick (2006), p. 155. Simon Marsden's original image
  39. ↑ All songs U2 played without snippets - U2 on tour
  40. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Unforgettable Fire". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:z7ge4j270wai. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  41. ↑ Easlea, Daryl (2009-02-11). "Review of U2 - The Unforgettable Fire". BBC Music. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/8bzf/. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  42. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "U2". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=u2. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  43. ↑ "The Unforgettable Fire". CCM Magazine. http://www.ccmmagazine.com/music/artist/u2/11533985/. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  44. ↑ Ray, Benjamin. "Album reviews: The Unforgettable Fire, by U2". Helium.com. http://www.helium.com/items/517785-album-reviews-the-unforgettable-fire-by-u2. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 Loder, Kurt (1984-10-11). "U2: The Unforgettable Fire". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/u2/albums/album/87234/review/6067874/the_unforgettable_fire. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  46. ↑ Cruz, John (2006-05-16). "U2: The Unforgettable Fire". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=7629. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
  47. ↑ Ryan Dombal (2009-11-02). "Album Reviews: U2: The Unforgettable Fire [Deluxe Edition"]. Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13654-the-unforgettable-fire-deluxe-edition/. Retrieved 2009-11-02. 
  48. ↑ "Q Classic Album: Winner — U2's The Unforgettable Fire — News — QTheMusic.com". Q. http://news.qthemusic.com/2009/10/q_classic_album.html. Retrieved 2009-10-29. 
  49. ↑ Hermes, Will (2009-10-26). "U2: The Unforgettable Fire (Deluxe Reissue)". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/30563806/review/30647229/the_unforgettable_fire_deluxe_reissue. Retrieved 2009-11-24. 
  50. ↑ Henke, James (1985-07-18). "''Wide Awake in America'' Album Review". Rolling Stone. 
  51. ↑ Live Aid: A Look Back At A Concert That Actually Changed The World MTV.com. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
  52. ↑ Parra (2003), pp. 72-73
  53. ↑ U2, the Only Band that Mattered in the '80s? about.com. Retrieved 31 January 2007
  54. ↑ "The Unforgettable Fire 25th Anniversary Edition". U2Wanderer.org. 5 July 2009. http://www.u2wanderer.org/?p=432. Retrieved 2009-07-24. 
  55. ↑ "The Unforgettable Fire Remastered". U2.com. 17 September 2009. http://www.u2.com/news/title/the-unforgettable-fire-remastered. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
  56. ↑ McGee, Matt (16 September 2009). "Belgian U2 fan site reports Unforgettable Fire remasters track list". @U2. http://www.atu2.com/news/belgian-u2-fan-site-reports-unforgettable-fire-remasters-track-list.html. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 57.5 57.6 "1ste Ultratop-hitquiz". Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/en/search.asp?cat=s&lang=nl&search=U2#. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
  58. ↑ "Search Results: Unforgettable Fire". RPM. 1983-11-24. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=s8avl4qqqlcn0uk7dtnn8aj1u5&q1=%22Unforgettable+Fire%22. Retrieved 2009-11-25. 
  59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 "CRIA Certification Results: U2". Canadian Recording Industry Association. 1987-12-03. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php?page=1&wclause=WHERE+artist_name+like+%27%25U2%25%27+ORDER+BY+cert_date%2C+cert_award+&rcnt=81&csearch=20&nextprev=1. Retrieved 2009-11-17. 
  60. ↑ Disque En France
  61. ↑ NVPI
  62. ↑ "U2 albums". Everyhit.com. http://everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2009-10-29.  Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  63. ↑ BPI
  64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 64.2 "U2: Charts and Awards". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gifwxqr5ldde~T50. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  65. ↑ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2010-01-23.  Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  66. ↑ "Search the charts". Irishcharts.ie. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2009-10-29.  Note: U2 must be searched manually
  67. ↑ "Search Results: The Joshua Tree". RPM. 1987-04-11. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=s8avl4qqqlcn0uk7dtnn8aj1u5&q1=%22The+Joshua+Tree%22. Retrieved 2009-11-25. 
  68. ↑ "U2 singles". Everyhit.com. http://everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2009-10-29.  Note: U2 must be searched manually.

References

External links

Preceded by
Tonight by David Bowie		 UK number one album
13–26 October 1984		 Succeeded by
Steeltown by Big Country
Preceded by
Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
29 October – 4 November 1984		 Succeeded by
Red Sails in the Sunset by Midnight Oil
The Unforgettable Fire track listing

"A Sort of Homecoming" · "Pride (In the Name of Love)" · "Wire" · "The Unforgettable Fire" · "Promenade" · "4th of July" · "Bad" · "Indian Summer Sky" · "Elvis Presley and America" · "MLK"
War
U2
Bono • Adam Clayton • The Edge • Larry Mullen, Jr.
Studio albums
Boy • October • War • The Unforgettable Fire • The Joshua Tree • Rattle and Hum • Achtung Baby • Zooropa • Pop • All That You Can't Leave Behind • How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb • No Line on the Horizon
Compilations and EPs
Three • Wide Awake in America • Please: PopHeart Live EP • The Best of 1980–1990 • 7 • The Best of 1990–2000 • Exclusive • The Complete U2 • Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge • U218 Singles • Wide Awake in Europe
Other albums
Under a Blood Red Sky • Melon: Remixes for Propaganda • Original Soundtracks 1 • Hasta la Vista Baby! U2 Live from Mexico City • The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack • Live from the Point Depot • U2.COMmunication • Zoo TV Live • U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland • Live from Paris • Medium, Rare & Remastered • Artificial Horizon • U2:DUALS • Best of U2
Videos and films
U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky • The Unforgettable Fire Collection • Rattle and Hum • Achtung Baby: The Videos, The Cameos, and a Whole Lot of Interference from Zoo TV • Zoo TV: Live from Sydney • PopMart: Live from Mexico City • Elevation 2001: U2 Live from Boston • U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland • Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago • Vertigo 05: Live from Milan • U218 Videos • Live from Paris • U2 3D • Linear • U2 360° at the Rose Bowl
Tours and concerts
Boy Tour • October Tour • War Tour • The Unforgettable Fire Tour • A Conspiracy of Hope • The Joshua Tree Tour • Lovetown Tour • Zoo TV Tour • PopMart Tour (concert in Sarajevo) • Elevation Tour • Vertigo Tour • U2 360° Tour
Additional personnel
Anton Corbijn • Brian Eno • Dik Evans • Flood • Howie B • Jimmy Iovine • Daniel Lanois • Steve Lillywhite • Paul McGuinness • Willie Williams
Lists and miscellany
Awards • Discography • Songs • Covers of U2 songs • Concert tours • Mother Records • The Dalton Brothers • Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Wikipedia book Book • Category Category • Portal Portal • WikiProject WikiProject • U2 Timeline • Singles