When Love Comes to Town

"When Love Comes to Town"
Single by U2 & B. B. King
from the album Rattle and Hum
Released April 1989
Format CD, cassette, 7", 12"
Genre Blues rock
Length 4:15
Label Island
Producer(s) Jimmy Iovine
U2 singles chronology
"Angel of Harlem"
(1988)		 "When Love Comes to Town"
(1989)		 "All I Want Is You"
(1989)

"When Love Comes to Town" is the 12th song on U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum, where it was recorded at the historic Sun Studio in Memphis as a duet between U2 and B.B. King. It was released as the album's third single in 1989 and reached number 1 in the Irish Singles Chart, number 6 in the UK singles chart, number 10 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 2 in the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

History

Little Richard is featured preaching, rapping in funky rhyme style, and singing background vocals amid Maceo Parker's saxophone playing on the extended "Live from the Kingdom Mix." The single contained two different versions of the Patti Smith song "Dancing Barefoot". The 7" and cassette featured the long version, while the 12" and CD contained the short version. While U2 has stopped playing it live since 1993, it features in B. B. King concerts. During the Lovetown Tour concerts, this song would be played, usually along with "Angel of Harlem" and "Love Rescue Me", in an encore featuring B. B. and his band.

Like the song "Van Diemen's Land", this song originally featured an extra verse:

When I woke up I was sleeping on the street
I felt the world was dancing, and I was dirt beneath their feet
When I woke up I saw the Devil looking down
But my Lord He played guitar the day love came to town

This verse was sung during the song's premiere in Fort Worth, Texas on U2's Joshua Tree Tour and does not appear in the studio version or subsequent live performances.[1]

Live

The debut performance took place on 24 November 1987 in Fort Worth, TX during the concert's encore and BB King joined U2 to perform the song. On 1989's Lovetown Tour, the song again featured during the encore and was played with BB King. It was played at 46 of the 47 shows; the only concert it missed was 18 December 1989 in Amsterdam, as the show concluded prematurely due to Bono suffering vocal problems.[2]

On the next tour, 1992-93's Zoo TV Tour, "When Love Comes to Town" did not debut until the second-last concert of the first leg on 21 April 1992 in Tacoma.[3] It appeared only infrequently on the second leg, in Europe, but on the third leg, in North America, it was performed frequently and this was continued on the fourth leg return to Europe. The Zoo TV Tour version of the song was stripped down in comparison to previous versions and was performed on a b-stage in the midst of the crowd. U2 has not performed the song since the fourth leg's final show on 28 August 1993 in Dublin, although B.B. King has continued to play the song at his live shows.[4]

On 26 October 2008, Bono and the Edge rejoined B.B. King to play the song for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Founders Award.[5]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Bono, all music composed by U2, except "Dancing Barefoot" (written by Patti Smith and Ivan Kral).

No. TitleProducer Length
1. "When Love Comes to Town"  Jimmy Iovine 4:15
2. "Dancing Barefoot"  U2 4:47
3. "When Love Comes to Town" (Live from the Kingdom Mix)Louil Silas, Jr. 7:28
4. "God Part II" (Hard Metal Dance Mix)Louil Silas, Jr. 4:46

Chart positions

Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Chart[6] 23
Canada RPM Top 100[7] 41
Dutch MegaCharts[6] 10
Irish Singles Chart[8] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart[6] 4
Swedish Singles Chart[6] 20
UK Singles Chart[9] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 68
US Modern Rock Tracks[10] 10
US Mainstream Rock Tracks 2

See also

References

  1. ↑ U2gigs.com, Setlist for 24 November 1987, Fort Worth, accessed 25 September 2007.
  2. ↑ U2gigs.com, Setlist for 18 December 1989, Amsterdam, accessed 25 September 2007.
  3. ↑ U2gigs.com, Setlist for 21 April 1992, Tacoma, accessed 25 September 2007.
  4. ↑ U2gigs.com, Setlist for 28 August 1993, Dublin, accessed 25 September 2007.
  5. ↑ U2.com, "Royalty In the House," U2.com News, accessed 12 November 2008.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "U2 with B.B. King – When Love Comes to Town". Hung Median. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "Search Results: When Love Comes to Town". RPM. 8 May 1989. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  8. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart". The Irish Charts. Retrieved 23 November 2009. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  9. ↑ "EveryHit.com search results: U2". Everyhit.com. Retrieved 22 November 2009. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "When Love Comes to Town - U2". Billboard. 29 April 1989. Retrieved 18 June 2011.

External links