Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 18 November 1991 on Island Records. After criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their direction to incorporate influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound. Thematically, Achtung Baby is darker, more introspective, and at times more flippant than their previous work. The album and the subsequent multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour were central to the group's 1990s reinvention, by which they abandoned their earnest public image for a more lighthearted and self-deprecating one.
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, The Unforgettable Fire, the band aimed for a harder-hitting sound within the limitation of conventional song structures on The Joshua Tree. The album is influenced by American and Irish roots music, and through sociopolitically conscious lyrics embellished with spiritual imagery, it contrasts the group's antipathy for the "real America" with their fascination with the "mythical America".
Zooropa is the eighth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Produced by Flood, Brian Eno, and the Edge, it was released on 5 July 1993 on Island Records. Inspired by the band's experiences on the Zoo TV Tour, Zooropa expanded on many of the tour's themes of technology and media oversaturation. The record was a continuation of the group's experimentation with alternative rock, electronic dance music, and electronic sound effects that began with their previous album, Achtung Baby, in 1991.
"Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on their tenth studio album, All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000), and was released as the album's second single on 29 January 2001. The band's lead vocalist Bono has said the song was inspired by a fictional conversation with his friend Michael Hutchence about suicide. The song peaked at number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in Canada, their native Ireland, and Italy, while reaching the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. In 2002, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony.
Melon: Remixes for Propaganda is a compilation of remixes released by Irish rock band U2 exclusively to members of the band's magazine/fan club, Propaganda, in spring 1995. Some of the remixes were previously available on singles and some have been re-released on later singles and compilations, while some remain exclusive to this set. The title "Melon" is an anagram of "Lemon", which is a reference to U2's song of the same name that appears on two tracks of the album.
Juliet Turner is a singer/songwriter from Tummery, near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She started recording in 1996, and has opened for such artists as Bob Dylan, U2, Bob Geldof, and Bryan Adams. She also toured with Roger McGuinn, Joan Armatrading and Brian Kennedy. Turner also sang on two tracks of Peter Mulvey's live album Glencree.
"Even Better Than the Real Thing" is a song by Irish rock band U2, and is the second track on their seventh album, Achtung Baby (1992). It was released as the album's fourth single on 8 June 1992, and it reached number three in Ireland and Canada while becoming a top-ten hit in Austria, New Zealand, and Sweden. A remixed version of the song released the same year peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom and number 10 in Ireland. In 1997, readers of Mojo named the song the 71st-best track of the 1990s.
"Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the fifth track on their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and was released as its fifth and final single in November 1992.
"Mysterious Ways" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the eighth track from their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, and was released as the album's second single on 2 December 1991, two weeks after the album. The song began as an improvisation called "Sick Puppy", with the band liking only the bass part that bassist Adam Clayton composed. The band struggled to build a song from it, with vocalist Bono and producer Daniel Lanois arguing intensely during one songwriting session. The song's breakthrough came after guitarist the Edge began experimenting with the Korg A3 effects unit. "Mysterious Ways" features a danceable beat, funky guitar hook, and conga-laden percussion, as well as mystical lyrics by Bono about romance and women.
Zoo TV: Live from Sydney is a concert film by Irish rock band U2. It was shot on 27 November 1993 at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia, during the "Zoomerang" leg of the group's Zoo TV Tour. Directed by David Mallet, the concert was televised worldwide via pay-per-view, and was released on home video in May 1994 on VHS and Laserdisc.
"Seconds" is the second track on U2's 1983 album, War. The track, with its recurring lyric of "it takes a second to say goodbye", refers to nuclear proliferation. It is the first song in the band's history not sung solely by Bono, as the Edge sings the first two stanzas.
The Walls are an Irish rock band. They were formed in 1998 by two ex-members of The Stunning – brothers Steve and Joe Wall. Their debut album Hi-Lo was released in 2000 and included the singles "Bone Deep", "Something's Wrong" and "Some Kind of a Girl". The Walls supported U2 at their second show in Slane Castle in 2001. A number of songs from Hi-Lo featured in movies: Goldfish Memory, On the Edge, and Dead Bodies. In 2002 they released the single "To the Bright and Shining Sun", which was used on an Irish TV commercial and reached number 11 in the Irish Singles Chart. The subsequent album New Dawn Breaking (2005) included "To the Bright and Shining Sun" and three other singles: "Drowning Pool", "Passing Through" and "Black and Blue". The 2013 movie Begin Again starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo features "Drowning Pool" over the opening credits. The first track on the album "Open Road" proved a favourite with Nic Harcourt on his KCRW show Morning Becomes Eclectic and he invited the band to play a session on the show in 2006. They played SXSW in Austin, Texas, a few days beforehand. The following year the band travelled to Australia and played their first shows there, opening up for Crowded House on the latter's first reunion gigs. The Walls opened the shows in Sydney and Melbourne and also performed their own gigs in both of those cities. The band's third album Stop the Lights was released in 2012. In March 2013, the band played their first shows in Russia and performed live on the Evening Urgant show. They returned the following year.
"Even Better Than the Real Thing" is a 1991 song by U2.
Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 1 is an Irish charity album featuring a variety of artists performing acoustic cover versions of popular songs. It was released in 2003 by RMG Chart Entertainment Ltd. The songs on the album were recorded live and acoustic on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM.
Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 2 is an Irish charity album featuring a variety of artists performing acoustic cover versions of popular songs. It was released in 2004 by RMG Chart Entertainment Ltd. Just like volume 1, most of the songs on the album were recorded live and acoustic on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM.
Even Better Than the Disco Thing is an Irish charity album released by the commercial FM radio station, Today FM, for the Christmas market on 21 November 2008. The album features covers of well-known disco songs by a selection of Irish musicians. Disc one features sixteen tracks, whilst disc two is labelled "Mix CD" and contains twelve of the same sixteen tracks all over again. All the songs were performed and recorded live on The Ray D'Arcy Show. The title is a pun on the Even Better Than the Real Thing series of charity CDs recorded in previous years on D'Arcy's show, but temporarily discontinued after the third edition in 2005. They themselves are a reference to the U2 song "Even Better Than the Real Thing". Funds raised were donated to the National Children's Hospital and Barretstown.
Even Better Than the Real Thing is the title of a number of Irish charity albums recorded on The Ray D'Arcy Show on Today FM and released over a number of years for the Irish Christmas market. The albums featured Irish artists performing covers of various pop songs until 2005 when the series was temporarily discontinued, although in 2008 Even Better Than the Disco Thing was released featuring covers of disco songs instead. The title is taken from the U2 song "Even Better Than the Real Thing".
"Love Is Blindness" is a song by rock band U2, and the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The song was written on piano by lead singer Bono during the recording sessions for U2's 1988 album Rattle and Hum. Originally intending to give the song to singer Nina Simone, the band decided to keep it for Achtung Baby after playing it together. Thematically, the song describes a failing romance, mixing personal themes with imagery of metaphorical acts of terrorism. During the recording sessions for Achtung Baby, guitarist the Edge separated from his wife, Aislinn O'Sullivan. The separation had a major effect on the development of the song; Bono said that the ending guitar solo was a cathartic experience for the Edge, as he snapped several guitar strings during the recording.
AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered, stylized as (Ăhk-to͝ong Ba͞y-bi) Covered or (Ăℎk-to͝ong Ba͞y-bi) Covered, is a tribute album featuring cover versions of the 12 songs from U2's 1991 record Achtung Baby. It was released on 25 October 2011 as a pack-in CD with the December 2011 issue of Q. The magazine commissioned the album to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Achtung Baby's original release and Q's 25th anniversary. The magazine's editor-in-chief Paul Rees said, "This is an entirely appropriate way to mark Q's anniversary and that of Achtung Baby, one of the pivotal albums in our lifetime." The performing artists are a mix of U2's contemporaries and successors, including Jack White, Patti Smith, Snow Patrol, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, The Killers, Garbage and Glasvegas. Although a tribute album, AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered contains a remix of "Even Better Than the Real Thing" that is credited as performed by U2.
