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"Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by rock band U2. The second track on the band's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire, it was released as the album's lead single in September 1984. Written about Martin Luther King, Jr., the song received mixed critical reviews at the time, but it was major commercial success for the band and has since become one of the band's most popular songs. It was named the 378th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". "Pride" appeared on the compilation The Best of 1980-1990 as the opening track, and on the 2006 compilation U218 Singles.
[edit] Origin and recording
The melody and the chords were worked up in a November 1983 War Tour sound check in Hawaii and completed in Windmill Lane Studios during The Unforgettable Fire recording sessions.[1] The guitar part is varied through each verse, chorus, and melody, such that no riff is exactly repeated.[2]
The song had been intended to be about Ronald Reagan's pride in America's military power but writer Bono had been influenced by Stephen B. Oates's book Let The Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and a biography of Malcolm X. These caused Bono to ponder the different sides of the civil rights campaigns, the violent and the non-violent.[3] In subsequent years, Bono has expressed his dissatisfaction with the lyrics, which he describes, along with another Unforgettable Fire song "Bad", as being "left as simple sketches". He says he was swayed by The Edge and producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who played down the need to develop the lyrics as they thought the impressionistic nature was more important to the songs' feeling, particularly when heard by non-English speakers.[4]
"I looked at how glorious that song was and thought: 'What the **** is that all about?' It's just a load of vowel sounds ganging up on a great man. It is emotionally very articulate - if you didn't speak English."
The song contains the erroneous reference to King's shooting as "Early morning, April 4", when it was actually after 6 p.m. Bono acknowledges the error and in live performances he occasionally changes the lyric to "Early evening...".[6]
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders sang backing vocals on the recording. She was married to Jim Kerr of Simple Minds at the time and she is credited as "Christine Kerr".[7]
[edit] Reception
"Pride" reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 on the Dutch Singles Chart. The song was the band's first top 40 hit in the United States where it peaked at #33. It gained considerable US album oriented rock radio airplay and its video was on heavy rotation on MTV, thus helping U2 continue its commercial breakthrough begun with the War album. It reached #1 in New Zealand, the first time a U2 single topped a country's singles chart.
Critical opinion on "Pride" was mixed. Besides Loder, Robert Christgau in The Village Voice complained of "the moralism with the turn-somebody-else's-cheek glorification of Martin Luther King's martyrdom."[8]
"'Pride' gets over only on the strength of its resounding beat and big, droning bass line, not on the nobility of its lyrics, which are unremarkable."
The 1984 Pazz & Jop poll of 240 music critics ranked "Pride" as the 12th best single of that year, a higher ranking than the overall album, which finished 29th.[10] The single's ranking remained the highest of any U2 single until "One" achieved 8th in 1992.[11] Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at #378 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selected "Pride (In the Name of Love)" as one of 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[12]
[edit] Live performances
Bono during the performance of Pride at the 2009
We Are One concert
"Pride" was first played live at the fourth show of the Unforgettable Fire Tour on 2 September 1984 in the New Zealand city of Auckland.[13] The song was played at virtually every U2 concert since the Unforgettable Fire Tour although it was played infrequently on 2009's 360 Tour. As of 2009, it is the band's most played song with over 770 performances, though "I Will Follow" has likely been performed more often.[14] Clips from Martin Luther King speeches are often shown on the various tour video screens during these performances. On 18 January 2009, U2 performed "Pride" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, as part of the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial concert.
Live performances of "Pride" appear on the concert films Rattle and Hum (both the album and motion picture), Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago, Live from Paris, and U2 3D.
[edit] Music videos
Three music videos were made. The most-shown features opening and closing shots of the docklands area in Dublin (including the recently opened East-Link between Ringsend and East Wall) in between which U2 performs the song in an empty school auditorium that gradually draws in children and staff members. There is a black and white version, and the second one is colour. Both were directed by Donald Cammell. The other video portrays recording the song at Slane Castle, and shows Eno and Lanois. The third clip (rejected by the band) features faces of the band members, filmed from a close range. It was directed by Anton Corbijn.
[edit] Track listings
| 1. |
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" |
3:47 |
| 2. |
"Boomerang II" |
4:48 |
| 1. |
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" |
4:40 |
| 2. |
"Boomerang I" (Instrumental) |
2:47 |
| 3. |
"Boomerang II" |
4:48 |
| 4. |
"4th of July" (Long version) |
2:38 |
| 1. |
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" |
4:40 |
| 2. |
"Boomerang I" (Instrumental) |
2:47 |
| 3. |
"Boomerang II" |
4:48 |
| 4. |
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (Long version) |
4:10 |
| 5. |
"Touch" |
3:21 |
| 1. |
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" |
4:40 |
| 2. |
"Boomerang I" (Instrumental) |
2:47 |
| 3. |
"Boomerang II" |
4:48 |
| 4. |
"11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (Long version) |
4:10 |
| 5. |
"A Celebration" |
2:54 |
[edit] Chart positions
[edit] See also
- ^ McCormick (2006), p. 151; Graham (1996), p. 24.
- ^ Graham (1996), p. 24.
- ^ McCormick (2006), p. 151.
- ^ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 151. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
- ^ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 179. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
- ^ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 151. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
- ^ Graham (1996), p. 24.
- ^ Village Voice Consumer Guide, "The Unforgettable Fire".
- ^ Loder, Kurt (11 October 1984). "The Unforgettable Fire Album Review". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "The 1984 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Retrieved 14 December 2006.
- ^ "The 1992 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Retrieved 14 December 2006.
- ^ "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-tv/. Retrieved 2009-07-07.
- ^ Parra, Pimm Jal de la U2 Live: A Concert Documentary, p.53, 1996, Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN 0-7322-6036-1
- ^ "I Will Follow" has 767 known performances, with many more earlier performances not documented. Mühlbradt, Matthias; Axver, André. "Misc stats". U2Gigs. http://www.u2gigs.com/tourdb-stats.html.
- ^ "Search Results: Pride U2". RPM. 1984-11-24. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-110.01-e.php?PHPSESSID=8btpc55uesvhffgnhp22r4co86&q1=%22Pride%22+U2. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
- ^ a b c d "U2 – Pride (In the Name of Love)". Hung Median. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=U2&titel=Pride+%28In+The+Name+Of+Love%29&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ "Irish Singles Chart". The Irish Charts. http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved 2009-11-23. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
- ^ "EveryHit.com search results: U2". Everyhit.com. http://www.everyhit.com. Retrieved 2009-11-22. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
[edit] References
- Graham, Bill; can Oosten de Beer, Caroline (2004). U2: The Complete Guide to their Music. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9886-8.
- McCormick (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
