Desire (U2 song): Difference between revisions

"Desire"
"Desire"
Song

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 10:49, 5 October 2009

"Desire" is the lead single from U2's 1988 album, Rattle and Hum. It was also their first #1 single in the UK. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and reached #1 on both the Modern and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, their first song to reach the top of both of these charts. It made #2 on the Dutch Top 40.

History

"Desire" debuted live on the first night of the Lovetown Tour on 21 September 1988, and appeared at almost every concert on that tour.^[1] It segued into a cover of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower", and the Lovetown performances of this song are considered by fans to be far superior to the one found on Rattle and Hum. On the Zoo TV Tour, "Desire" was re-invented with different effects on The Edge's guitar, and it opened most encores. Bono would use the song to accentuate characteristics of his onstage alteregos Mirrorball Man and MacPhisto.^[2] On the PopMart Tour, Bono and Edge would play the song acoustically.^[3] For the Elevation Tour, it was a stripped-down electric version played at the tip of a heart-shaped walkway that extended into the audience. Adam Clayton would join in with bass just before the bridge, and Larry Mullen played along on a single drum. On 15 October 2004 at an appearance on British television promoting the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album, Bono and Edge performed a rough electric version.^[4] On the Vertigo Tour, "Desire" was not played at all on the tour's first three legs, and appeared just once in an acoustic form on the fourth leg in response to a fan's request in São Paulo.^[5] It made a full electric debut at the beginning of the fifth leg at the second show in Sydney;^[6] this performance was ramshackle and it was refined before appearing at four subsequent concerts.

The riff is influenced by The Stooges' 1969^[7].

"Desire"'s B-side "Hallelujah (Here She Comes)" has never been played in full live by U2 but was debatably snippeted once during "Bullet the Blue Sky".^[8]

"Desire" has appeared on two U2 compilation albums, The Best of 1980-1990 and U218 Singles.

An early version of the song appears in the form of a studio performance in the Rattle and Hum film.

Track listings

MC: Island / CISX400 (Promotional cassette)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desire" (Hollywood remix)	9:23

MC: Island / 99250-4
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desire"	2:59
2.	"Hallelujah (Here She Comes)"	4:12

12": Island / 12ISX400 (Promotional 12")
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desire" (Hollywood remix)	9:23

7": Island / IS400 and ISG400
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desire"	2:59
2.	"Hallelujah (Here She Comes)"	4:12

12": Island / 12IS400 and 12ISG400
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desire"	2:59
2.	"Hallelujah (Here She Comes)"	4:12
3.	"Desire" (Hollywood remix)	5:23

CD: Island / CIDP400
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desire"	2:59
2.	"Hallelujah (Here She Comes)"	4:12
3.	"Desire" (Hollywood remix)	5:23

Chart positions

Charts (1988)	Peak Position
Australian Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	1
US Billboard Hot 100	3
US Hot Modern Rock Tracks	1
US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
US Hot Dance Music/Club Play	37

Preceded by "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies	UK number-one single October 2, 1988	Succeeded by "One Moment in Time" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by "I'm Not Your Man" by Tommy Conwell & The Young Rumblers	Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single October 8, 1988 - November 5, 1988	Succeeded by "It's Money That Matters" by Randy Newman
Preceded by "All That Money Wants" by The Psychedelic Furs	Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single October 16, 1988 – November 19, 1988	Succeeded by "Orange Crush" by R.E.M.

References

^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, Lovetown Tour, accessed 22 May 2007
^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 1992-02-29, Lakeland Arena, accessed 22 May 2007
^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 1997-09-11, Estadio Jose Alvalade, accessed 22 May 2007
^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 2004-10-15, BBC carpark, accessed 22 May 2007
^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 2006-02-21, Morumbi, accessed 22 May 2007
^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 2006-11-11, Telstra Stadium, accessed 22 May 2007
^ U2 The Complete Guide to Their Music
^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, Setlist Of The Week #7: B-Sides Live, accessed 22 May 2007

External links

Desire's performance history at U2-Vertigo-Tour.com - Lists all concerts at which "Desire" has been performed.
Discography entry at U2 Wanderer - Comprehensive details on various editions, cover scans, lyrics, and more.
"Desire" video on YouTube
"Desire (Hollywood Remix)" video on YouTube

[1] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, Lovetown Tour, accessed 22 May 2007

[2] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 1992-02-29, Lakeland Arena, accessed 22 May 2007

[3] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 1997-09-11, Estadio Jose Alvalade, accessed 22 May 2007

[4] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 2004-10-15, BBC carpark, accessed 22 May 2007

[5] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 2006-02-21, Morumbi, accessed 22 May 2007

[6] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 2006-11-11, Telstra Stadium, accessed 22 May 2007

[7] U2 The Complete Guide to Their Music

[8] U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, Setlist Of The Week #7: B-Sides Live, accessed 22 May 2007

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

@@ Line 167: / Line 167: @@
 [[Category:Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one singles]]
 [[Category:Billboard Hot Alternative Tracks number-one singles]]
-[[Category:The Best of 1980–1990]]
 [[es:Desire (canción de U2)]]

v t e U2 songs
Discography Covers
1970s	"Out of Control"
1980s	"Another Day" "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" "A Day Without Me" "I Will Follow" "Fire" "Gloria" "A Celebration" "I Will Follow" "New Year's Day" "Two Hearts Beat as One" "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "Pride (In the Name of Love)" "The Unforgettable Fire" "With or Without You" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "Where the Streets Have No Name" "In God's Country" "One Tree Hill" "Desire" "Angel of Harlem" "When Love Comes to Town" "All I Want Is You" "An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart" "The Electric Co." "October" "Seconds" "Red Light" "A Sort of Homecoming" "4th of July" "Bad" "Elvis Presley and America" "MLK" "Bullet the Blue Sky" "Running to Stand Still" "Red Hill Mining Town" "Trip Through Your Wires" "Exit" "Mothers of the Disappeared" "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" "Hawkmoon 269" "Heartland" "God Part II" "Night and Day"
1990s	"The Fly" "Mysterious Ways" "One" "Even Better Than the Real Thing" "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" "Numb" "Lemon" "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" "Miss Sarajevo" "Discothèque" "Staring at the Sun" "Last Night on Earth" "Please" "If God Will Send His Angels" "Mofo" "Sweetest Thing" "Zoo Station" "Until the End of the World" "So Cruel" "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World" "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" "Acrobat" "Love Is Blindness" "Zooropa" "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car" "Dirty Day" "The Wanderer" "Slug" "Your Blue Room" "Gone"
2000s	"Beautiful Day" "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" "Elevation" "Walk On" "Electrical Storm" "Take Me to the Clouds Above" "Vertigo" "All Because of You" "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" "City of Blinding Lights" "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (2005) "The Saints Are Coming" "Window in the Skies" "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" "Get On Your Boots" "Magnificent" "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" "Kite" "In a Little While" "Wild Honey" "Peace on Earth" "When I Look at the World" "New York" "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" "The Hands That Built America" "Miracle Drug" "A Man and a Woman" "One Step Closer" "Original of the Species" "Yahweh" "No Line on the Horizon" "Moment of Surrender" "Unknown Caller" "Stand Up Comedy" "Fez – Being Born" "White as Snow" "Breathe" "Cedars of Lebanon" "Winter"
2010s	"Ordinary Love" "Invisible" "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)" "Every Breaking Wave" "Song for Someone" "You're the Best Thing About Me" "Get Out of Your Own Way" "Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way" "XXX"
2020s	"Your Song Saved My Life" "Atomic City"
Category

v t e Rattle and Hum track listing
Album	"Helter Skelter" "Van Diemen's Land" "Desire" "Hawkmoon 269" "All Along the Watchtower" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "Freedom for My People" "Silver and Gold" "Pride (In the Name of Love)" "Angel of Harlem" "Love Rescue Me" "When Love Comes to Town" "Heartland" "God Part II" "The Star Spangled Banner" "Bullet the Blue Sky" "All I Want Is You"
Film	"Helter Skelter" "Van Diemen's Land" "Desire" "Exit" "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" "Freedom for My People" "Silver and Gold" "Angel of Harlem" "All Along the Watchtower" "In God's Country" "When Love Comes to Town" "Heartland" "Bad" "Where the Streets Have No Name" "MLK" "With or Without You" "The Star-Spangled Banner" "Bullet the Blue Sky" "Running to Stand Still" "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "Pride (In the Name of Love)" "All I Want Is You"
The Joshua Tree Achtung Baby