Looking into 2 Ultraviolet (Light My Way)

“Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” began as two different demos, one variously called “Ultraviolet” and “69” (which eventually evolved into the B-side “Lady with the Spinning Head”) and an alternately arranged demo called “Light My Way”. Trying to write the bridge to a song (which conflicting reports state was “Ultraviolet”, “Mysterious Ways”, and “The Fly”), guitarist The Edge improvised a riff that the rest of the band rallied around. It was out of this that “One”, which changed the outlook of recording sessions for the album, was born.

Over the course of the recording sessions, U2 added various overdubs to the song, but producer Brian Eno believed these additions negatively impacted the track. Eno aided the group in editing down the song, and he explained his assistance as such: “I’d go in and say, ‘The song has gone, whatever it is you liked about this song is not there anymore. Sometimes, for example, the song would have disappeared under layers of overdubs.”

The lyrics of “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” are addressed to a lover, and imply that their relationship is Indeed, lead vocalist Bono has called the song “a little disturbed”. The song opens with 45 seconds of soft synthesizers producing an ethereal sighing, crying, almost breathing sound, somewhat akin in atmospherics to the group’s early 1980s songs “Tomorrow” and “Drowning Man”; during this, Bono laments that “sometimes I feel like checking out.”

This is followed by the entrance of drums and guitar in a familiar U2 rhythm, as Bono describes the burdens of love and how he is “in the black; can’t see or be seen.”

Each verse culminates with the refrain “Baby, baby, baby, light my way.” Flood, who engineered and mixed the recording, noted that there was considerable laughter and debate during the sessions about whether Bono could get away with singing the repeated “baby”s, one of the most heavily-used clichés in pop songs and one that he had avoided up to that point in his songwriting; Flood later commented that “he got away with it alright.”threatened by some sort of personal or spiritual crisis, coupled with a sense of unease over obligations.

Although the song is ostensibly about love and dependency, like many U2 songs, it also lends itself to religious interpretations. Listeners have heard an allusion to the Book of Job 29:2–3 and its tale of God serving as a lamp upon Job’s head walking through the darkness. Robyn Brothers suggests that ultraviolet light is “a metaphor for a divine force both unseen to the naked eye and ultimately unknowable to the human intellect.”

Conversely, Steve Stockman, author of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey Of U2 , sees “Ultraviolet” as being about Bono’s wife Ali, and “how when he feels like trash, she makes him clean,” but says there is good reason to interpret the song as being just as much about God.

The song’s title supports this view: indigo and violet rarely appear in song lyrics as frequently as other colours, while ultraviolet represents an unseen wavelength beyond the visible spectrum. As such, the title evokes the image of black light or an invisible force permeating the darkness, whose connotations are spiritual and personal, as well as technological, reflecting themes of modern alienation explored elsewhere on Achtung Baby and its follow-up album,ZooropaPop Music CDs) .

Dianne Ebertt Beeaff, author of A Grand Madness, Ten Years on the Road with U2 , sees the song’s narrator as longing for assistance from any source, religious or secular: “This is a real plea, a bleary worn-down drained wish to disappear. A drowning man desperate to hold hands in the darkness, to have someone else point the way, to be safe and obscure.” Atara Stein sees “Ultraviolet” as one of several selections on the album in which the protagonist in crisis has elevated his lover into an object of worship, desperate for her to “return to her initial role as his guide and salvation.”

“Ultraviolet” is also one of several songs Bono has written on the theme of woman as spirit, and it echoes the band’s 1980 song “Shadows and Tall Trees” by juxtaposing love with the image of ceilings. A line in Raymond Carver’s late 1980s poem “Suspenders”, about the quiet that comes into a house where no one can sleep, was subconsciously recycled by Bono into the lyric. In Achtung Baby’s running order, “Ultraviolet” serves, with the other two songs at the album’s end, “Acrobat” and “Love Is Blindness”, to explore how couples face the task of reconciling the suffering they have imposed on each other.

The song features a Motown sound-style “telegraph key” rhythm, which gave it the feeling of a pop song. This and the “baby, baby” refrain gave the song a throwaway quality that fit in with Achtung Baby’s mission of deconstructing U2’s image.Paradoxically, the arrangement also featured U2’s 1980s “repeato-riff” guitar style and the rest of the lyric was a serious love song that dealt with themes of anxiety and despair.

Bono has described “Ultraviolet” as “an epic U2 song [but] the key of it left my voice in a conversational place and allowed a different kind of lyric writing.” Producer Eno wrote that a combination of opposites within each song was a signature characteristic of Achtung Baby and that as part of that, “Ultraviolet” had a “helicopterish melancholy”. In Achtung Baby’s album package, “Ultraviolet” is presented next to a photograph of a crumbling Berlin building that has a Trabant parked in front of it.

Who the "F" is Tom Meighan ?

Tom Meigham/Kasabian Kasabian star Tom Meighan hated touring with Irish rockers U2, and he has branded the gigs “horrible” and the “worst ever”.

The British band joined forces with the superstar group to open for them on a number of their 360 shows, but Meighan wishes they had never agreed to join the tour.

He tells News.com.au, “I didn’t take in anything supporting them, them gigs (sic) were horrible. Worst ever. U2 fans are cardboard cut-outs. Can you imagine supporting U2? Their fans are probably into one band and one album - Joshua Tree. I didn’t learn anything ‘cos that’s just a f**king different level. It was amazing to watch and meet them, but I didn’t learn anything apart from just get the f**k out.”

Meighan is now adamant he will never agree to be an opening act ever again, adding, “I hate supporting bands, we’re not a support band. So that’s never gonna happen again.”

 

BBC Picks UP U2 Documentary

BBC Worldwide Canada, part of the BBC’s commercial arm, has picked up distribution rights to Davis Guggenheim’s U2 film From the Sky Down (pictured), which earlier this month became the first documentary to ever open the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The documentary celebrates the 20th anniversary of U2’s 1991 album Achtung Baby!, the creation of which marked a major turning point for the band musically.

Earlier this year, U2 returned to Hansa Studios in Berlin, the site where they first recorded the album, with Oscar-winning director Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for “Superman”) in tow, to make the doc.

Following the film’s September 8 premiere at TIFF, Guggenheim and U2 band members Bono and The Edge held a press conference to discuss the making of the film and highlight their favorite rock documentaries, paying praise to filmmakers including Jonathan Demme, DA Pennebaker and Martin Scorsese.

U2 Ready For A Break

Bad news came to U2 fans this week as Bono let it slip to friends that it would be a long time before we see the lads from Dublin onstage again.

Who could blame them? They must be knackered after the successful U2360 tour and the drama around resuscitating the Spider-Man Broadway musical!

Now comes word from Rolling Stone that Jack White, Depeche Mode, Patti Smith and Damian Rice are among the artists on a forthcoming tribute album honoring the 20th anniversary of U2’s Achtung Baby.

The album was commissioned by the British music magazine Q. “Jack White does ‘Love Is Blindness,’ Depeche Mode do ‘So Cruel,’ Patti Smith did ‘Until the End of the World,’ Damian Rice does ‘One.’ It just goes on,” said Bono at the Toronto International Film Festival last week.

“And it’s strange, because when I hear the album, when U2 do it, all I hear is what’s wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, ‘It’s really good.’” In addition, Bono said that artist Damien Hirst recently completed a video for “Even Better Than the Real Thing.”

“He made a very special art work, which has only been shown once and probably won’t be shown again, because [it was for the] Glastonbury festival and it’s an extraordinary work of art.”

One person asked via Twitter if U2 were to release a single from Achtung Baby today, which would fit best?

Without hesitation, Bono answered, “‘Even Better Than The Real Thing.’ Now there’s a mix of it, which is stunning, called the ‘Fish Out of Water’ remix, which I would like to release as a single,” he said.

“I’m trying to talk some people into it, even today. It has the Damien Hirst thing. Damien did his work to that mix. That’s the one we open with and end the film with.”

Bono and the lads opened their Meadowlands gig earlier this summer with four songs from Achtung Baby, proving that the classic album still has great staying power!

U2 Experience Story Contest

 Everyone has a story. A story about U2. We are looking for the best U2 story from you the fan. The contest is easy. Write your best U2 story include images, videos what ever you want as long as you are original.

Your story should be interesting to everyone. You will need to write in englsh and submit via email. We will check your story to be sure that you have not copied someone else work and submitted. All submissions become the property of U2TOURFANS.com and will not be returned.  We will post the best stories for 10 days in a row. We will be using Facebook to judge how many people liked your story. Its easy, fun and most of all provides you the fan a chance to share your story with the world.  All submissions are due September 20th 2011 and will be published starting September 21st.  The winner will recieve a copy of Achtung Baby Remastered. Submissions to be sent to marketing@u2tourfans.com - 

SAMPLE WORK. THIS IS A SAMPLE -

The story of U2 began at Mount Temple School in north-east Dublin in the autumn of 1976. Larry Mullen advertised on the school notice board asking if anyone wanted to join a band. Those who responded, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, included Paul Hewson, Dave Evans and his brother Dick, and Adam Clayton. These five agreed to start up a band, calling themselves Feedback. Larry himself was a competent drummer and Adam had a bass guitar, but the other roles were not yet settled.
The band was allowed to rehearse in a classroom at Mount Temple, although their initial efforts were fairly haphazard, and with no recognized vocalist. Paul Hewson did not see himself as a singer, but he was a natural actor and his vocals were better than his guitar playing, so he became the “front man” for the band. Paul Hewson belonged to a “clan” of local teenagers who called themselves Lypton Village. They all invented nicknames for each other. Paul adopted the name Bono Vox, usually shortened to Bono. Dave Evans, although not a member of the “Village”, was called The Edge, a reference to the shape of his chin and his guitar playing style.

Feedback had their first public performance at a talent contest organized at Mount Temple School. Although they didn’t win the contest, they were the most popular act with their school friends, and the experience gave them the confidence to continue. Shortly afterwards the band changed their name to Hype for their second gig at St. Fintan’s Hall.

Adam Clayton had taken on the role of manager, and succeeded in arranging a number of gigs in local pubs and clubs. The band had added some more songs to their repertoire, including some Rolling Stones numbers, but they were all cover versions, and they had little to set them apart from any other pub band. But at least the line-up was beginning to take shape.
That shape did not include Dick Evans, who dropped out in early 1978 (according to some reports there was a farewell concert). Shortly afterwards Dick joined Gavin Friday and other members of the Lypton Village crowd in another musical venture, The Virgin Prunes.

It became clear to the band that they would have to find some new material. Bono in particular wanted to write his own songs. Their first original song, Street Mission, was not impressive but at least it was a start. Adam was now spending most of his time trying to organize gigs for Hype, and as a result he was asked to leave Mount Temple School. He continued his efforts to get the band noticed, but not always with much success, although Hype had appeared at McGonagles, a major Dublin rock venue.
Adam pestered anyone in the music business that he though might be able to help. His targets included DJs, the music press, and other bands such as the Boomtown Rats. One of the people Adam talked to was Steve Averill (aka Steve Rapid of the Radiators) who also worked for an advertising agency. Out of this conversation came the conclusion that the band could and should find a better name. A few days later, Steve came up with an idea which he suggested to Adam - U2.
Adam liked the name, but the rest of the band was initially doubtful. According to legend, the band played the first half of their next set as Hype, and the second half as U2, then asked the audience which name they preferred. Adam had entered the band as Hype in a major talent contest organized by the Evening Press and Harp Lager, and he lost no time in changing their name on the entry form to U2.

The contest was held in Limerick in March 1978. As well as a ?500 prize, the winners would get an opportunity to spend a day in a recording studio to cut a demo disc for CBS Ireland. U2 duly won the contest, and a few weeks later had the promised session at the Keystone Studios in Dublin. The demo was adequate but not particularly impressive. Although CBS Ireland offered them a recording deal which was typical for new bands, the band felt uncertain and in need of advice.
They spoke to Bill Graham of Hot Press, then Ireland’s only major music paper. It was clear that they needed a manager who could handle the business side. Bill Graham knew Paul McGuinness, who had managed an Irish folk band, and suggested that they should meet. Paul was not enthusiastic at first, thinking from Bill’s description that U2 were a punk band, but when he attended a gig at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin he not only liked what he heard, but he also saw the band’s potential for the future. So he quickly reached an agreement with the band that ensured that U2 now had a proper manager.
Paul McGuinness arranged another demo session, again at Keystone Studios. Paul got Barry Devlin of Horslips to produce the demo, comprising three songs: Street Mission, The Fool, and Shadows and Tall Trees. The recording session went well, and both Paul and the band were happy with the results, but Paul found it hard to persuade the London record companies that U2’s demo was any different from the dozens that they received every week. U2 continued to play gigs in Ireland, including the now legendary Dandelion Market afternoon concerts in a disused car park in Dublin.

Although the band got good reviews, especially in Hot Press, a record deal was slow in coming. Jackie Hayden of CBS Ireland still wanted to do something with the band, but could not interest CBS UK. So an agreement was reached whereby U2 would record for CBS in Ireland, but would be free to seek a deal elsewhere for sales in the rest of the world. So another session with CBS produced their first record, a three-track single called U2-3. A thousand copies of the single were pressed and they quickly sold out. U2 also recorded a concert for Irish TV. The band had achieved their first success, albeit only in Ireland.
Despite the continuing efforts of Paul McGuinness, the UK record industry still showed no interest in the emerging band. So Paul arranged a series of gigs in London. The band had struggled to finance the tour and The Edge was struggling with an injured hand, but the gigs were well received by the fans and the critics. More important, they had at last attracted some record company interest, notably from Gem and Island. But no firm offers were yet forthcoming.

Band's Early Struggles With 'Achtung Baby'

By Karen Bliss ( Rolling Stone Article)

“Making Achtung Baby is the reason we’re here now,” Bono says early on in Davis Guggenheim’s new U2 documentary, From The Sky Down, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night. 

The film – which focuses on the tumultuous time in the band’s career 20 years ago – shows how Bono, guitarist the Edge, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton got back on track: After considerable infighting and “creative differences” while the four hunkered down at Hansa Studios in Berlin in 1990 to try to make an album, the song “One” finally and miraculously sprouted from the unfinished “Mysterious Ways.”

“The movie has this pretty long [section] where you hear them write that song – and it’s goose bumps,” Guggenheim told Rolling Stone in Toronto. “The writing of that song really saved the band. They had come out of the height of Joshua Tree as the biggest band in the world. Rattle and Hum was a disaster from their point of view, a lot of bad reviews – they weren’t happy with what they had become. They take that bridge section out of ‘Mysterious Ways’ and they go back into the room at Hansa. They write a song on the fly in a matter of minutes. ‘One’ is written and the band is saved and we have all that on tape.”

There are other telling inclusions in the film, from footage of Bono getting angry in a dressing room after a Joshua Tree concert in 1987 (culled from Rattle and Hum director Phil Joanou’s amazing leftovers) to candid, present-day sound-only interviews that Guggenheim was able to draw from each band member. “The soul of the movie is these interviews I do with them,” he said.

“I didn’t know how they’d react to the things that I put in the movie,” said Guggenheim. “There are some very sensitive things. And to their credit, they said, ‘This is truthful; this is real; it’s not sensational.’”

The day after the TIFF gala screening, Bono, the Edge and Guggenheim spoke at a press conference about the film. “I found it a little humiliating to realize that we were so inept and these days we’re a better band,” Bono said. “We’ve learned our craft – and therein lies the huge danger, which is there’s a giant chasm between the very good and the great, and U2 right now has a danger of surrendering to the very good.”

Guggenheim had earned the Edge’s trust from the documentary they did together in 2008, It Might Get Loud, alongside two other guitar greats, Jack White and Jimmy Page. Still, it’s a relationship in progress, Guggenheim noted: “There’s a something adversarial about making a movie about something that neither side wants, but it’s naturally there.”

“For me, when Davis agreed to do this, I felt like I could relax because I knew the thing that he was most interested in was actually the truth as opposed to what was a great shot or what might be sensational,” said the Edge. “The stuff that’s in the film are those moments where we’re really being honest.”

“A little bit of sensationalism would have been good, a few great shots,” joked Bono. “I felt like I was mugged.”

In addition to the tension, intensity and struggle that plays out in the film, there is a lot of levity too, including a satirical montage of bands that have imploded or lost members, references and demonstrations of Bono’s unique gibberish singing, dubbed “Bongalese” and yes, the band in drag.

“What’s interesting is Larry really didn’t like the idea and thought he looked like he was in some skin flick,” said Bono. “Edge took to it with a perfectionist’s eye.”

 “I just freaked myself out because I looked so much like my sister, I was shocked,” the Edge said.

Added Bono: “Adam looked like the Queen of England and I looked like Barbara Bush.”

U2's 'Baby' is all grown-up

By Ken Sweeney
Monday, 12 September 2011

U2 singer Bono has revealed that some of the biggest names in music have contributed to a tribute to mark the 20th anniversary of band’s ‘Achtung Baby’ album.

White Stripes singer Jack White, performing legend Patti Smith, UK group Depeche Mode, and Irish songwriter Damien Rice are among the artists who have recorded U2 covers for the record, due out this autumn.

“Jack White did ‘Love Is Blindness’, Depeche Mode did ‘So Cruel’, Patti Smith did ‘Until the End of the World’, Damien Rice did ‘One’; the list goes on and it’s a list of the most incredible artists,” said Bono.

The singer was speaking at a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival at the weekend to promote ‘Achtung Baby’ documentary ‘From The Sky Down’, which charts the making of the album.

The U2 frontman said, on first listen, he had been hugely impressed by the contributions to the tribute record.

“It’s strange, because when I hear the album (‘Achtung Baby’), all I hear is what’s wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, ‘That’s really good’,” he said.

He went on to speak of his delight about American singer, poet and visual artist Patti Smith’s involvement, having been influenced by her when he was growing up in Dublin.

“That opening line, ‘Jesus Christ died for somebody’s sins but not mine’ (from Smith’s 1975 album ‘Horses’) when I was 16, I was like, ‘I do not know what this woman is on about but I’d better find out’,” the frontman said.

The covers album will be tied in with a reissue, ‘20 Years of Achtung Baby’, due out October 31.

The six-CD set, includes the original ‘Achtung Baby’ album, follow on ‘Zooropa’, B-sides and reworkings of previously unheard material, recorded during the Achtung Baby sessions.

An ‘Uber Deluxe Edition’ even comes with a pair of Bono’s signature sunglasses.

In the US this edition, containing six CDs, four DVDs and a 92-page hardback book will be on sale for $170.

Gentlemen's Quarterly of U2

U2 GQ Stage By Eric Shivvers
It’s interesting, as one’s career moves on, where the accolades come from. For instance, if you are a thespian, the Tony award, in the United States, is the highest achievement an actor can get. Same goes true for film actors with such awards as the Golden Globe or the Oscar. In music, there are a bevy of these awards and U2 has scooped up more than a handful multiple times in multiple years. Now, they are rewarded again, but this time, it is outside music as <em>GQ</em> magazine has honored them “band of the year.” 
I’m not sure how this ranks amongst the pantheon of other awards. It may be one step above the American Music Awards or VH-1 Honors. I’m not sure. We’d have to ask the band this question. What we do know is that it keeps them in the spotlight for one more news cycle in our ever-overwhelming media onslaught, which is good since they are a “do good” band for the world whether it is filling our ears with great tunes or focusing on the plight of starvation on the horn of Africa. However, like an overexposed piece of film, U2 has to be careful how they handle themselves and not lose the mystique that makes them special. Yes, I know they had no choice in being chosen by GQ because honors such as these come with the territory. What they were awarded is an achievement and I’m not taking it away from them. 
In recent weeks, I have been coming down from a great summer of U2, reading blogs and taking in their U.S. trek, which has been exciting, but now my life has to move on and get back to a little reality - back to the passion of life and being creative for clients. Is suspect U2 are doing the same thing as they take in the end of summer and doing things they haven’t done for a while. We all need to rest and get motivated again after we have created something great or just made the client happy. Yes, the Gentleman’s Quarterly accolade is nice, but will there be a U2 song written about it. I don’t think so.  However, it’s nice to see our guys dressed in their finest and accepting an award. You will notice that the founding member is nowhere to be seen, probably coming up with new drum tracks or better yet, taking time off from band responsibilities.

Eric Shivvers is the author of I’m a Fan: How I married U2 into my life without going to the altar. You may read more about his book at www.iamau2fan.com