The Unforgettable Fire (song)

"The Unforgettable Fire"
Four pictures, each of a different man.
Standard edition
Single by U2
from the album The Unforgettable Fire
B-side
  • "Love Comes Tumbling"
  • "The Three Sunrises"
  • "Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come"
  • "Bass Trap"
Released 22 April 1985 [1]
Format
Genre
Length 4:56
Label Island
Songwriter(s)
  • U2 (music)
  • Bono (lyrics)
Producer(s)
U2 singles chronology
"Pride (In the Name of Love)"
(1984)		 "The Unforgettable Fire"
(1985)		 "With or Without You"
(1987)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

"The Unforgettable Fire" is a song by rock band U2. The fourth song on their album The Unforgettable Fire (1984), it was released as the album's second single in April 1985. The band cite an art exhibition by victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that was held at The Peace Museum in Chicago as inspiration for the song. It became the band's third Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, reaching #6 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 on the Dutch singles chart, but it had yet to break them into the United States.

The song, like many tracks from The Unforgettable Fire, is an atmospheric composition, with ambient use of guitar and a string arrangement by Irish jazz musician Noel Kelehan.

History

Lighting and video effects for the performance of "The Unforgettable Fire" on the U2 360° Tour

"The Unforgettable Fire" was first played live at the fourth show of the Unforgettable Fire Tour on 2 September 1984 in the New Zealand city of Auckland.[2] It was subsequently played at almost all Unforgettable Fire Tour shows. It was played at the majority of The Joshua Tree Tour shows and the song appeared regularly during 1989's Lovetown Tour, during which its last performance for nearly 20 years was on 6 January 1990. The song returned to the group's concert repertoire on the opening night of the 2009 U2 360° Tour.

Formats and track listings

A shaped picture disc was issued with the IS220 release. The 12" Canadian release contained a false start at the beginning of "Love Comes Tumbling." "A Sort of Homecoming" and "Love Comes Tumbling" on the 12" Australian release were different versions from any other release.

7": Island / IS220 (UK release)
No.TitleLength
1."The Unforgettable Fire"4:56
2."A Sort of Homecoming" (Live at Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, 15 November 1984)4:06
7": Island / K-9561 (Australian and New Zealand releases)
No.TitleLength
1."The Unforgettable Fire"4:56
2."MLK"2:32
2x7": Island / ISD220 and CBS / DA 6185 (UK and Ireland releases)
No.TitleLength
1."The Unforgettable Fire"4:56
2."A Sort of Homecoming" (Live at Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, 15 November 1984)4:06
3."Love Comes Tumbling"4:45
4."The Three Sunrises"3:52
5."Sixty Seconds in Kingdom Come"3:15
12": Island / 12IS220, Island / 664 974, and Island / ISMC-1026 (UK, German CD, and Canadian releases)
No.TitleLength
1."The Three Sunrises"3:52
2."The Unforgettable Fire"4:56
3."A Sort of Homecoming" (Live at Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, 15 November 1984)4:06
4."Love Comes Tumbling"4:45
5."Bass Trap"5:17
12": Island / L18002 (Australian release)
No.TitleLength
1."The Three Sunrises"3:52
2."The Unforgettable Fire"4:56
3."A Sort of Homecoming" (Live at Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, England, 15 November 1984)4:06
4."Love Comes Tumbling" (Alternate version)4:37
5."Bass Trap"5:17

Charts

Chart (1985) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 59
Dutch MegaCharts[4] 4
Irish Singles Chart[5] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart[4] 3
UK Singles Chart[6] 6

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sams, Aaron; Kantas, Harry. "U2 - "The Unforgettable Fire" Single". u2songs.com. Retrieved 1 Apr 2016.
  2. ↑ Parra, Pimm Jal de la U2 Live: A Concert Documentary, p.53, 1996, Harper Collins Publishers, ISBN 0-7322-6036-1
  3. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. 1 2 "U2 – The Unforgettable Fire". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "Irish Singles Chart". The Irish Charts. Retrieved 23 November 2009. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
  6. ↑ "EveryHit.com search results: U2". Everyhit.com. Retrieved 22 November 2009. Note: U2 must be searched manually.
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