The band's manager, Paul McGuinness had a background in film (having worked on a 1973 Sean Connery film called Zardoz), and knew that capturing a rock band's performance entailed more than just pointing cameras in their direction. As drummer Larry Mullen recalls in the 2006 oral history U2 By U2, "There was a lot of money riding on this, all the money we'd made from the tour, everything that was in the bank, basically." Red Rocks was the band's biggest headlining show to date at that point: the amphitheater had a capacity of 7,000. The band's performance was Clash-like: in-your-face and political. This song is 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.'" It sounded important. The clip was aided by the opening shot, which showed Bono's serious looking profile surrounded by flames, while you heard his on-stage announcement, a phrase U2 fans would get used to over the decades: "This song is not a rebel song. It conveyed Bono's power as a frontman in a way that music videos hadn't. The song from Live At Red Rocks that brought this point home was "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which got a lot of play on MTV. So, for the purposes of this article, we'll discuss them together, as they were both a big part into exposing U2 to America as band more in the vein of Springsteen or the Who than the Cure or Joy Division. The two releases are often associated with each other, and the live video is included as a bonus disc in the 2008 Under A Blood Red Sky reissue. They filmed the show for a "home video", Live At Red Rocks two of the songs from that would also be used for the Under A Blood Red Sky EP (which also included performances recorded in Boston and Germany). Their June 5, 1983, concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado was an important moment that connected their underground roots and their Springsteen-ian ambitions. Their message required a big stage, they just needed to get there. U2 had a unique problem: they were a stadium band waiting to actually get popular enough to play stadiums. Most punk and post-punk groups of the '80s had an anti-arena rock vibe to them, and were more comfortable in clubs they all had to figure out how to translate their shows to larger venues. They needed that audience to become a band on the level of their idols, the Who. U2 may have had visions of world domination, but that ambition didn't really translate to the American audience. They were known for a few MTV videos, mainly "New Year's Day" from their War album, and "Two Hearts Beat As One" from their prior album, October. In 1983, to most of America, U2 was a Modern Rock band, capital "M," capital "R." With their heavy post-punk influences, they fit right in on that radio format with Tears For Fears, Talking Heads, David Bowie and Human League. Here is the recap: () takes a look back at U2's 1983 live EP, Under A Blood Red Sky, which celebrates its 30th anniversary. On Tuesday A Look Back At U2's 'Under A Blood Red Sky' 30 Years Later was a top story. If you want to get a taste of this great band performing live in their early days, you owe it to yourself to buy this EP.A Look Back At U2's 'Under A Blood Red Sky' 30 Years Later (A Top Story) Of all the concerts I’ve attend over the past 30 plus years, this one stands out as one of the greatest. The most memorable moment was during the final encore song, “40”, when those of us in the crowd continued to sing the refrain “How long to sing this song?” for several minutes after the band had finally left the stage. From the moment they entered the stage, Bono and the band had the crowd in the palm of their hands. U2 stole the show that day (Joe Cocker was a close second). Several bands performed that day: Steve Miller, Joe Cocker, U2, The Stray Cats. Army then and was lucky enough to attend that concert. Goarshausen, Germany, an an outdoor amphi-theatre situated along the Rhine River. “A couple of the songs from the EP were recorded at Red Rocks, but the majority were recorded at the Lorelei in St. See More: At Folsom Prison (Johnny Cash Album) Live See more live albums here.ĭon’t miss out on the power of BONO! Click below to experience U2 LIVE! The following is an excellent review of Under a Blood Red Sky.
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