"Zoo TV Live from Sydney" - U2

Video Release

Track Listing (Main Disc):

Track Listing (Bonus Songs):

Other Bonus Disc Content:

  • A Fistfull of Zoo TV (Documentary) (7:50)
  • Zoo TV The Inside Story (4:10)
  • Trabantland (7:47)
  • Video Confessional (5:14)
  • Building the Zoo TV Stage (4:13) [Easter Egg]
  • Zoo TV Outtakes War Scenes (1:15) [Easter Egg]
  • The Videos the Cameos and a Whole Lot of Interference (24:48) [Easter Egg]

    DVD ROM Content:

  • Screen Savers
  • Desktop Wallpapers
  • Web Links

Background Information

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney was a video filmed during the Zoo TV tour, in Sydney Australia on November 27, 1993. The band was performing at the Sydney Football Stadium. This was the second of two nights in Sydney, and the first night was used as a dress rehearsal. Famously, this first night was played without Adam Clayton, and was the only U2 concert in recent years played without all four band members present. Both shows were filmed, and the second night was broadcast with a tape delay for pay-per-view audiences in North America on November 28, 1993. Ned O’Hanlon confirmed that had Adam missed the second night the performance would have been sent anyway, “That was very scary. We were very worried about him. Had he not been well enough on the night, we would have broadcast that show, without Adam. That would have been horrible.” Initial plans had included plans to broadcast three different perspectives of the show, on three separate channels, but this idea was cancelled when it was realized that the concept would not be fully developed by the time the concert was to air. Also, initially the broadcast was planned for MTV, but was eventually shifted to Pay-Per-View instead.

The first release of this material for the home market was in May 1994, and was released in VHS, VCD, and Laserdisc formats through PolyGram Video. The concert was edited down to just under 2hours in length, and the performance of “Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around the World” was removed from the video. That performance had been broadcast in the Pay-Per-View television concert, so was removed after the fact. The song had appeared after “Numb” and some suggest it was due to controversy about Bono sharing a glass of champagne with an underage girl on stage, however producer O’Hanlon during a chat on CompuServ, “We did have to cut down the concert for sell-through. Can’t remember why that one didn’t make it, though. No, Bono didn’t moon. No reason to edit that, had it happened!” He also confirmed why the confessionals were removed, “The confessionals were taken out because they upset the flow of the show. In the venue they were great, they just didn’t stand up to repeated viewings.” There was also a bit of editing on one of Bono’s speeches which was evident in this release. The VHS and Laser Disc versions were released on May 16 (ROW) / 17 (North America), 1994.

In 1997 some previews on PolyGram videos included information about a ZooTV release on DVD. It was due to be one of the initial offerings on that format for PolyGram, but the release was eventually cancelled. It wasn’t until September 18, 2006 that the DVD was eventually released under Island / Universal. (Sept. 19, 2006 in North America, and September 15, 2006 in Germany). The concert DVD retained the original 4:3 aspect ratio from the VHS release, however the sound was remixed with options for Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 and PCM Stereo Audio. The DVD release came in two formats, a single disc version, and a double disc version with a number of extras.

There are three easter eggs hidden on the second disc. The first is a time lapse videoclip about building the Zoo TV Stage, and can be accessed by going to “Extras” and instead of pressing enter, choose the right arrow and then the down arrow. This should highlight the “ZooTV” logo. Press enter on the logo, and the word “Abort” will appear. If you type in 2711 you will start the hidden video. The second is a video with images about nuclear weapons and war about a minute in length. It can be accessed by going to “Extras” and pressing enter. On the next screen go to “DVD Credits”, instead of selecting credits, press the down arrow, and then the right arrow, and when the small ‘do not enter’ symbol appears press enter again. When on the “Abort” page, type in 1993. This should start the clip. The final easter egg is a long one, a 24-minute documentary clip about U2’s history orginally featured on the “Achtung Baby The Videos the Cameos and a Whole Lot of Interference”. This can be reached by going to “Documentaries” and choosing Enter. Press “Play all” and then wait for the end. When it comes to the main page again, go to “Subtitles” and press the down arrow and then the left arrow. When the ‘do not enter’ symbol appears press enter and the video will start.

The second disc of the set also had a DVD-ROM component which would give you additional content for your computer including two screen savers and four different wallpapers.

The “Super Deluxe” and “Uber” editions of the Achtung Baby anniversary re-issue included the first DVD for the Zoo TV release. These were released in November 2011. However an error saw the wrong version being supplied with sets in North America, and Universal had to reissue the proper version by mail. In 2006, the subscribers of u2.com got a gift of a double CD version of this performance in audio format, called “Zoo TV Live”. Like the DVD, it did not include “Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms”, and instead substituted the version of that in the DVD extras recorded in New York in 1992.

Liner Notes

Directed by David Mallet. Produced by Ned O’Hanlon and Rocky Oldham. Edited by Bruce McKenna, Dave Gardner, Tim Waddell.
Lighting consultant: Allen Branton. U2 Show Designer: Peter Willie Williams. Choreographer/Dancer: Morleigh Steinberg.
Recorded by Robbie Adams.
A Dreamchaser Production for Straypass Ltd.

Artwork

Artwork by Works Associates Dublin. Photography (Back): Peter Stone. Photography (Front): Anton Corbijn.

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