"A Celebration 40th Anniversary Edition" - U2

EP

Track Listing:

Background Information

On February 16, 2022 U2 announced that they would release a 4-song EP to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the single “A Celebration”, originally released in March 1982. The new version would be released on April 23, 2022 in a 12-inch format as part of the 15th annual Record Store Day. The record was released in all countries participating in Record Store Day. The single features a new cover design by Shaughn McGrath, using the original design as an inspiration. The back cover takes stills from the original “A Celebration” video of each band member. The vinyl is 180g and will be black vinyl.

Four songs are included, two on each side. On side A is the original studio version of “A Celebration” and an alternate rough studio version of the song. The B-Side features the original single B-Side, “Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl” which these days is likely more well known than the A-Side due to its inclusion on Under A Blood Red Sky. The final song is a live version of “Party Girl” from Cologne, recorded on October 18, 2015. For this performance of the song, Bono had pulled a young fan named Gilles from the audience to perform with the band.

The US version of the Record Store Day site lists that 7,500 copies will be available in the United States. This is the same number of copies as the recent “Fire” picture disc, and more than the listed copies for “Gloria” and “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” (7000 copies each in USA.) For a full list of U2’s Record Store Day offerings, we maintain a list here. U2 have participated in every Record Store Day Event since the April 2017 event, and participated sporadically before that time.

The original release of “A Celebration” was March 22, 1982, where it was released to fill the gap between October and War. The song has never been featured on an actual U2 album, and was only available as a 7-Inch single until the 2008 release of October where it was released on CD as part of the deluxe version of that album.

The video for “A Celebration” was filmed at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. Images from the video feature on the backcover of the single.

The original single reached #15 in Ireland, #47 in the UK, and #83 in Australia.

Liner Notes

“A Celebration”: Produced by Steve Lillywhite. Engineered by Paul Thomas. Assistant Engineer: Kevin Moloney
“A Celebration” (Studio Out-Take): Remixed by Richard Rainey
“Trash Trampoline and the Party Girl”: Produced by Steve Lillywhite. Engineered by Paul Thomas. Assistant Engineer: Kevin Moloney
“Trash Trampoline and the Party Girl” (Live): Recorded by Alastair McMillan. Mixed by Declan Gaffney

Mastering and Remastering directed by The Edge.
A1 & B1: Remastered in 2008 by Arnie Acosta, Remastering assistance by Scott Sedillo.
A2 & B2: Mastered by Scott Sedillo.

Creative Director: Gavin Friday
Archive Manager: Rebecca Coffey.
Systems Manager: Rab McAllister.

Artwork

Art direction and Design: Shaughn McGrath
Band Images: A Celebration Video Stills, video directed by Meiert Avis.

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