"If God Will Send His Angels" - U2

Promotional Release

Track Listing:

Background Information

“If God Will Send His Angels” was released as the fifth single for promotion from the album “Pop”, and it was also used in the “City of Angels” movie and appeared as a featured song on the soundtrack. Some promotional releases featured artwork from the film instead of the traditional single cover for the artwork. The title track was re-recorded for the eventual single release, as U2 were not happy with the original version of the song. It is the single version of the song that is featured on the various promotional releases unless otherwise stated.

A 7-inch promotional record was produced in France for use in juke boxes throughout Europe. The single was in black vinyl, with a molded label rather than a paper label. The juke box single featured the “Single Version” of “If God Will Send His Angels” as well as the live version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” performed in Sarajevo on September 23, 1997.

A number of 5-inch CD singles were produced for promotion in various regions. In the UK the promotional CD was a one track CD, with the catalog number ANGELCD1. The single was released in a slimline jewel case with full colour insert. The promotional single featured just two flying hearts on the cover instead of the seen that featured on the commercial release. In the US the promotional single was released in a regular jewel case with full colour front and back inserts. The promotional single featured the “Single Version” of the song, and it also featured a short 11 second clip of the song for use in radio production. Two versions of the single were released, one where the cover featured the two flying hearts like the UK single, and a second which featured the cover of the “City of Angels” soundtrack, surrounded by a border which contained the two flying hearts. The content of the CD in both was the same, and both carried the same catalog number, PRCD 7749-2.

In the USA there were legal issues with the cover artwork on the first pressed commercial single, specifically the use of sleeve designer Run Wrake’s “heart with wings” motif. These arose only after some copies of the single had been pressed for sale. The record label recalled them, but not before a limited number found their way out “into the wild.” Often, the bar code on these mistakenly-released singles is covered so as not to be “scanned”—thus allowing them to be tracked. The end result of this legal snafu was that the official release of “If God Will Send His Angels” was delayed for months in the USA. The single finally hit stores (ironically, with the original Run Wrake sleeve still intact) on April 7, 1998, amidst promotion for the City of Angels movie. Those singles that did make the rounds, with a covered UPC were also used for promotion and thus are included here.

A 5-inch promotional CD was also issued for Mexico. The CD was quite different, white with one single flying heart. The sleeve featured two hearts on the front and one single heart on the back. It was released in a cardboard sleeve, and featured just one-track, “If God Will Send His Angels (Single Version)”.

“If God Will Send His Angels” was a double single, released simultaneously with “Mofo” in many regions, and there also exist a number of “Mofo” promotional releases.

Liner Notes

If God Will Send His Angels (Single Version):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono and the Edge. Produced by Flood, Howie B and Steve Osborne. Recorded by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent and Howie B. Assisted by Rob Kirwan and Conal Markey. Mixed by Howie B., Steve Osborne and Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. Assisted by Conal Markey and Ben Hillier.

If God Will Send His Angels (Research Hook):
Music by U2. Lyrics by Bono and the Edge. Produced by Flood, Howie B and Steve Osborne. Recorded by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent and Howie B. Assisted by Rob Kirwan and Conal Markey. Mixed by Howie B., Steve Osborne and Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. Assisted by Conal Markey and Ben Hillier.

Sunday Bloody Sunday (Live):
Music and lyrics by U2. Performed by the Edge. Recorded live at Kosevo Stadium, Sarajevo on September 23rd, 1997. Producer: CHris Lycett. Production co-ordinator: Andy Rogers. Engineered and mixed by Mike Robinson. Sound consultant: Flood.

Artwork

Front cover illustration by Ron Wrake. Design by ABA, Dublin. Reproduced by Sonicon, London.

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