"Lemon" - U2

Single

Track Listing:

Background Information

“Lemon” was written and recorded during the Zooropa album sessions, which took place between March and May 1993. The song was written by Bono, based on memories of old video footage of his mother in a lemon-coloured dress. The song was one of the last to be completed for Zooropa. It was released as the second single from the album, following “Numb,” which had been issued as a video single only. The single for “Lemon” followed a similarly unconventional commercial release pattern for U2, as it was released only in Australia and Japan in CD format (with Australia also getting a cassette version). Other markets worldwide did not see a commercial “Lemon” single, aside from a 12-inch yellow vinyl released in the USA. Promotional-only singles were issued to radio in North America and Europe.

“Lemon” was released with a series of remixes of the title track, as well as a straight “Edit” which was used primarily for radio play. Available on CD and cassette were the “Edit,” “Album Version,” “Oakenfold Jeep Mix,” and “Morales BYC Version Dub.” The 12-inch vinyl featured the full-length version of the “Bad Yard Club Mix” at 10:13, the “Version Dub” (released as the “Morales Bad Yard Club Version Dub” on other releases), “Momo’s Reprise,” the “Perfecto Mix,” and the “Jeep Mix.” Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne were responsible for the “Jeep Mix,” the “Perfecto Mix,” and “Momo’s Reprise.” David Morales was responsible for the “Bad Yard Club” mixes. Promotional recordings released at the time contained additional remixes that were not available on the commercial single.

The video for “Lemon” is a nod to the work of Edward Muybridge, an early pioneer of motion picture projection and, specifically, studies of animal locomotion. The clip was directed by Mark Neale, produced by Debbie Mason, and edited by Jerry Chater. It was shot in September, 1993 in London, England. The video features U2 in their Zooropa costumes being filmed in slow-motion against a grid, in the same manner that Muybridge filmed objects in motion. Bono appears as both The Fly and MacPhisto. A series of subtitles describes the action on screen. A version of the video with French-language subtitles, instead of English, was also produced. A final edit of the footage was used to create a video for the “Bad Yard Club Edit” of the song. It contains the same footage as the regular video, but edited in a more frantic manner and without subtitles. The footage itself is primarily in black-and-white, although images behind the grid, including fireworks, a dove and a feather, appear in colour. In the remix version, some of these coloured items are seen in the foreground, rather than behind the grid. This video, with optional commentary from Mark Neale, was included on The Best of 1990-2000 video release.

In concert “Lemon” did not have a long life, being played in-full at only ten shows on The Zoo TV Tour (in Australia, New Zealand and Japan). The song was performed by Bono in his MacPhisto persona. The song has not been performed live since that time, although during The PopMart Tour, an instrumental version of Paul Oakenfold’s “Perfecto Mix” was played over the PA as the band descended from the giant mirror ball lemon onto the b-stage for the encore. The video footage accompanying this portion of the show featured Australian performance artist Leigh Bowery. A live performance of “Lemon” from The ZooTV Tour can be found on the Zoo TV Live fan club CD, as well as in video form on the Zoo TV Live from Sydney releases. The pre-recorded “Perfecto Mix” instrumental from The PopMart Tour can be found on the Hasta La Vista Baby! fan club album, and on the PopMart Live from Mexico City video releases.

The original version of “Lemon” has not been re-released on any U2 compilations, although “Lemon (Jeep Mix)” was included on The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides and “Lemon (The Perfecto Mix)” and “Lemon (Bad Yard Club Mix)” were both included on the fan club compilation Melon. Remixes of “Lemon” also appeared on some versions of the “Stay (Faraway, So Close!)” single, as well as on the multi-artist compilations Strictly Bass Too, the Prêt-à-Porter soundtrack album, Q: The Best Tracks from the Best Albums 2002, and Paul Oakenfold’s Journey by Stadium DJs album. The Zooropa album was re-released in the “Super Deluxe” and “Über Deluxe” editions of Achtung Baby for that album’s 20th anniversary. Bonus tracks in those sets included “Lemon (Perfecto Mix)” and “Lemon (Momo’s Reprise).” DVDs included with those sets included the original “Lemon” video as well as the live performance that was part of the original Zoo TV show in Sydney.

On July 21, 2023, as part of an upgrade of U2’s singles on digital sites “Lemon” was reissued while the band were promoting the 30th anniversary of Zooropa. See our catalog listings below for information on the newest release.

Liner Notes

Lemon (Edit):
Words by Bono. Music by U2. Produced by Flood, Brian Eno and the Edge.

Lemon (Oakenfold Jeep Mix):
Remix and additional production by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne.

Lemon (Album Version):
Words by Bono. Music by U2. Produced by Flood, Brian Eno and the Edge.

Lemon (Morales Bad Yard Club Version Dub):
Remix and additional production by David Morales for Def Mix Productions Ltd. Keyboards, programming by Satoshi Tomiie for Def Mix Productions Ltd and Peter “Ski” Schwartz. Percussion by David Morales.

Lemon (Bad Yard Club Mix):
Remix and additional production by David Morales for Def Mix Productions Ltd. Keyboards, programming by Satoshi Tomiie for Def Mix Productions Ltd and Peter “Ski” Schwarts. Percussion by David Morales.

Lemon (Momo’s Reprise):
Remix and additional production by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne.

Lemon (Perfecto Mix):
Remix and additional production by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne.

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