"Special Collection 1980 - 1987" - U2
Promotional Release
Track Listing:
- "Out of Control" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:14)
- "I Will Follow" (Studio Version) - U2 (03:37)
- "Gloria" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:13)
- "October" (Studio Version) - U2 (02:21)
- "New Year's Day" (Studio Version) - U2 (05:35)
- "Two Hearts Beat as One" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:03)
- "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (Live from Boston, MA, May 6, 1983 - Fade In/Out) - U2 (04:37)
- "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Live from St.Goarshausen, Aug. 20, 1983 - Fade In / Out) - U2 (05:25)
- "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Studio Version) - U2 (03:50)
- "The Unforgettable Fire" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:55)
- "With or Without You" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:55)
- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:37)
- "Where the Streets Have No Name" (Single Version) - U2 (04:50)
- "Red Hill Mining Town" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:53)
Background Information
The promotional CD called “Special Collection 1980 – 1987” was a promotional item issued by Polystar, which was distributing Island releases in Japan. The front cover of the release features a color palette that matches that of “The Joshua Tree” album in black and gold, and then features a centered image of “The Joshua Tree” with five smaller images below of the other album covers, “Boy,” “October,” “War,” “Under a Blood Red Sky” and “The Unforgettable Fire”.
The CD itself is unremarkable and is plain with black text and the Island logo in black. The CD contains the matrix number HI4001 B7912H. It contains the warning “Not for sale” at the bottom of the CD.
The back of the CD lists the track names in both Japanese and English, and also lists the album from which each track comes, and the catalog numbers of those releases (CD and LP). The album contains “Out of Control” and “I Will Follow” taken from “Boy”. “Gloria” and “October” come from the album “October”. “New Year’s Day” and “Two Hearts Beat as One” are taken from the album “War”. “11 O’Clock Tick Tock” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” come from the album “Under a Blood Red Sky” and are featured on the album as live tracks from that album, which fade in and out. “Pride (in the Name of Love)” and “The Unforgettable Fire” both feature here from the album “The Unforgettable Fire”. And then the promotional release is filled out with four tracks from “The Joshua Tree” including “With or Without You”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “Red Hill Mining Town” which were the four initial singles planned for the album.
The inside sleeve features a printed track by track detail, as well as a biography for each of the band members.
This release was made and circulated in very limited quantities in Japan. It was intended for in-store use as a listening sampler in advance of “The Joshua Tree”. Ten copies are said to exist, and this release featured at #14 on a 2006 guide by Record Collector Magazine on the list of Top 60 U2 Collectibles.
Liner Notes
See listings from individual albums.