"The Best of Collection 1980 - 1990" - U2

Promotional Release

Track Listing:

Background Information

This promotional item was released by Island Records in the UK, but was distributed worldwide. The set is a box with a top which flips open. Inside the box is a replica of the booklet that comes with the CD printed at a larger size (7-inch by 7-inch). A double CD matching the tracks found on the commercial release of “The Best of 1980 – 1990” album is packaged inside in a card sleeve. This CD is identical to the ones distributed by themselves in the UK for promotion. Each CD comes in its own card sleeve, and then both card sleeves fit into one larger card sleeve.

Also included is fourteen 7-inch singles, which cover all of the tracks of the compilation. Each side is individually numbered A – BB, and each vinyl comes in a golden sleeve with the bands name and the title of the collection printed on the front. Eventually Island did run short on the gold sleeves, so some sets come with a generic white sleeve instead of the gold printed sleeves. The tracks are presented in the same order that they appear on the CD compilation. The content of each single is listed below. Each vinyl had a unique picture label on one side, and a gold label with a large printed number on the back.

In 2006 an article in Record Collector magazine listed this item as number 28 in a list of the Top 60 U2 Collectibles. A similar box was released for “The Best of 1990 – 2000” and that release came in at number 30 on that list.

Liner Notes

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