"Trip Through Your Wires" - U2
Promotional Release
Track Listing:
- "Trip Through Your Wires" (Studio Version) - U2 (03:32)
- "Luminous Times (Hold on to Love)" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:35)
- "Spanish Eyes" (Studio Version) - U2 (03:16)
- "Silver and Gold" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:38)
Background Information
“Trip Through Your Wires” was a promotional 12-Inch single pressed by Festival Records in Australia and distributed in early 1988. Festival was the label which distributed Island Records in Australia during the 1980s. This release was circulated in Australia only and was not made available in other territories. The single uses an image from The Joshua Tree photo sessions, and includes four tracks, “Trip Through Your Wires” on the A-Side and “Luminous Times (Hold On To Love),” “Spanish Eyes,” and “Silver and Gold” on the B-Side. The songs on this release are the same versions as those found on the singles released to promote “The Joshua Tree” and this promotional item wasn’t released until after all three singles were released. The release is labeled as a “Radio Sampler-Not for Sale” on the front cover.
At least four variations of this promotional single are known to exist, due to some hand numbering done on the sleeve. The first is a version that is hand numbered on the front of the sleeve, numbered out of 100 copies in total. This is the copy that is mentioned in the Record Collector Top 60 U2 Collectibles list. A second version is also numbered, but this time on the back cover, in the bottom corner, and listed to be out of 500 copies. A third version is again numbered in the bottom back corner, and this time is numbered out of 1000 copies. We have spoken to representative for Festival Records that has confirmed each version was circulated by Festival. As well as these numbered copies, there are also unnumbered copies in circulation, and it has been suggested that there are 300 unnumbered copies. The total run for this single is under 2000 copies between these three variations. The 100 copies numbered on the front are in a different hand writing than those numbered out of 500 and out of 1000 on the back (those are done in the same handwriting.) Numbers are duplicated between the first 100, and those numbered out of 500/1000.
A number of these copies were sent to radio stations to thank the stations for their support of The Joshua Tree and also were sent with issue 417, the April 1988 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, the Australian edition. This was also part of a drive to get people interested in the magazine. The copies numbered from 1-100 on the front sleeve appear to have been given out to members of the media, reporting on the music scene within Australia. Other copies were distributed directly to stores who had supported the album campaign.
The copy numbered from 1-100 on the front sleeve is listed as #26 in the Record Collector Magazine list of the top 60 U2 collectibles.
Press releases sent out with the album quote from Bono’s speech at the 1988 Grammy Awards, which were held on March 2, 1988. The releases also mentioned the upcoming movie, Rattle and Hum and a planned tour of Australia to support the new movie and tour.
Liner Notes
Trip Through Your Wires:
Written by U2. Produced by Lanois / Eno. Recorded by Flood. Additional engineering: Dave Meegan and Pat McCarthy.
Luminous Times:
Written by U2 / Eno. Produced by Lanois / Eno / U2. Recorded by Flood. Assisted by Pat McCarthy. Mixed by Dave Meegan.
Spanish Eyes:
Written by U2. Produced by U2. Recorded by Flood. Assisted by Pat McCarthy. Mixed by Dave Meegan. DX7 played by Brian Eno.
Silver and Gold: Written by Bono. Produced by U2. Engineered and Mixed by Paul Barrett.