"Where the Streets Have No Name" - U2
Promotional Release
Track Listing:
- "Where the Streets Have No Name" (Single Version) - U2 (04:50)
- "Silver and Gold" (Studio Version) - U2 (04:38)
- "Sweetest Thing" (Studio Version 1987) - U2 (03:04)
Background Information
“Where the Streets Have No Name” was the third single issued to promote “The Joshua Tree” and was released worldwide as a commercial single. In most regions the promotional single was quite similar to the commercial single. Of note with the release of this single, is the first promotional release by Island Records in the USA on CD. A 5-inch CD was pressed, catalog number PR 2104-2, and containing just the title track. The CD was released in a white cardboard sleeve, with a black and gold sticker affixed to the front of the sleeve. This CD promotional release was listed at #44 on Record Collector magazine’s “Top 60 U2 Collectibles” list in 2006.
A number of 7-inch promotional singles were just copies of the commercial single with a sticker or stamp that marked them as promotional. In Australia the commercial single was stickered to say it was a promotional release. In Germany the promotional version of the single came with an added one-sheet of “Single Facts”. In Japan the label of the release had additional printed text, and the UPC is covered with a promotional sticker.
In Canada the juke box promotional single contained “Where the Streets Have no Name”, “Silver and Gold” and “Sweetest Thing” and was released in a generic sleeve. The label is a white label. In Portugal the 7-inch contained the same tracks, but was released in a plain black sleeve with a white sticker that contained an image of the Joshua tree.
In Mexico, USA, and South Africa, the promotional single released had “Where the Streets Have No Name” on both the A and B-Sides. In all cases the single was released in a generic sleeve. A version with the same song on both sides was also issued in the UK, with a large ‘A’ in the center of the label. Also issued in the UK were a number of promotional releases for juke boxes with a variety of coloured molded labels (silver, blue and red) and with various track configurations.
In Italy a 7-inch pressing of the single was done for juke boxes and was released with a unique sleeve featuring the lyrics of the song. This was backed with “Never Let Me Down Again” by Depeche Mode. This was issued in a number of different sleeves. More information about these Italian juke box singles can be found under the specific discography entry for these singles.
Liner Notes
Where the Streets Have No Name:
Written by U2. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Recorded by Flood with Pat McCarthy. Mixed by Steve Lillywhite. Mix Engineered by Mark Wallace.
Silver and Gold:
Written by Bono. Produced by U2. Engineered and Mixed by Paul Barrett.
Sweetest Thing:
Written by U2. Produced by U2 with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Engineered by Joe O’Herlihy and Pat McCarthy. Mixed by Mark Wallace. Assisted by Pat McCarthy.