“Lights of Home” Confirmed for Record Store Day on April 21, 2018

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2018-03-06)

Record Store Day is falling on April 21 this year, and what would it be without a U2 release? U2 is set to release a 12-inch picture disc single of “Lights of Home” for Record Store Day 2018. The single will be released in a clear sleeve allowing the vinyl image to show through. The release is limited to 5000 copies worldwide. The sleeve will be stickered (which is what we can see in the image below) with the titles, and we are told that a download card will be included as well. Catalog number for this release is 6739348 and UPC is 602567393481.

There will be three songs on the single:

• “Lights of Home” (Album Version)
• “Lights of Home” (St. Peter’s String Version)
• “Lights of Home” (Free Yourself / Beck Remix)

The “Free Yourself / Beck Remix” version was remixed by Beck, who had joined U2 on The Joshua Tree 2017 tour for the third leg in the USA. It is a new mix of the song done specifically for this release.

The vinyl can be seen below:

The image on the vinyl is by Shaughn McGrath and is a silhouette of the image of Bono’s son Eli and Edge’s daughter Sian holding hands which was used for the cover of Songs of Experience. Over top you can see the lights of Dublin shining at night from above.

The photo being used for the ‘lights of home’ appears to be this photo by French astronaut Thom Pesquet from the International Space Station. The photo was taken on St Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2017. (Thanks to Valerie and her sharp eyes for that one!)

The listing of this release on the Record Store Day website is here. This is the 11th year that Record Store Day has offered a list of rare exclusives to record stores in April, many limited in quantity, that sell out quickly on the day of release. The event has been so successful it has been spun into a second day on Black Friday each year.

The official list was announced today in events in New York, London and other locations around the world.

“Lights of Home,” like “The Blackout” which was released for RSD Black Friday last year, has not been released to radio for promotion. The band currently is promoting “Get Out of Your Own Way” in North America, and has started to promote “Summer of Love” with DJs in the UK and Europe and on Dutch radio.

U2 has been participating in Record Store Day for a number of years:

• November 26, 2010: Release of the EP “Wide Awake in Europe” [5000 copies, numbered]
• November 29, 2013: Release of the 10-inch single “Ordinary Love” [10000 copies]
• November 28, 2014: Release of a North and South of the River Poster / Map
• April 18, 2015: Release of Songs of Innocence on double 12-inch vinyl [5000 copies, numbered]
• April 22, 2017: Release of “Red Hill Mining Town” as a 12-inch picture disc, also a limited release of a numbered ‘fanzine’ [7000 copies, 1000 copies of US fanzine, 500 copies of UK fanzine]
• November 24, 2017: Release of “The Blackout” in 12-inch black and 12-inch coloured vinyl [750 copies limited coloured vinyl, 19250 copies of black vinyl]
• April 21, 2018: Release of “Lights of Home” as a 12-inch picture disc [5000 copies]

Our 2016 History Mix looked back in more detail at many of these releases.

We will update the news here as more information is available and will set up a discography entry shortly. Record Store Day falls on April 21, 2018 this year. When you are popping into your record store, we expect you’ll be able to find the recently announced reissues of Pop, All That You Can’t Leave Behind and Wide Awake in America, which are being released eight days earlier on April 13, 2018. Below we have some questions and answers about this upcoming release.

How Much will the “Lights of Home” Release Cost?

Stores are allowed to set their own pricing on Record Store Day items, so the price may vary depending on what store you go to. However, Record Store Day guidelines ask that stores pay attention to list pricing and stay within 20% of the price. This one is being priced at $22.97 (USD, Bull Moose Records) and £15.99 (GBP, Pie & Vinyl) and is appears to be priced higher than the last RSD Picture disc release at Bull Moose at least.

(The “Red Hill Mining Town” picture vinyl had been listed at $13.97 (USD, Bull Moose Records) and £15.99 (GBP, Pie & Vinyl)

Can I pre-order / reserve “Lights of Home”?

Items for Record Store Day are not generally available for pre-order, as the whole point of the day is to get customers into stores. From the recordstoreday.co.uk FAQ: Stores are bound by the Record Store Day code of conduct which prohibits them reserving product for customers or allowing customers to pre order product. Record Store Day is about the occasion and visiting the store is part of the enjoyment so our best advice is get up early and check with stores in advance that they have your product.

Can I buy “Lights of Home” online?

Stores are also prohibited from selling online in advance of Record Store Day, in the UK stores are asked not to sell product online for one week after the event has started. But with larger quantity releases this does happen, and many stores do end up listing excess stock that do not sell on the day of release as well.

Why is “Lights of Home” already available on eBay at super high prices?

Shortly after an announcement of anything to do with Record Store Day, listings appear on eBay for high prices, sometimes into the triple digits. Due to the limited nature of these releases, some users of ebay will assume they will get a copy of the vinyl on Record Store Day and list the vinyl in advance in order to get high prices. This is one of the downsides of Record Store Day. These people do not actually have the product to sell in most cases, nor will they be shipping it out before Record Store Day. And in some cases, come the actual day, they will not get their ‘allotment’ and will end up cancelling auctions.

We suggest not getting worried and buying one of these advanced auctions. If you do have to buy on eBay the prices usually come down right after the event happens.

The Record Store Day site lists:

When you see a title listed on an auction site before RSD, it’s almost CERTAINLY someone who has listed something they do not have in hand, and can’t guarantee they will have in hand, because they’re going out to a store to try and get it on 4/22 like everyone else. They call it a “pre-order” but since they’re not getting distributed to, it’s not a pre-order. It’s more like a scam, really. We work very hard to investigate the listings and in the tiny percentage of the time over the past ten years that it has been a store behind it, there have been serious implications for that store.

Will this item really be worth more than $100?

People have set high prices on eBay now, but its rare that these stay that high. “Wide Awake in Europe” which was released in 2010 in the same quantities as this “Lights of Home” release, and also had a track that was not available anywhere else, can still be purchased for under $100USD at auction. In the past few months these have sold at auction for $67 – $99. The more recent release of “Songs of Innocence” which was released at 5000 copies as well can still be purchased at auction in the $40-$60 range. More recent releases such as “Red Hill Mining Town” and “The Blackout” both released in greater quantities than “Lights of Home” can be found on auction sites for under $20, and are still available in store. Unlike “Wide Awake in Europe” and “Songs of Innocence” we are told this item will not be numbered.

These items will sometimes go up in price, but I don’t expect they will reach the high prices set on a couple of early eBay auctions. Those are set high to try to get the most amount of money possible, before the vinyl is released and more widely available.

Will “Lights of Home” be available in my country?

Record Store Day has expanded over the years, and is more than just a USA event where it started. That being said, not every country has a Record Store Day, and even if they do have a record store day, they may not get all of the releases. “Lights of Home” is a Record Store day Exclusive which is defined as “Exclusively available on Record Store Day at Record Store Day participating stores. Will not be available anywhere else in the same format.”

RSD UK: http://www.recordstoreday.co.uk/
RSD IRELAND: http://recordstoreday.ie/
RSD GERMANY: http://www.recordstoredaygermany.de/
RSD BELGIUM: http://www.recordstoreday.be/
RSD NETHERLANDS: http://recordstoreday.nl/
RSD FRANCE: http://www.disquaireday.fr/
RSD MEXICO: http://discotecaonline.net/rsd/
RSD ITALY: http://www.recordstoreday.it/
RSD SPAIN: http://www.recordstoreday.es/
RSD AUSTRALIA: http://www.recordstoreday.com.au/

Canada does use the same site as the USA for Record Store Day, and does not have a separate website. Stores participating in Canada are found here.

What we do know? The record will be available in the United States, and it is listed among the offerings there. The vinyl was also initially listed on the UK Record Store Day site. In Canada, stores have confirmed they are able to order and will be getting copies in. Our suggestion is to keep checking the links above for further information, as well as checking with your local shop about this release.

Will All Record Shops get this release?

Stores have to order and receive the titles just like any other new release through the year. They are not given to the stores, and the store must order copies of the U2 vinyl or there will be none for sale. What will happen at times, with a limited release, a store may not get all of the copies that they have ordered. Stores got their lists they can order from this week, so now is a good time to reach out to the store you plan to shop at and let them know you would like to have the album ordered. This is a day organized for independent record stores, and if you are hoping to buy the vinyl at a larger international chain, you may want to check first that they are eligible to participate.

You can find a list of stores that participate in Record Store Day in the US here and the UK here. Similar lists are available on international Record Store Day sites (links above).

When will I know if my store got copies of this in?

Some stores will post lists of the items they have received in advance of Record Store Day. As they can be penalized for taking advance orders, they still will not be able to take orders for individual items at that time. Exact quantities being shipped may be limited, and may not be known until items actually are received at stores, which happens the week of the release. Other stores will not post confirmation, and you will have to wait until the doors open on Record Store Day to find out what is inside.

Are numbered copies sent out randomly around the world?

We are being told that this release will not be numbered.

It’s not fair U2 doesn’t release this in our region!

We know many of you will not get this release in your own country and will have to explore other avenues to find a copy. This was a big concern in earlier years as well. Record Store Day continues to expand throughout the world, and there are more countries participating now than there were the last time U2 released an album in this manner. As we get closer to the release, and stores do start to offer this item online we hope to be able to share those links with you to make it easier for you to find a copy.

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