Three New U2 Vinyl Releases July 27

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2018-06-14)

Update: July 30, 2018: Although we were originally told that the new pressings of Achtung Baby and Zooropa would use the audio mix from 2011, this is not the case and these discs are new remasters for 2018.

As we told you back in March, July will see the release of The Best Of 1980 – 1990 on vinyl, and shops have begun to take pre-orders for that release. We can also reveal some additional information.

Three different releases are coming out, joining The Best of 1980 – 1990 are new vinyl pressings of Achtung Baby and Zooropa. These will both be released on July 27 as well. All three are now listed on Amazon in the UK:

Achtung Baby and Zooropa will both be a 2-disc set using the same mix as the 2011 pressing. (NOTE: See update above, a new mix has been used for these.) The Best of 1980 – 1990 will also be a 2-disc set, but mastering information is not available at this time. Although we have provided links to the Amazon UK store, these releases will be sold worldwide, and if you were able to buy the releases of All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Pop, and Wide Awake in America earlier this year on vinyl, you should be able to buy these as well in the same retail outlets. These are not limited releases, so if you do not see them in your preferred shop yet, don’t panic, they should be listed at some point through the week.

All three releases will have updated catalog numbers and UPC information which will distinguish these from older pressings on vinyl. It has been confirmed that these releases will contain download codes like the releases earlier this year did. All three pressings will be on black vinyl, at 180 gram weight.

There will be additional tracks on the vinyl for some of these releases, further making them different from the original releases. Achtung Baby will not have any additional tracks. Zooropa will feature “Lemon (The Perfecto Mix)” and “Numb (Gimme Some More Dignity Mix)” as bonus tracks on the second side of the second disc. The Best of 1980 – 1990 will include “One Tree Hill” on the vinyl between “All I Want is You” and “October” as it did when originally released.

Achtung Baby was reissued on vinyl in 2011 for the 20th anniversary of that album, in a box set. That release was a box set featured Achtung Baby on two discs and contained two additional discs with remixes and additional tracks from the period, with coloured vinyl for the remixes and black vinyl for the main album. At the time it was not released as a stand alone pressing. Both Achtung Baby and Zooropa have been heavily bootlegged in recent years, so please use caution when ordering from online retailers that you are ordering the upcoming official release and not one of the bootlegs. Most of the bootlegged pressings come in a variety of different coloured vinyls.

Vinyl has grown to be a big industry in recent years, and is one format of music where there is growth in sales year after year. Universal has been pressing U2 vinyl over the last few years to meet the growing demand for this format. All of U2’s catalog will now be in print in vinyl format by Universal Music with the exception of Rattle and Hum, No Line on the Horizon, The Best of 1990 – 2000, and Original Soundtracks 1. We are told Rattle and Hum will be released on, or near, October 12, 2018 for the 30th anniversary of that album. This new release will be using the remaster used for the 2017 MFiT program, overseen by the Edge. When asked if there would be other releases to support the 30th anniversary of that album we were not provided with any information. Both No Line on the Horizon and The Best of 1990 – 2000 are expected to be available in the near future, but no firm release date has been given. We are told these may follow next April.

We will update this article as new information is revealed such as catalog information.

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