SOS and Other Updates

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2023-02-03)

U2’s Songs of Surrender is out next month, but some tracks have started to appear in advance.

The first taste of the album was the trailer with “Beautiful Day”, and then the band have released both “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “With or Without You” from the album.

The next song set to be released is a new version of “One” which should be released on February 10, 2023. Like “With or Without You” before it, a preview is available now on Apple in some countries. (In some locations it is accessible through iTunes, in others through Apple Music.) It is only a preview, the full track is not yet available even if you have purchased the album.

For those wanting more information on these projects you can find more information in our discography section:

The producer of the Songs of Surrender album is The Edge. But he’s not the only producer in the mix. Bob Ezrin is being listed as a producer on both of the tracks so far. Bono is also listed as a producer for “With or Without You”. Finally, Duncan Stewart is listed as an additional producer on both tracks so far. Stewart has been working with the band for a number of years. (Including credits as an engineer on Songs of Experience) He also has his own recording career under the name Dunx.

We’ve seen a few questions about the coloured vinyl pressings and how they differ from the main album pressing on black vinyl. The black vinyl version of the album will contain 16 tracks, which are the same 16 tracks that are on all the other coloured vinyl pressings announced to date. Only the Crystal Clear vinyl differs, as it has 20 tracks instead of 16, and it is the only vinyl version that contains 20. The boxed set of four vinyl will of course contain all 40 tracks.

Speaking of coloured vinyl, the day the album was announced, U2.com appeared to accidentally list a few items which were quickly taken down again. This included a purple vinyl pressing of the album with a purple cover.

We can tell you that this album will be widely available soon, with plans to sell the vinyl through Universal Records sites online, as well as through U2.com. Expect to see this one go on sale towards the end of February. The green cassette should pop up at that time as well or maybe a little earlier.

The blue vinyl is a limited run for larger chain stores. In each country the blue version of the album will be available at one of these bigger chains.

A list of some of the locations we know? LaFeltrinelli in Italy, Sunrise Records in Canada, El Corte Ingles in Spain, JPC in Germany, FNAC in France and Portugal, Golden Discs in Ireland, HMV in UK, Target in USA, Plato Mania in the Netherlands, Music Records in Czech Republic, Bakelit Futar in Hungary, JB Hi-Fi in Australia and New Zealand, Tower Records in Japan and Empik in Poland.

Like other pressings, it looks like large quantities are being pressed, but once sold, the blue version will not be offered again in a second pressing. Thanks to everyone who has been sending in tips on where to find this one.

The footage that U2 had filmed in Colombia? We’re told its not album promotional footage at all, but rather footage for the upcoming SOS Baby announcement for the residency in Las Vegas. Expect those performances to be announced soon.

The band have also been filming new material for promotion of the Songs of Surrender album, which includes video footage for all 40 songs. This footage is said to include drone footage, animation and other elements. It is expected this footage will possibly be used on streaming services such as Spotify and YouTube to promote the album upon release.

For those asking when Bono and The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman will air on Disney+ the show will premiere on the station on March 17. Unlike traditional TV stations, the channel is on demand streaming, and thus once the show is made available, it can be streamed at any point. Most new content arrives on Disney+ at 3am Eastern, which is 8am in the UK and Ireland, and at midnight Pacific.

For those interested, I sat down this week for a chat with Remy and Joeri on the U2Start Podcast about all the upcoming U2 projects. Many thanks to the team at U2Start for the invitation!

Finally…a few other appearances by U2…

“Halftime Hype Radio” on Apple Music 1 takes a look at various performances at the Halftime show at the Super Bowl, featuring a panel of music journalists and radio hosts discussing the performances. U2 gets featured alongside Aerosmith and *NSYNC in the sixth episode of the show.
The original version of “With or Without You” is appearing on a digital compilation from Universal ahead of Valentines Day. The compilation is called “I Love You Be My Valentine” and is released today on select digital services including YouTube Music.
In our last catch up, we mentioned that Mark Maron had teased Bono would soon be featured on WTF. We’ve since been told that those plans did not work out, and Bono will not be appearing.

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