“Sweetest Thing” Digital Release Friday June 28
Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2024-06-27)
U2 continue to offer more of their back catalog to streaming services with the seventh release in the “To Love and Only Love” collection. This time out the single being added is “Sweetest Thing” which will be released on digital store fronts and streaming services on Friday, June 28. To date, the other six singles released in this project have all been from the Pop album, and this is the next song that U2 had released following that album.
IMAGE: Sweetest Thing Single (Remastered 2024)
The tracks included here are taken from the commercial singles released in 1998 on CD, vinyl and cassette. The “To Love and Only Love” collection is an effort by U2 to upgrade their offerings on streaming services. Many of these tracks have not been available in the past on these services. The “Sweetest Thing” single did appear on The Complete U2 if you bought the full collection, but did not ever appear on streaming services or digital stores outside of that. Twelve singles in total are being reissued in 2024. A new updated single has been released every two weeks since the project started.
The songs included on the new “Sweetest Thing” release, available tomorrow, are as follows:
- “Sweetest Thing” (Single Mix / Remastered 2024) – U2 (03:01)
- “Stories for Boys” (Live from Boston, MA, Mar. 6, 1981 / Remastered 2024) – U2 (03:04)
- “Out of Control” (Live from Boston, MA, Mar. 6, 1981 / Remastered 2024) – U2 (04:35)
- “Twilight” (Live from Morrison, CO, Jun. 5, 1983 / Remastered 2024) – U2 (04:35)
- “An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart” (Live from Morrison, CO, Jun. 5, 1983 / Remastered 2024) – U2 (07:17)
The B-Sides for “Sweetest Thing” were live tracks taken from two early concerts. “Twilight” and “An Cat Dubh / Into the Heart” are taken from the famed Red Rocks concert in Morrison, CO. These songs had appeared on the live video, but an audio version had not been released prior to this single. The other two songs, “Stories for Boys” and “Out of Control” were both recorded in Boston in 1981.
“Sweetest Thing” was a re-recorded version of a B-Side that had not made the cut for The Joshua Tree, but was released as a B-Side on the “Where the Streets Have No Name” single. The new version, released in September 1988 was newly recorded by the band, and released on The Best of 1980 – 1990. “Sweetest Thing” was the last commercial single released by U2 in the 1990s.
The song was initially written for Bono’s wife Ali when he missed her birthday in 1986. All proceeds from the song were given to the charity “The Children of Chernobyl”, which was chosen by Ali as her chosen charity, an organization that brought children affected by the Chernobyl disaster to visit and stay with Irish families.
The song did well in the charts, hitting #1 in Canada, and Ireland. It also reached #3 in the UK and New Zealand.
There’s been some question on where to find these on Apple Music. Apple Music seems to be following different filing systems for these as they come out. “Please” and “If God Will Send His Angels” both fall under singles, and are listed with their 1997 release date, so you’ll have to scroll back to find them. “Discotheque” and “Staring at the Sun” are both listed under singles as well, but these are listed with a 2024 release date, so are easily found under singles. “Last Night on Earth” is listed under albums, and with the 1997 release date, so it’s not in an expected location at all.
More information: “Sweetest Thing“ Discography Entry
< Next News Entry | Previous News Entry >
u2songs.com was formerly known as u2wanderer.org. Follow us on Twitter | Facebook
