The Merchandise of The Joshua Tree Tour 2019
Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2019-12-23)
With each tour comes a selection of merchandise that people take home to celebrate the tour. This ranges from VIP gifts given by the tour itself, to small merchandise items such as collectible eco-friendly rCups sold at some of the shows. We’ll go through and try to capture what merchandise was sold on this tour, but will focus just on official merchandise. Along the way we saw many fan made items, as well as many bootlegged items. This article will not deal with those.
VIP Merchandise Gift
One of the perks of paying for the more expensive VIP tickets is a VIP merchandise gift. In the past these have included books about the tour, blankets, travel bags, and more. The 2017 tour gift was one of these books, which looked at U2’s history on the 1987 tour and included a branded harmonica. This time out the gift was something new for U2, they actually gave out a special red vinyl pressing of The Joshua Tree available only as part of the VIP package. The gift also came with an exclusive poster in each case, and these were not given out separately.
The vinyl is a unique pressing on two red 12-inch vinyl. Labels on the A-side and C-side of the vinyl include the tour logo instead of the usual Joshua Tree silhouette. The vinyl has a unique catalog number, and this is reflected on the labels, in the inside booklet, and on the back sleeve of the release. The copy right date on the sleeve and in the inside book both read 2019 as well. These are pressed on 180 gram red vinyl in the Czech Republic. The pressing is the same for all shows. The poster is on a thicker stock of paper than is usual for posters, and features the band on stage during the 2017 tour under the tree at the start of “Where the Streets Have No Name.” The image used is by photographer Ross Stewart.
The VIP gifts were given out at the first ten shows on the tour, the shows in New Zealand, Australia and in Singapore. The VIP packages that would get you the gift consist of three different packages:
- Silver VIP: Includes one premium category 2 seat, a U2 VIP tour gift, laminate and lanyard and priority entry into the venue.
- Gold VIP: Includes one premium category 2 seat, a U2 VIP tour gift, laminate and lanyard and priority entry into the venue.
- VIP Party Package: One premium price category 1 seat, access to a 90 minute pre-show VIP cocktail party, A chance to win a backstage tour, a U2 VIP tour gift, laminate and lanyard. Dedicated VIP merch stand, and priority entry into the venue.
All three of the different VIP packages above would come with the same VIP gift, the combination vinyl and poster package. Also included for some of the packages was a lanyard that allowed entry into the VIP party. This lanyard was done as a lenticular print on one side, meaning it appears slightly different if you hold it at different angles.
For the dates after Singapore, no tickets were sold with a promise of a VIP merchandise item. In the Philippines, the VIP tickets advertised were just an early way to purchase floor tickets. In South Korea, some tickets were marketed as VIP, but did not include the gift.
Japan Pick Collection
In Japan there wasn’t a specific VIP package that was sold, however those in the highest priced seats, the SS seats, were informed when buying tickets that they would come with a special gift. It was not known until the day of the show what that gift would be or if it would be the same as the gift used for the VIP tickets in other markets. The gift itself was unique, and was produced just for the Japan shows. It features a card with three guitar picks, and a drum head patch similar to what was given out as part of the VIP book in previous tours. The picks include one which is black with the Joshua Tree silhouette in gold, one in black with “U2 JTT 2019” in silver, and a third which is black and has the 2019 tour logo. The four signatures of the band members are printed in silver at the bottom of the card, which has a triangle stand at the back allowing this to be displayed standing up. The entire card was packaged in an outer card “envelope” which says “U2 JTT 2019” in silver. These picks were only issued at the Japan shows. The picks are only printed on one side, and the designs can be seen in the photo above.
Merchandise on U2.Com
Two items of unique merchandise not available at the shows on the tour were sold on U2.Com.
The first item is a red T-shirt which reads “The Joshua Tree Tour 2019” on the front under the silhouettes of the band in black. The black on red printing resembles the opening of “Where the Streets Have No Name” where the four band members stand against the screen. The T-shirt was made available in advance of the tour, shortly after tickets had gone on sale, and was not made available on the tour itself. It is no longer available on the main U2.com store, but it is available from the UK store.
The second item is a grey sweatshirt with hood. The sweatshirt includes the tour logo on the left chest, and a larger version of the logo on the back of the sweatshirt. It is described as “Athletic Heather, 80% cotton / 20% polyester anti-pill fleece hoody with long sleeves.” Although it looks very similar to an item sold on tour, the tour sold hoodies all zip in the front. This one on U2.Com is a pull over and the only place to get this item. This sweatshirt is still available.
Japan Exclusive Merchandise Offer
In the days leading up to the Japan stores, a special offer appeared on Merchhub.jp, an online shop offering merchandise from a variety of acts. They offered a special U2 pop-up store, which featured hats and T-shirts not available at the concert merchandise stands. They also offered a mix of merchandise from the 2019 tour that was being sold on the stands. The offer launched on December 4, and orders were taken until the end of December 8. Initially orders were only being taken for Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Korea. But in the last days of the offer, they opened this to North American residents as well.
The unique items offered in the store included two hats and three exclusive T-Shirts.
The hats included one in black, with gold embroidery that says U2 above 日来 and has a silhouette of the Joshua Tree in gold beside the text. The other hat includes the same text, but in white, with a red border around 日来.
The three exclusive T-shirts are all variations on the same design. In the centre of the design is the silhouette of the Joshua Tree surrounded by a circle done like a brush stroke, and in the bottom right corner of the design is the “U2 日来” logo. Three shirt colours were available, blue with gold print, white with black print, and the “U2 日来” in red, and black with white print and the “U2日来” in red.
These five items were available by mail order only, and the other merchandise that was part of this offer was all available at the shows. (We’ve marked the items below in our main merchandise list with a * if it was available as part of this offer.) The merchhub site was advertised on U2’s social media, and also in person at the merchandise stands in Japan, with a poster showing some of the limited merchandise and directing people to the website to purchase.
Other In-Concert Merchandise
Some other odds and ends that you don’t get at the merchandise table? Sure. There were a few.
At the two shows in Sydney, rCup was present with their plastic reusable cup. They have been present on previous tours with a number of cup designs, but this time out only were available in Sydney. You put a $2 deposit on the cup, and you could use it and refill it all night long. The cup had the red shadow tour logo on the cup itself, and instructions on the back on how to use the cup. If returned at the end of the night you would get a portion of your money back.
When tickets went on sale, you could upgrade at many shows for a collector’s ticket. In the past these have been plastic credit card style tickets. This time out however they are bigger, and more like a regular ticket stub in size with some extra length. They are not plastic like before, but are printed using lenticular technology which means if you look at the ticket from one angle it shows the tour logo, while looking at it from another angle shows U2 walking through the desert.
Those buying (RED) Zone tickets also got a special collector ticket, and like the collector’s ticket above, it was printed using lenticular technology, so at one angle you see the band in the desert, while the other shows a close up of the tree silhouette, with the (RED) logo behind. Another nice perk of (RED) Zone is the bracelet that is used to show security that you are allowed into the area. It is a cloth wristband and contains the tour logo. These were different colours on different nights of the tour.
Finally, when buying merchandise at most shows, the merchandise would be placed into plastic bags. These bags as on previous tours are white, and printed with the tour logo. The plastic bags were not available in all cities however, and in some stops, like the one at Saitama, the disposable bags were not given out, and no bags were available.
Tour Merchandise
This is the merchandise available on the tour itself. We’ve included photos where available. Anything marked with a * was available at the Japan online shop between December 4 and December 8, 2019. Items marked with a ^ was available at U2.com’s UK Shop online. Not all of the merchandise was available at all shows, and we’ve tried to note that where we can below.
Red Silhouette Unisex Tee^*
£25 (U2.Com) / $55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40,000KRW (KOR) / 1500 PHP (PHI) / 1000 INR (IND)
Band members standing silhouetted against red screen on the front of the tee, with gold bars at top and bottom to look like the screen, with tour logo and dates on the back of the shirt. This shirt is called the “Hanging Tree” design on some marketing materials. This shirt was available at all tour stops including India, and was also sold on U2.Com and the limited Japan internet offer through MerchHub.
Green I Want to Run 2019 Tee^
£25 (U2.Com) / $55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 40,000KRW (KOR) / 1500 PHP (PHI)
Similar to the 2017 Tee in black, this shirt is in army green and says “I Want to Run 1987” on the front and “I Want to Hide 2019” on the back. This shirt was not offered at the shows in Tokyo and Mumbai, but was sold at other shows. It was also sold online at the UK shop on U2.Com.
Band Logo Unisex Tee*
$55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40,000KRW (KOR) / 1500 PHP (PHI) / 1000 INR (IND)
Band silhouettes in gold on a black T-shirt with tour dates on reverse. Shirt is available at all tour stops including India, but was not sold online at U2.Com. It was, however, made available online during the limited Japan offer through MerchHub.
White Album Cover Unisex Tee*
$55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40,000KRW (KOR) / 1500 PHP (PHI) / 1000 INR (IND)
White tee with album cover on the front and tour dates on the reverse. This shirt was made available at all tour stops, including India. The shirt was not sold online at U2.Com. It was, however, made available online during the limited Japan offer through MerchHub.
Experience Unisex Tee
$55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 40,000KRW (KOR)
Band member photo on the front with Experience logo in blue and white repeated behind band and U2 logo on sleeve. No design on the back. Previously available in 2018, but with dates on the back. This shirt was made available in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and South Korea. It was not sold in Japan, The Philippines or India.
Black / Red / Green Unisex Tour Logo Tee*
$55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40000KRW (KOR) / 1500PHP (PHI) / 1000 INR (IND)
Tour logo on front in large design, and tour logo and tour dates on the reverse. These shirts were printed in three colours, black, red and green. The black were available at tour stops in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the Philippines, Korea and India. The green shirt was available in Japan and online through the offer through MerchHub while the Japan shows were happening. The red shirt was seen available in New Zealand and in Singapore.
Youth’s T-Shirt*
$50 (SING) / 40,000KRW (KOR) / 1500PHP (PHI)
Similar to the Ladies Tree design below, these youth sized shirts feature a Joshua Tree doodle on the front of the T-shirt. These were made available in both grey and black during the tour. The grey shirt was seen in Manila, Seoul, Japan and Singapore. The black shirt was seen as part of the Merch Hub offer online during the Japan shows.
The Joshua Tree Women’s Tee*^
£25 (U2.Com) / $30 (NZ) / $35 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40,000KRW (KOR) / 1500 PHP (PHI)
White woman’s shirt with drawing of The Joshua Tree in gold on the front. This design was available in 2017 as a children’s shirt, this is the first time it has been offered as a women’s shirt. The shirt was sold at all shows on the tour, as well as at the UK Shop on U2.Com, as well as online for the Japan shows at Merchhub.
Joshua Tree Silhouette Woman’s Tee*
$50 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40,000KRW (KOR)
Black T-Shirt with tree logo in gold on front of shirt. This shirt was previously available in 2017. The shirt was not available at the shows in Manila and India. It was made available online through the offer at MerchHub during the Japan shows.
Love is Bigger Women’s Tee*
$55 (NZ) / $50 (AU) / $50 (SING) / 4500Y (JAP) / 40000KRW (KOR) / 1500PHP (PHI) / 1000 INR (IND)
Women’s Tee with “Love is Bigger” rainbow logo on the front. Features “U2” in white on the back. Previously available in 2018. Although all of the shirts we saw in person included the red heart in the centre, various merchandising pieces showed a green heart instead. At each stand we saw in person the heart was the red heart design, even when pictured in ‘available merchandise’ as being the green heart. The online store at MerchHub also showed a green heart design. We are not certain what orders when fulfilled will receive. We’ve included both images above for those who are interested, but we believe it was the red heart which was sold. The green heart design was seen in the merchandise lists for the Philippines, Korea, and the MerchHub online store in Japan. If anyone has received a green heart shirt, we’d love to see a photo!
Black Hoodie Sweatshirt*
$110 (NZ) / $100 (AU) / $90 (SING) / 8000Y (JAP) / 80,000KRW (KOR) / 3200PHP (PHI)
Black sweatshirt with tour logo on the front right hand side. Tour dates on the back. This sweatshirt zips up. Was not available in India. This hoodie was sold online during the Japan shows at MerchHub.
Grey Hoodie Sweatshirt*
$110 (NZ) / $100 (AU) / $90 (SING) / 8000Y (JAP) / 80,000KRW (KOR) / 3200PHP (PHI)
Light grey hoodie with tour logo on front and back (gold and red with black print.) This sweatshirt zips up. Was not available in India. Differs from the one sold online, as the one sold at U2.Com does not zip up and is a pull over. This hoodie was sold online during the Japan shows at MerchHub.
The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 Ball Cap^*
£25 (U2.Com) / $45 (NZ) / $40 (AU) / $40 (SING) / 4000Y (JAP) / 1500 PHP (PHI) / 800 INR (IND)
Hat with tour logo (gold and red with white embroidery.) Although pictured on merchandise lists in Seoul, it was marked sold out on the day they opened. It was available at other stops of the tour including India. It was also available online at U2.Com as well as online for the Japan shows at MerchHub.
Tote Bag^*
£20 (U2.Com) / $35 (NZ) / $30 (AU) / $35 (SING) / 2000Y (JAP) / 35,000KRW (KOR) / 1200 PHP (PHI) / 600 INR (IND)
Two sided tote bag featuring the tour logo on one side, and the silhouette of the Joshua Tree on the backside, 11 times in red, and one time in gold. The tote was sold at all tour stops. It was also available to order at U2.Com as well as online for the Japan shows at MerchHub.
The Joshua Tree Pin / Badge
$20 (NZ) / $20 (AU) / $15 (SING) / 1000Y (JAP) / 15,000KRW (KOR) / 700 PHP (PHI)
Joshua Tree pin. This pin was previously available in 2017. The pin was available at all stops online except for India.
The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 Tour Program
£20 (U2.Com) / $30 (NZ) / $30 (AU) / $40 (SING) / 3500Y (JAP) / 35,000KRW (KOR) / 1500PHP (PHI)
A new tour program, featuring the new logo on the front of the program. Unlike the 2017 program, this one is a 12-inch by 12-inch program. The program includes a fold out poster of the band walking through the desert. In Japan and South Korea an additional insert was added providing language translation for each of those regions.
The Joshua Tree Mug
$20 (NZ) / $20 (AU) / $25 (SING) / 2000Y (JAP) / 25,000KRW (KOR) / 700PHP (PHI)
This is a black mug with Tree silhouette in gold on one side and U2 logo in oval on reverse. Similar in design to 2017 mug. However, unlike the 2017 design, this mug is white on the inside and shorter than the 2017 version that was white. The mug was not sold online, and the mug currently available on U2.Com is one of the 2017 designs. No mugs were offered in India.
Beer Cooler
$15 (NZ) / $15 (AU)
Features the tour logo on a foam sleeve meant to keep your beer cool. This item was only sold in Australia and New Zealand and was not made available online.
Water Bottle*
£25 (U2.Com) $40 (NZ) / $40 (AU) / $35 (SING) / 30,000KRW (KOR) / 1300PHP (PHI)
Metal water bottle features the U2 logo on one side, and the silhouette of the tree on the back in gold. These were previously available in 2017. The bottle was not sold at shows in Japan and India. It was made available again on U2.Com when the tour started.
Japan Towel*
2000Y (JAP)
Available only at the shows in Japan and at the online offer at MerchHub Japan, this towel is described as a muffler towel, and was displayed as being worn around the neck on mannequins at the merchandise stand.
City Specific Shirts
There were three city specific shirt designs used throughout the tour. The two most common were alternated each night. One of these designs is a blue T-shirt with a moon in red and gold on the front, with a Joshua Tree silhouette in front of the tree. The other shirt was a red shirt with an image of the band walking in the desert on the front with a large lettering that said “The Joshua Tree”. On the back of each style of shirt is the name of the city and the date that the shirt was for.
The full list of which city got which of these shirts is as follows:
- Auckland November 8, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Auckland November 9, 2019: Red Band Shirt
- Brisbane November 12, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Melbourne, November 15, 2019: Red Band Shirt
- Adelaide, November 19, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Sydney, November 22, 2019: Red Band Shirt
- Sydney, November 23, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Perth, November 27, 2019: Red Band Shirt
- Singapore, November 30, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Singapore, December 1, 2019: Red Band Shirt
- Tokyo, December 4, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Tokyo, December 5, 2019: Red Band Shirt
- Seoul, December 8, 2019: Moon Shirt
- Manila, December 11, 2019: Red Band Shirt
Mumbai, the final show of the tour, got their own special city shirt. The design was on a black shirt and featured gold print and a peacock feather design. These were only available in Mumbai.
Other
One item of note to mention is the collection of U2 CDs reissued before the tour started in Japan. They reissued U2’s entire catalog of albums including Under a Blood Red Sky and the compilations U218, The Best of 1980 – 1990 and The Best of 1990 – 2000. All contain a new OBI strip design on the outside of the package and all fifteen CDs are marked with the Joshua Tree Tour 2019 logo on the back of the OBI, which you can see above in the image.
There are other items we could mention, including a nice tour labeled envelope that some tickets arrived in in India. There’s a giant jet that was labeled with the tour logo as well, but we’re pretty sure that one isn’t going to end up in anyone’s collection anytime soon. And there was a lot of advertising on the local level with each show getting posters and some print ads, and other items. And many people’s favourite item is the old paper ticket stub, still issued in some cases, as a souvenir of the show they witnessed.
Thank You
This article couldn’t be possible without the help of many people. This includes Marcel Ide-Premer for the Melbourne T-shirt image, xtristessa for the Manila T-shirt image, u2tour for the Singapore T-shirt image, NessVoxNess for the Tokyo2 T-shirt image, hidingintheburg for the merchandise bag image, Rick for the Mumbai T-shirt image and special thanks to SallieAnnG and harrykantas for many other images used throughout the article.
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