U218 Singles on Vinyl Over the Years

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2024-09-16)

Note: Repressing and reissuing records is part of the record business and is done routinely when a record is no longer in print, but demand continues. This article discusses the history of the U218 Singles album in this format since the initial release in 2006.

Recently we published news that U218 Singles was being advertised for a Fall release on orange vinyl. The listing, originally on Target, showed a “Target Exclusive” orange vinyl pressing, with a release date of October 18. The release date later shifted to October 25, and then November 1, before the listing was removed completely. (For those without a Target in your country, it’s likely this exclusive will be carried at other chains in those countries like past Target exclusives.) We had a lot of questions about one part of that article, our claim that the U218 Singles vinyl had been issued at least five times. We’ll take a look below at these different pressings, all done in Europe.

Why so many? The vinyl is a good seller, and Universal keeps it in print. Every time stock gets low, a new pressing is done to keep the item in stores. This isn’t anything new, and over the years most of U2’s records and CDs have continually been issued and reissued. Usually there is little difference and little fuss is made about them. But the label does like to have this as an item available in stores when the band release new material or are on tour. As a collection of their hits from throughout their career, its an album many first-time buyers of a U2 record may gravitate towards.

Original 2006 Issue


IMAGE: U218 Singles Original Version

  • Black Vinyl
  • Matte Cover
  • Grey cover
  • Sticker on front sleeve with rounded edges
  • No download card
  • Just the photo inner sleeves
  • Smaller label logos on back cover
  • Larger numbers in UPC

Information: This was the original pressing on vinyl, released in 2006 when the album first came out. There was only one pressing sold worldwide at that time, made in Europe and exported worldwide. The sticker on the front is attached directly to the front sleeve and not on the stretch wrap. The sleeve itself is a matte finish, and in my opinion the nicest of the set. Colours in the front and back cover are grey rather than the sepia colour used later. (All of our images were done on the same scanner using the same settings, and all were done at the same time.)

Reissue One 2011 Issue


IMAGE: U218 Singles Reissue One

  • Black Vinyl
  • Matte Cover
  • Sepia coloured (Most coloured version of the five)
  • Sticker on front sleeve with rounded edges
  • No download card
  • Just the photo inner sleeves
  • Larger label logos on back cover
  • Larger numbers in UPC

Information: This one came out somewhere around 2011, and we have reports of it being available for a number of years around that time. It may have been redone around the time U2 were returning to North America for a final leg of the U2360 tour, or it may have even happened a bit earlier. Like the original pressing this one is a matte sleeve, but the colours are sepia in tone now, and it is the most coloured of the bunch. The sleeve is again stickered right on the front, and the sticker isn’t attached to an outer wrap. The front sticker has rounded edges, just like the original sticker. One difference of note? The Mercury and Island logos on the back corner have been increased in size from the original pressing.

Reissue Two 2015 Issue


IMAGE: U218 Singles Reissue Two

  • Black Vinyl
  • Matte Cover
  • Sepia coloured
  • Sticker on front sleeve with square edges
  • No download card
  • Just the photo inner sleeves
  • Larger label logos on back cover
  • Larger numbers in UPC

Information: We think this one came out in early 2015 as U2 were starting to tour. This one is very similar to the release above. The sleeve is matte again, although sepia in tone it’s a little more reserved than the previous release. Like the release above the Mercury and Island logos are bigger in size than the original pressing. One thing that gives this pressing away? The squared off corners on the front label, instead of rounded corners as was used on the first two listed above.

Reissue Three 2017 Issue


IMAGE: U218 Singles Reissue Three

  • Black Vinyl
  • Shiny Cover
  • Sepia coloured but less colour
  • No sticker on front sleeve
  • Heavier vinyl pressing
  • Download card included – download files dated 2017
  • Black inner sleeves, and photo inner sleeves
  • Smaller label logos on back cover
  • Smaller numbers in UPC
  • Slightly different titles on front cover than original releases

Information: This one came out in 2017 and it came out towards the end of the year. This one is significantly different from what came before. The label logos on the back sleeve have returned to the smaller logos that were on the first release. The sleeve is shiny and feels a bit cheaper than the previous releases. The vinyl pressing is heavier than what came before. And for the first time a download card is included, and the files included in the download are dated 2017. Additionally there’s one other change on the back cover, the numbers used in the UPC (barcode) are smaller on this new pressing. The heavier vinyl is now packaged in black paper inner sleeves inside the vinyl, and the photo inner sleeves are still included, but are now shipped empty.

Reissue Four 2022 Issue


IMAGE: U218 Singles Reissue Four

  • Black Vinyl
  • Shiny Cover
  • Sepia coloured but less colour
  • No sticker on front sleeve
  • Heavier vinyl pressing
  • Download card included
  • Black inner sleeves, and photo inner sleeves
  • Smaller label logos on back cover
  • Smaller numbers in UPC
  • Slightly different titles on front cover than original releases

Information: This one came out in 2022, and I’m not sure we would have even picked up on it being different from the one above. Everything is the same as above from the weight of the vinyl, to the logos on the sleeve, to the smaller numbers on the UPC, and black inner sleeves. However Universal did list this as a new pressing when it came out, and there have been changes to the matrix numbers on the included vinyl with an additional set of numbers being pressed into the dead wax.

Reissue Five 2024 Issue

  • Orange Vinyl
  • More information to follow

Information: It looks like this one was announced early on Target’s website and quickly removed from public view again. We’ll have to wait and see what the sleeve and markings on the sleeve are like, but we’ll update here when we have more information. We expect it will be formally announced shortly.

More Information

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