U2 demos.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

gweeps

War Child
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
753
Location
Kingston ON, Canada
Aside from the Achtung Baby demos out there, what others exists?

Alone in the Light?
Lost on a Silent Planet?
False Prophet?
Tonight?
Be There?
The Dream is Over?

I know some of these are U2 songs, but am not sure about all of them. Also, if they are, do studio recordings exist of them?
 
Aside from the Achtung Baby demos out there, what others exists?

Alone in the Light?
Lost on a Silent Planet?
False Prophet?
Tonight?
Be There?
The Dream is Over?

I know some of these are U2 songs, but am not sure about all of them. Also, if they are, do studio recordings exist of them?

I've researched these a bit, and to the best of my knowledge, the following demo sessions were done pre-Boy:

U2 Dublin, 1978-04-00, Eamon Andrews Studios, Various Dates - U2 on tour
U2 Dublin, 1978-11-01, Keystone Studios, Various Dates - U2 on tour (released on iTunes' Complete U2)
U2 Dublin, 1979-02-00, Eamon Andrews Studios, Various Dates - U2 on tour
U2 London, 1979-12-00, CBS Studios, Various Dates - U2 on tour

Be There dates from 1982, though I wouldn't class that as a demo. Actually, I wouldn't class the last of the above four sessions as a demo either, as the band were recording The Dream Is Over for a contracted single and just never released it. I'd consider it an unreleased track, not a demo.
 
Thanks!

Which site is better overall? u2gigs or u2tours?

I'm blatantly biased here: U2gigs. But in trying to justify that, I was a fan of the site long before I ever became co-maintainer. Plus the site's just more complete and more searchable than U2tours is. But I don't mean to disparage the people at U2tours at all. They do good work as well.
 
Far be it for me to tell Interference's funniest poster how to do her job, but elevation-tour.com would have been a funnier response. :tsk:
 
ISN"T it LIFE ON A DISTANT PLANET ?

There is no official title per se, though Edge calls it Life On A Distant Planet in U2 By U2 (hence the use of that title on U2gigs). I personally prefer to call it Lost On A Silent Planet myself; I've been using that title since before U2 By U2, so it's now a force of habit thing. It also circulates under titles such as The Magic Carpet and Judith.
 
As far as U2 demos...

- Half of Boy exists in rough demo format (Shadows, Another Time, Twilight, Out of Control, Stories for Boys, Day Without Me) - on those collections listed above
- there is a whole disc devoted to "Two Hearts," with 13 different takes of the song
- there is a "War and Unforgettable Fire Demos" collection that I swear is really nothing more than soundchecks from the War and Unforgettable Fire tour (there is one "Untitled Track" from Unforgettable Fire sessions)
- there is another collection called "Unforgettable Fire Sessions" that is again just live takes of songs, mostly instrumental, I'm guessing culled from soundchecks
- there are 7 30-second excerpts from the Joshua Tree sessions (including early versions of "Still Haven't Found," "Race Against Time," "Walk to the Water," and "Rise Up", as well as three more tracks -- one of which is a definite precursor to Achtung Baby)
- some demos emerged from the "Rattle and Hum" sessions thanks to MP3s of the film and its outtakes ("She's a Mystery," "She's Gonna Blow Your House Down," "We Almost Made It This Time," "Prisoner of Love," "Can't Help Falling in Love")

Since "Salome" the band seems to have really cracked down on leaked demos.
 
the demos alone in the light and another time another place from that one studio date are :drool::rockon:
 
Be There dates from 1982, though I wouldn't class that as a demo

Are you positive about this? My version of song is also labelled as an 1982 outtake, but I just read a Nov 84 NME article where Edge mentions the song by name as an improvisation when discussing others like 4th of July. really sounded like he was referring to it as being from the Eno UF sessions. Re-listening to it now, I tend to agree the mood of it, as well as Bono's vocals, don't really sound like '82 pre-War U2.
 
Hmmm, more research on it and I found a March 8 82 entry in u2diary about a studio session with Jimmy destri producing Be There, and ideas that would become TUF song. Wish I knew his source on this, as there have been a few errors in his book before. Odd that this 'sound' wasn't on War at all. And kept over for UF before they even met Eno. And as far as I know, jimmy destroy has never been credited with any involvement with TUF song. Even odder that Edge would bring that rarity up by name over 2 yrs later....... But it's possible.
 
As far as U2 demos...

- - there is a whole disc devoted to "Two Hearts," with 13 different takes of the song
- there is a "War and Unforgettable Fire Demos" collection that I swear is really nothing more than soundchecks from the War and Unforgettable Fire tour (there is one "Untitled Track" from Unforgettable Fire sessions)
-

The War demos are studio takes. 13 versions of Two Hearts and single versions of Surrender, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Like A Song are all rough studio takes.

I agree, the Unforgettable Fire "demos" sound like soundcheck and or tour rehearsal stuff and not actual studio outtakes.
 
Back
Top Bottom