Red Hill Mining Town Live?!

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

discothequeLP

Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
Joined
Oct 22, 2003
Messages
8,095
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I read somewhere that this was the only song of the Joshua Tree that has never been played live. I was just wondering if anyone could attest to this. It is a great song, i think it is better than Exit.
 
I guess it was never performed live in front of an actual paid audience. Of course it was practiced while being recorded and it was believed to have been practiced for the Joshua Tree tour but it was found to be too straining vocally for Bono.

Strange considering how strong and powerful his voice was during the Lovetown Tour. It should have been played live during that tour, at least.

Long story short. It was never done live.
 
They actually rehearsed it in soundcheck in Murfreesboro TN in 1987 in preparation for possibly playing it for the Tempe movie shoot. Larry had trouble working out the drum part and indicated he needed to work on it. Bono had trouble singing the main chorus and indicated it was wrecking his voice. To my knowledge it was never attempted again.
 
blue room do you have that track? i would love to hear it

if red hill was straining Bono's voice, why would they sing "One Tree Hill"? That song i think is even more straining than Red Hill. They could always play the song in a lower key, just as the played SBS in Boston in a lower key
 
It's a difficult song, and to think so many of you attacked it on the survivor game. I still hold a grudge :grumpy: It's so beautiful, one of Bono's most awesome and passionate vocal performances. I love everything about it. I'd be so happy to hear it live, but if it never happens, at least we have the record. I'd at least like to see the video, Bono looks so :drool: in it;)
 
Blue Room said:
They actually rehearsed it in soundcheck in Murfreesboro TN
:yes:

it is also worth pointing out that this is when they came to graceland! in case anyone was wondering why they came here in the first place, or how since memphis wasn't a stop on the tour.
 
I think it is difficult for Bono because his voice is in a higher range for almost the whole song.
 
Yes it was meant to be the single in place of ISHFWILF, but was dropped when Bono had trouble singing it. A really shame but it's funny how these things turn out because I :heart: "Still Haven't" and it's reasonable to assume that it wouldn't have become a fraction as popular as it is if it wasn't released as a single (wouldn't be played regularly live, wouldn't appear on the Greatest Hits etc.)

Anyway, maybe they will play Red Hill someday. On their last ever performance perhaps... along with Acrobat and the likes!
 
Blue Room said:
They actually rehearsed it in soundcheck in Murfreesboro TN in 1987 in preparation for possibly playing it for the Tempe movie shoot. Larry had trouble working out the drum part and indicated he needed to work on it. Bono had trouble singing the main chorus and indicated it was wrecking his voice. To my knowledge it was never attempted again.

Larry having trouble with the drum part? Didn't he drum the song? Don't tell me they used "ghost drummers" in the Joshua Tree sessions. That would totally shatter all my praise for the Joshua Tree! That is one of the best U2 albums.

Bono having trouble singing the song? Perhaps the studio version isn't an "actual" performance by Bono, but a vocal take who pitch was altered to make it in a higher register although Bono did not actually sing it in that register.

Cheers,

J
 
man, almost anybody would have trouble singing this song. Bono is hitting B and C (!!!) all througout it . Now, unless you're Pavarotti, this doesn't come easily. Especially C, that's $$@&@*%%@$!!!ing high! And to do that on a regular basis for over a year would do wonders to shred one's throat to pieces.

Granted, they could tune down a step, but a song usually loses its sense of urgency when this happens. (think of recent versions of Pride) So maybe it just didn't translate well into a live song.
 
Blue Room, do you have a bootleg of this Murfeesboro rehearsal or something?

If so, gimme gimme gimme!
 
jick said:


Larry having trouble with the drum part? Didn't he drum the song? Don't tell me they used "ghost drummers" in the Joshua Tree sessions. That would totally shatter all my praise for the Joshua Tree! That is one of the best U2 albums.

Bono having trouble singing the song? Perhaps the studio version isn't an "actual" performance by Bono, but a vocal take who pitch was altered to make it in a higher register although Bono did not actually sing it in that register.

Cheers,

J

Jick I severely doubt they used ghost drummers or altered Bono's key electronically so don't worry about it! I had never heard of Larry having trouble with it and even if he did, as the past user said, it's about doing that kind of extreme drumming, singing or whatever consistantly for a year (with added pressure for live performances if the song is released as a single).
 
Larry also had trouble with Staring at the Sun.....he couldn't find the right tempo...maybe similar issues.
 
Mirrorball Man said:
Here is something I don't understand. Click the link below and go to date 07/25/87:

http://www.u2setlists.com/joshuatree-europe.shtml

What is Springhill Mining Disaster?

The really worrying thing is that I was there and I don't remember it!!!

That's just a cheap lame-*ss version of Red Hill Mining Town because Bono can't sing the latter and he needed a mining song for the JT Tour. So they revived a crappy old one.

Cheers,

J
 
I don't think they played the song that much though.....I thought it was played on a televsion show along with another song.....oh well.....on a similar note of a song not being played, Edge told propoganda during the Joshua Tree that the reason they didn't play Drowning Man was because they didn't think they could play the song well every night...maybe Red Hill Mining Town had the same issue (along with Bono's voice)
 
Last edited:
What's with everyone and Red Hill Mining Town anyway? I don't get it....it's not like it's the only song that's never been done live.....Am I missing something? :reject:
 
Jick, get a clue.

Because Larry was having a few problems working out the drum beat for a song they had not played (and then was in the studio) for a year and had not attempted live and suddenly that means he didnt play it on the album? Gee, do you think all the tracks on Joshua Tree are all recorded live on one take?????? NO WAY. Do you think playing the song live complete in an arena is the same as recording it in a studio? (you might, seeing your warped logic). The band tried at ONE soundcheck and Larry said he would need to get back to the drum part and work on it some more. You are once again, trying to start trouble, man its just pathetic. You are always critical, without any proof or common sense and its an old tired act. I dont get what type of fan you are because you are critical 90% of the time. Take it to Zootopia. If you are going to be critical, at least make sense and have a point.
 
I'd just like to add that Sprighill Mining Disaster was played in Chicago during the now-famous "Rock's Hottest Ticket" show. I actually quite like it. It's a very old song that was re-worked by U2, for those that don't no (similar in that way to Van Diemen's Land I suppose).
 
Springhill Mining Disaster is a now-classic folk song based on a pretty tragic story. (One that took place not far from where I live.) I've always been proud that U2 covered it...
 
Joshua_Tree_Hugger said:
a very old song that was re-worked by U2, for those that don't no (similar in that way to Van Diemen's Land I suppose).

Yeah, I've always wondered about the "folk" quality of Van Diemen's land. I know three other songs that have the same tune.
 
Back
Top Bottom