From U2.com (note: the 27th is incorrect, it was earlier):
http://u2.com/singles/s_feb_1997/single_sub_detail.html
Afterlife
The track appeared on U2's album Pop and was performed live for the first time during the PopMart tour opener in Las Vegas on April 25, 1997. On October 26, 1996 a 30-second snippet of Discotheque, taken from a promotional EPK, was released on the Internet by Hungarian fan Martin. On December 27th, the full MP3 was available on fan site
Interference.com. These premature releases of the first single from the upcoming album and airplay of the Internet releases by radio stations around the world moved up the official radio airplay date.
--------------
The original logo of Interference:
Indeed, it was the first time a full unreleased song by a band was leaked on the Internet (and.. I take great pride in that)
.
I'm sure you've heard of 'six degrees of seperation' ? Well, in this instance, I was given the single by someone who Bono had given it to. I can't say who... but it was a very famous DJ... does this seem familiar at all? lol.
The leak/release made huge news, MTV, Hotpress, was mentioned in Time, thousands of radio and tv stations - and yes, was even mentioned during the Popmart press conference @ Kmart.
At the time, Mp3s were NOT widely used, it wasn't easy to encode them, and there was only one way to play them (a program called WinPlay for PC).
The original HotPress article,
vol 21 no 1
Jan. 22 1997
page 6 (note: it was actually on the net prior to being on the radio):
U2's "Discotheque" single received its official worldwide premiere last week when it was simultaneously broadcast on two of America's leading radio stations, KROQ Los Angeles and WXRK New York.
Modern technology being what it is, the track almost immediately found its way onto the Internet with one hastily constructed site, Interference, apparently registering 100 000 hits in five days.
Before the song can be downloaded, visitors are presented with a disclaimer which reads, "You take complete responsibility for accessing this file. This file is part of a private collection and is not intended to be saved on your personal computer, or any other storage device, once it has been accessed. This file is for listening ONLY and is to be used strictly for non-commercial home use, by clicking on this download you have agreed to these terms and acknowledge that this material is the property of U2 and Island/Polygram Records."
"I'm sure the band knew exactly what they were doing when they gave 'Discotheque' to KROQ and WXRK," one industry insider remarked. "The people who've downloaded it form the Net are still going to buy it when it comes out on CD and those who aren't online are going to be drawn in the hype."
Once linked up to Interference at
http://www.interference.com, the track takes 35 minutes to download with 28.8 link.
After all that work, it's a relief to find "Discotheque" is an absolute cracker. Clocking in at 4 mins. 10 seconds, the track starts off with "Zoo Station"-style distorded guitar and vocals and then erupts into a typically big U2 chorus. The Edge appears to have bought himself some new FX pedals and while hardly in the Tricky league, Bono's warblings do have a slightly Bristolian feel to them.
Another cool mention was in 'Internet Underground' magazine (now defunct),
Volume 2,
Issue 5
May, 1997:
Later.... POP, in it's entirety was released on Interference. The full album leaked onto the net, another first for any band - and the source? another DJ that got it from you know who
.
I miss the 'underground' Interference. I think with over 11,000 people on the forum alone now.. we're more like the '
overground' now. lol.
Well.. I'm sure that's enough for now
