Questions about Slow dancing and She's a mystery to me

[U2girl]

1) Were they written during the sessions for Rattle and Hum album or later?

2) Were they intended for Willie Nelson/Roy Orbison or did they start out as U2 songs and they decided to give them to someone else?

 

[Popmartijn]

I think She's A Mystery To Me was written during the Joshua Tree Tour/sessions for R&H. Slow Dancing was written after those session/during the Lovetown Tour.
And I think that both songs were intended for Willie Nelson and Roy Orbison from the start. U2 never played She's A Mystery To Me until after The Big O had recorded it. And on one of the first performances of Slow Dancing Bono says that it's written for Willie Nelson.

 

[U2girl]

I see, thanks!

 

[Palace_Hero]

I'm pretty certain that SAMTM was written with the full intention of it being for Roy Orbison, to corroborate what Popmartijn just said.

 

[typhoon]

The story is that Roy found Bono backstage and asked him to write a song for him, isn't it?

 

[Carek1230]

The story is that Roy found Bono backstage and asked him to write a song for him, isn't it?

That is correct

 

[Axver]

It's worth noting that She's A Mystery To Me was soundchecked at at least one Joshua Tree Tour third leg concert, and U2 recorded it at Sun Studios.

Whether they had any intention of playing it live then or using that recorded version, though, I do not know.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

I've got an interview with Bono (in Oz in 1989, methinks) where he talks about seeing the movie "Blue Velvet" and being obsessed with Roy Orbison for days and weeks after (boring friends and family with him going on about Roy's voice, he said )

Then Bono talks about being backstage one night, still wanking on about Roy, and his security man coming in saying Roy's outside wanting to speak with him. So Roy comes in and says (and here Bono's doing all the voices and accents) "I loved the show, I don't know why I loved it, but I loved the show" Then he says how he would love to work with Bono and U2.

So Bono finishes up by saying "Funny you should say that, Roy!"

 

[U2girl]

From The very best of Roy Orbison CD, notes on She's a mystery to me:

"When I went to see U2 in concert for the first time, I met Bono afterwards. He said, 'I'm writing a song for you She's a mystery to me' .We got together at the Grammy awards to work on the song, and he produced it."

 

[corianderstem]

I used to have the Roy Orbison tape "Mystery Girl," which had SAMTM on it. Does anyone recall if Bono sang backup on that version?