Why did they release IGWSHA as a single?

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Mauwer

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Friends ,

Why did they release IGWSHA as single?

Sure it was released around X-mas in `97 but they`ve dropped the song just in the 1st leg of Popmart.

I think it`s a great song and the single version is great to.
But I always thought that if they kept working on it for the Popmart shows it would`ve done better as a single?

Cheers ,

Mauwer

p.s. I think the full-band version of IGWSHA of the Las Vegas show was pretty good unlike some other songs that night.
 
Should have used Gone as a single instead of this song and Last night on earth.
 
I love the single version, the b-sides and the cd cover! Think the whole package was excellent.

Tho I do agree with U2girl that Gone would've made a better single release. If they'd sorted out a different version to the one off Pop. ie: like the 1990-2000 Best Of.
 
I think mostly because this song was included in the movie City Of Angels, in fact in the video there are also some images of the movie. I believe this song went into the optic of becoming part of the movie's advertisement, sadly..................
 
I always thought the full band "IGWSHA" was pretty decent. If they kept working on it they would have had a another nice Pop staple in the setlist.

I remember the video for IGWSHA priemered on MTV the day of the Popmart Mexico show. Carson Dailey introduced it :huh: . I thought when they showed it, maybe U2 will play it tonight. Guess not.
 
Yeah strange video, Joanou's commentary on the Best Of DVD is quite interesting, talk about a tedious and arduous experience for Bono.

I agree that Gone should have been released instead, I could never quite understand why they kept overlooking it, it seems like such an obvious contender, far more than Please was.
 
Great video and great song.

The best version of IGWSHA live i've heard is the first night on earth in Vegas. Perfectly flowing after UTTEOTW.

They could have kept in on the setlist but the outtro of UTTEOTW should have been a bit longer before going into IGWSHA.
 
they really wanted to prevent POP from being remotely successful and hence chose to release one of the poorest songs of their career (if not the poorest one) as a single

it's weird indeed
 
Proposed Single Releases for Pop:

Discotheque & Gone - Release a double single to supply the hype for Pop and provide the public a glipse of how Pop is such a diversified album (Not just the "dance" record the media labeled it)

SATS

MOFO or DYFL

IGWSHA

Please & LNOE were bad choices for singles.

Thoughts?
 
Honestly I thought Discoteque was a horrible choice for first single.

Mofo or Gone would have been my choice.

DYFL suffers from the IGWSHA syndrome in the sense that it wasn't ever really played except a few times, and those few times sucked.

I thought Please & Last Night were fine choices for singles. I loved the PopHeart EP, but hated the Last Night video.
 
IGWSHA is no worse of a single choice than Stuck, really. Unfortunately, the single version of IGWSHA sounds like something a fan with a sound editor slapped together in 10 minutes, randomly cutting out some of the most intriguing parts, and adding virtually nothing in return.
 
Pop didn't need as many singles. Discotheque (minus the dodgy video ending), SATS were fine. After that, Gone and go out with Please.
 
babyman said:
I think mostly because this song was included in the movie City Of Angels, in fact in the video there are also some images of the movie. I believe this song went into the optic of becoming part of the movie's advertisement, sadly..................

Yep, I think they were trying to ride the wave of (UGH) Iris.
 
"Discotheque" is a single - just not the first single. SATS would have worked very well as the lead single. U2 was experimenting more with "Pop" and needed something that sounded different, yet still U2. SATS fit that niche, whereas "Discotheque" alienated fans.

After SATS, U2 could have gone for "Discotheque". If not, maybe "Gone". "Please" is a good song, but a good ALBUM track. Some songs just don't stand alone like that.


"Mofo"might have made for a good fourth/fifth single if U2 were feeling extra brave. Perhaps a better fourth single would be "Last Night...", with "Mofo" as the fifth single.

While I don't think "Pop" would have sold tons better with this line-up of singles (SATS, Discotheque, Gone, Last Night..., Mofo), I think "Pop" would have been more successful (at least going 2x Platinum in the U.S.).
 
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BonoVoxSupastar said:
Honestly I thought Discoteque was a horrible choice for first single.

Mofo or Gone would have been my choice.

DYFL suffers from the IGWSHA syndrome in the sense that it wasn't ever really played except a few times, and those few times sucked.

I thought Please & Last Night were fine choices for singles. I loved the PopHeart EP, but hated the Last Night video.

WILLIAM BURROUGHS.

think about what you're saying.
 
I'm actually one of those wacky souls that liked the album version of If God Will Send His Angels.

I'm guessing they released the single for a couple of reasons:
1- Why the Hell not?
2- That dreadul movie City of Angels featured the radio edit in the soundtrack, so I believe it was also released via the soundtrack album.
 
LemonMelon said:
IGWSHA is no worse of a single choice than Stuck, really. Unfortunately, the single version of IGWSHA sounds like something a fan with a sound editor slapped together in 10 minutes, randomly cutting out some of the most intriguing parts, and adding virtually nothing in return.

I think Stuck was a horrible choice for a single and I'll agree with this because I don't think IGWSHA, despite being a great song, was a very good choice for a single. It should've been an album gem. It's really not a single.
 
If I'm U2:

1. Gone
2. Mofo
3. Please
4. Do You Feel Loved?
5. Staring at the Sun

Seems the best to me.
 
When Pop came out, some reviews stated that IGWSHI would be a dead cert #1 Christmas hit. So maybe that gave U2 some ideas...
Then again, those reviews also stated that SATS would be a dead cert #1 summer hit and look how that one ended up...
 
MOFO should've been the first single... then disco... then STAS, then please... and that's all
 
doctorwho said:
"Discotheque" is a single - just not the first single. SATS would have worked very well as the lead single. U2 was experimenting more with "Pop" and needed something that sounded different, yet still U2. SATS fit that niche, whereas "Discotheque" alienated fans.

After SATS, U2 could have gone for "Discotheque". If not, maybe "Gone". "Please" is a good song, but a good ALBUM track. Some songs just don't stand alone like that.


"Mofo"might have made for a good fourth/fifth single if U2 were feeling extra brave. Perhaps a better fourth single would be "Last Night...", with "Mofo" as the fifth single.

While I don't think "Pop" would have sold tons better with this line-up of singles (SATS, Discotheque, Gone, Last Night..., Mofo), I think "Pop" would have been more successful (at least going 2x Platinum in the U.S.).


I agree with a lot of this, but I don't know about SATS as a lead single. It's too mellow, and U2 would not herald their return after a 4 year absence with something like that. My thought was always that LNOE would have been the best, because it's a rocker with a BIG chorus, and fits the same bill as SATS in that it sounds like U2 but still progressive. Then you follow with SATS as the ballad, and once the summer starts get people into party mode with Discotheque. With those 3 songs you've represented the album pretty well. Notice that it's the reverse order of the actual release, but the same songs, none of which I thought were bad choices for singles. Please, on the other hand, was way too heavy to get that treatment.

Had the album picked up enough steam, Angels could very well have been the X-mas single that was so hyped.
 
This is a catchy number that you would think would succeed and probably would have had the anti-Pop brigade not sounded out throughout the United States...if anything, the practically tuneless "Last Night On Earth" shouldn't have been a single....my radio stations played the hell out of the first two and didn't even bother with that one.
 
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