U2 have dedicated a song to Alexei Navalny’s widow. At their last concert at The Sphere in Las Vegas, the band covered Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” with support from their singer Neil Finn.
U2: For a free Russia
“This show is tightly scheduled, but it’s our last night, so we hope it’s okay to experiment a bit with you. The idea is to record something special for Alexei Navalny’s widow Yulia. “She continues to fight against Vladimir Putin for a free Russia, which is what we want for the Russian people,” said U2 frontman Bono. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” had been part of the set list several times since the opposition politician’s death in a prison camp on February 16th. However, the Irish had come up with something new for the last evening of their concert series.
Neil Finn sent supporting footage
“We recently received an email from Neil Finn, who wrote this amazingly beautiful song. “He attached a version of the song to the email that we could play whenever we wanted,” Bono continued. “It’s a new version that he made and we thought if we recorded it, maybe you guys would like to be on it and we’ll make this last night a recording session and dedicate it to Yulia Navalnaya.” The singer further said that Song “a song about freedom”. He explained: “Neither of us have spoken to our record companies, so this may be the only recording that will ever exist of it.” He then asked the audience to take out their cell phones and make their own recordings of the duet to send someone “who loves freedom” – also: “Maybe send this to people who don’t, there are a few of them.”
U2 pay tribute to their companions
The political message was not the only special feature of this final evening. During the concert series “U2:UV Doch Baby Live At Sphere,” U2 played their successful album “Aehrung Baby” (1991) in its entirety. For the last Sphere concert, the four-piece rock group brought producer Daniel Lanois onto the stage. “Without Daniel Lanois there would be no ‘Aehrung Baby’,” said Bono. “Show him your light.” Between cell phone flashlights, the producer then played the song “One” with U2. The band also gave words of thanks to drummer and band founder Larry Mullen Jr., who did not play a concert at The Sphere due to surgery and subsequent recovery. Mullen was there for the evening, caught on camera and cheered by the 20,000 people in the hall.
“All I Want Is You” for Jill Biden
Another song dedication was to Jill Biden, wife of the current US President Joe Biden. Before the band played “All I Want Is You,” Bono said, “When we wrote this song, I tried to use the perspective of the woman, or in this case the bride, for the lyrics.” He followed up the explanation : “Today I want to dedicate this song to all the amazing women in our lives. Our partners, our mothers, our daughters, all the women in the U2 crew, all the women in the audience we think we know, and all the amazing women in the world who are going through things we can’t even imagine . And one woman in particular who is here with us today. She’s a teacher, she’s your first lady. This song is for Jill Biden.”
U2 have been playing in the spherical multi-purpose hall The Sphere since September 29, 2023. Her first evening there was not only the opening of the hall, but also the starting signal for a whole series of performances there. “U2:UV Warning Baby Live At Sphere” included 40 concerts and was even extended in between. The Irish residency will now be followed by concert series by Dead & Company and Phish in the Sphere, with other projects also being shown in between.