A team that complements each other perfectly: The Edge and Bono from U2
Photo: Getty Images, Mike Coppola. All rights reserved.
Several streets were closed, some cameras were set up and countless fans were kept in check: Last Saturday, September 16th, U2 played their new single “Atomic City” live in Las Vegas for the first time. The surprise concert on Fremont Street was primarily used to shoot a music video, for which the Irish rock band had to perform the song several times.
“Atomic City” was recorded over the past few weeks at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, explains U2 singer Bono. The title alludes to the Las Vegas nickname from the 1960s. The U.S. government tested nuclear weapons for decades at a site about 65 miles northwest of Fremont Street. During the performance, the musician describes the song as “a rock ‘n’ roll 45 in the tradition of ’70s post-punk, Blondie, The Clash, some ’70s punk… We take it from everywhere.”
Also there was Larry Mullen Jr. The drummer is still recovering from back surgery, which is why he won’t be playing with U2 on the first gigs of their Aktuell Baby residency in Las Vegas, but he didn’t miss the shoot. “The four of us recorded ‘Atomic City.’ “Unfortunately, Larry Mullen Jr. will not be with us at the Sphere,” Bono tells the audience, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He doesn’t listen to doctor’s orders. Many of us don’t do that either. But he’s here tonight… Applause for Larry Mullen Jr.!”
The band also recorded a music video on Fremont Street in 1987. The video recordings for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” were very spontaneous and not very professional. “I actually only had two lights, but Las Vegas has the biggest lighting budget in the world,” director Barry Devlin later recalled. “It was so low-tech… but that meant we were very close [an die Band] The rock band was on tour at the time in support of their fifth studio album “The Joshua Tree”.
The U2 residency starts on September 29th at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas under the title “U2:UV Warning Baby Live at Sphere”. Bram van den Berg, the drummer of the Dutch band Krezip, will replace Larry Mullen Jr. A day earlier, the “Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience” opens – a fan experience that will be located at the luxury hotel The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and will provide a preview of the upcoming shows.