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Under a blood red sky live11/21/2023 ![]() As drummer Larry Mullen recalls in the 2006 oral history U2 By U2, "There was a lot of money riding on this, all the money we'd made from the tour, everything that was in the bank, basically." Red Rocks was the band's biggest headlining show to date at that point: the amphitheater had a capacity of 7,000. The band's performance was Clash-like: in-your-face and political. This song is 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.'" It sounded important. The clip was aided by the opening shot, which showed Bono's serious looking profile surrounded by flames, while you heard his on-stage announcement, a phrase U2 fans would get used to over the decades: "This song is not a rebel song. It conveyed Bono's power as a frontman in a way that music videos hadn't. The song from Live At Red Rocks that brought this point home was "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which got a lot of play on MTV. So, for the purposes of this article, we'll discuss them together, as they were both a big part into exposing U2 to America as band more in the vein of Springsteen or the Who than the Cure or Joy Division. The two releases are often associated with each other, and the live video is included as a bonus disc in the 2008 Under A Blood Red Sky reissue. They filmed the show for a "home video", Live At Red Rocks two of the songs from that would also be used for the Under A Blood Red Sky EP (which also included performances recorded in Boston and Germany). Their June 5, 1983, concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado was an important moment that connected their underground roots and their Springsteen-ian ambitions. Their message required a big stage, they just needed to get there. U2 had a unique problem: they were a stadium band waiting to actually get popular enough to play stadiums. Most punk and post-punk groups of the '80s had an anti-arena rock vibe to them, and were more comfortable in clubs they all had to figure out how to translate their shows to larger venues. They needed that audience to become a band on the level of their idols, the Who. U2 may have had visions of world domination, but that ambition didn't really translate to the American audience. They were known for a few MTV videos, mainly "New Year's Day" from their War album, and "Two Hearts Beat As One" from their prior album, October. In 1983, to most of America, U2 was a Modern Rock band, capital "M," capital "R." With their heavy post-punk influences, they fit right in on that radio format with Tears For Fears, Talking Heads, David Bowie and Human League. Here is the recap: () takes a look back at U2's 1983 live EP, Under A Blood Red Sky, which celebrates its 30th anniversary. ![]() On Tuesday A Look Back At U2's 'Under A Blood Red Sky' 30 Years Later was a top story. Under A Blood Red Sky was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA with 3 million units sold.A Look Back At U2's 'Under A Blood Red Sky' 30 Years Later (A Top Story) In the US, it reached as high as No.23 on the album charts. The album peaked at No.2 on the UK album charts and remained on the charts for a total of 192 weeks. ![]() 1 Best Album and Best LP Sleeve in the Hot Press reader's poll. These coloured vinyls were released to commemorate U2's Live Under Australian Skies 1984 tour. In Australia a limited edition, red 12" vinyl version was pressed, along with 5 copies in a light blue vinyl. Another Mexican release on the Bertelsmann label was part of the Rockollector series. One Mexican version of the 12" vinyl release of the album had the front and back cover photos reversed. Another interesting release was the Korean issue of Under A Blood Red Sky which came in a blue cover. The Island Masters series of re-issues contained this 'edited' version of Electric Co. These were removed from later pressings for legal reasons. The live version of Electric Co., which was recorded at the Rockpalast concert in Lorelei, Germany on August 20, 1983, had a snippet of Stephen Sondheim's Send In The Clowns and I Want To Live In America from West Side Story. The band's first live album was comprised of music from three performances from the War Tour. ![]()
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