U2 have released an entirely re-imagined version of their 1984 hit single Pride (In The Name Of Love) as a first taste of their upcoming album Songs Of Surrender.
It was revealed yesterday (January 11) that the Dublin quartet's new album would feature 40 reworked versions of songs from their back catalogue: "I hope you like our new direction" guitarist The Edge quipped.
"Music allows you to time travel," the guitarist stated, "and so we started to imagine what it would be like to bring these songs back with us to the present day and give them the benefit or otherwise, of a 21st century re-imagining. What started as an experiment quickly became a personal obsession as so many early U2 songs yielded to a new interpretation.
"Intimacy replaced post-punk urgency. New keys. New chords. New tempos and new lyrics arrived. It turns out that great song is kind of indestructible."
The new version of Pride... is markedly different to the original song, which was released in September 1984 as the first single from the band's fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, peaking at number 3 in the UK charts.
The new take is stripped back and less intense, and features new lyrics in places.
Where the second verse of the original song runs, "One man caught on a barbed wire fence / One man he resist / One man washed up on an empty beach / One man betrayed with a kiss" the new version reads, "One man caught on a barbed wire fence / One man he resist / One boy washed up on an empty beach / One boy never will be kissed", possibly referring to the plight of 2-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi who was found dead on a beach near the Turkish resort of Bodrum, in 2015.
Listen to the new version below:
The 40 newly recorded tracks on Songs Of Surrender are separated into four 10-track 'albums', each bearing the name of one of the band members.
The Edge says: "Hearing the songs interact, and finding the running orders for the four albums was really thrilling; finding the surprising segues, getting a chance to DJ. Once we had four distinct albums it was easy to see who would be the figurehead for each one."
The full track-list is as follows:
Side 1: The Edge
1. One
2. Where The Streets Have No Name
3. Stories For Boys
4. 11 O’Clock Tick Tock
5. Out Of Control
6. Beautiful Day
7. Bad
8. Every Breaking Wave
9. Walk On (Ukraine)
10. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Side 2: Larry
1. Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
2. Get Out Of Your Own Way
3. Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
4. Red Hill Mining Town
5. Ordinary Love
6. Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
7. Invisible
8. Dirty Day
9. The Miracle Of Joey Ramone
10. City Of Blinding Lights
Side 3: Adam
1. Vertigo
2. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
3. Electrical Storm
4. The Fly
5. If God Will Send His Angels
6. Desire
7. Until The End Of The World
8. Song For Someone
9. All I Want Is You
10. Peace On Earth
Side 4: Bono
1. With Or Without You
2. Stay
3. Sunday Bloody Sunday
4. Lights Of Home
5. Cedarwood Road
6. I Will Follow
7. Two Hearts Beat As One
8. Miracle Drug
9. The Little Things That Give You Away
10. 40
Songs Of Surrender will be released on St. Patrick's Day, March 17.
