Unforgettable Single

10 Aug 2012541
Over on our Discography page you'll find dozens and dozens of singles the band have released over the years.

Starting with U23 way back in 1979 - Out of Control, Stories for Boys, Boy-Girl - the trail leads all the way to 'I'll Go Crazy', third single from No Line On The Horizon, in 2009.

Maybe you'd forgotten Lemon was a single. Or you've never listened to Fire. Or you just recently discovered Please. But there'll be a U2 single that's special to you in some way - the one that comes on the radio or arrives unnoticed when your iPod's on shuffle and suddenly a moment in your life comes back to you.

What was the U2 single that stopped you in your tracks - and still does ?

It might depend on where you were when you first heard it, what was happening in your life, how you first got into the band?

Remind yourself of the history of the band's single releases and look through the promotional videos on this page in our Video Gallery (set aside a week or two for this) -  find the one that reminds you of a time and place in your life.

In the comments below tell us why this song is special for you. Is there a story behind it - an anecdote from your life ?

What brings the track alive for you? What was happening to you at the time you first heard it that means you'll never get over this single?

We have prizes for the best, the funniest, the most moving or surprising entries. Add them in the comments below. Did we mention that ? (Don't forget - we're not talking about any U2 track but about those released as singles...)


Comments
541
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prings
where the streets have no name
Wembley on josh tree tour,got hit by the biggest meat n potato pie in London,hit me at back of the neck n I d just bought 2 t shirts n they wer covered in brown sauce,to who ever threw it,i will find u n I will kill you,great memories tho.
Thor u2
The perfect companion
Just received my subscription gift "From The Ground Up" book & CD set this morning, I think it's splendid and the perfect companion to last years "U22" set. Once again U2.com have hit the mark with the perfect combination and I'm chuffed to bits with it. A million thanks and keep up the wonderful work and keeping us fsns happy as always. From a fan since 1980 and counting!
TheJonathanEdge
Vertigo
I was 5 years old, for some strange reason I remember hearing... Now I'm 13 and a massive U2 fan
john_holman
All I want is you
The year is 1989. I'm in Perth Australia and U2 are coming to town for the "Love Comes To Town Tour". I just started going out with a girl that would become my first wife. My brother was working in the bush and my younger brother was going to turn 20 on the same day as the concert. My brother in the bush bought us all tickets to go and see the concert which was going to be on September 20. We were excited and looking forward to seeing the group that had captured my attention like the Beatles had 20 years before. Two weeks before the concert my brother who bought the tickets was killed in a motor vehicle accident and the moment I found out the news from mum, All I want is you was playing on the radio. I will never forget that day or that song. When they sang it at the 360 concert in Perth 2010, tears just flowed. Love you Bro
giventofly65
It Was Out Of Control.......
Easy one for me, Birmingham Odeon 4th December 1982, as th e lights went down for my first U2 concert....Adam Clayton's bass started pumping along, Larry joins him with the drums, The Edge's guitar chimes in, before Bono joyfully rushes to the mike, all hair and leather trousers like a 1980's Jim Morrison, before proudly pronouncing we are U2 and this is Out Of Control......I was hooked from that moment and have been now for what will be 30 years next week. And to think I only went with a friend because this band had a drummer who shared my surname!!
dimitrishaid
One
Everytime I listen to it, and I mean everytime, I float in bliss three feet above the ground for as long as it lasts... and more!
ursapup
bad
is soooo good, every time i heard it live it resonated with me, ; just reading blogs, and was thinking, (honey are you listening) what I would want played at my funeral.....not to be morbid, but this tops the list......wide awake, wide awake, I'm not dreaming.....whooo hoo hooo hooo; and if they should ask tell them..... second will be Kite, and then Stay. not hoping to die soon but a lot of ppl I know have recently and it just brings things to light. so happy day to all and remember, Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like no one is watching :)
jcwortham
Bad (Live Aid Version)
Back in July 1985, I was rushing home from my job @ college because I know U2 was about to perform on " Live Aid '85 ( and My mom did not know how to operate the VCR). When I finally got home, U2 just got on stage & went into " Sunday Bloody Sunday" & put Wembley Stadium into a frenzy. But it was their performance of "Bad" that totally won me over. That has to be one of the best live sets I've ever saw on TV. Bono bringing a young lady on stage & dancing slowly with her was just beautiful to watch. Then going into the Stones " Ruby Tuesday" & Lou Reed's " Walk on The Wild Side." When they left the stage that day, they won hearts of the world.
ARPayton
Miracle Drug
I "fell in love" with U2 In Jr. High...really with Bono's passionate line in Band-Aid's "Feed the World" It made me curious about he band. I believe the "Unforgettable Fire" was the first album I heard. I've been hooked ever since. Fast forward twenty-something years. My first baby was born 10 weeks premature, and we nearly lost him a few times. He spent 6 weeks in the hospital NICU, and I made a playlist to listen to en route to the hospital. "Miracle Drug" I initially loved because the sound was that "old school" Edge soaring guitar. During that time, however, the words of that song became so poignant to me and just seemed to fit what we were walking through. From the "scent, like the top of a newborn babies head", to wondering what he was thinking about all of what was going on around him, to the desperate sentiment that I would do almost anything for a miracle drug to make him better. I loved U2 as a kid, but that relationship to their music has deepened and matured over the years. I'm grateful for their part in keeping Mama sane while his healing happened. God bless you, U2! I love and respect you guys!
melissamilos
Beautiful Day
I was on a bus in Cairo listening to my iPod & as Beautiful Day started I looked up to see the very top of the Great Pyramid as the sun started to rise. My all time favourite band & a place I had wanted to visit, a sight I had wanted to see since childhood. It doesn't get much better than that. Now every time I hear Beautiful Day, it takes me back to that moment when I saw my first glimpse of the pyramid.
alfpalafox
Magnificent
I was in secondary school when I first met this band, I was listening to The Joshua Tree when the "Streets" chords touch me so deeply and above all the poetry behind the lyrics I could never stop listening to any of their songs. Years after I became a fan they release NLOTH and I was about to get married. I dedicate Magnificent to my wife.
cowboy bob
Where The Streets Have No Name
I was 12 at the time I first heard Streets. My family was on vacation, and I went for a drive with my father. He stopped at a gas station just as Streets came on the radio. He rolled down every window, turned the volume up as high as it would go, and blessed everybody around us with the sound of the Edge's magnificent echo. I was in awe. I'd never seen my father do anything like this before. I HAD to know more about this band. After buying every album, every DvD, reading four books, two tours, and 8 years later, I'm still just as mesmerize by that song as I was all those years ago. Magnificent.
jeff sparks
MLK
1991 my Mother was dying in hospital after suffering a stroke which there was no chance of recovery from, so the nurse said sympathetically. My father, brothers and sisters were distraught and in such a state. Sat at her bedside I started to sing the words to MLK. The whole room went quiet until I finished. Tears flowed but the mood changed as the realisation of what was happening sank in. We often recall this heartbreaking moment when at family gatherings, occasions that I love and cherish more than ever. Sleep tonight, our mothers dreams, are realised. With love, care and fond wishes to everyone x
dereski
Miss Sarajevo
I have only been a U2 fan since 2006 and joined U2.com 2010 summer and after U2 went back on tour and Bono sang Miss Sarajevo he made me cry and gave me goose bumps. At that time I did not know Bono can sing opera so I was very surprised to hear his opera voice so beautiful, loud and his voice so strong. But when I started following U2 and listening to my mp3 player which has all my U2 songs on.The more I listen to them the more i need to know about the songs and what the stories were behind them. I now have collected all their concert DVD and many of there CD and MP3 songs and still looking to add more. U2 music lifts me up and keeps me a float when I am down. I have never followed a band until I discovered U2. Their music is truely special in every way! I listen to them every day when I walk on my treadmill and traveling in the car on trips. U2 music is an important part of my life and will always be....
ladyvix
The Fly
My older brother had always been a huge U2 fan from the 80's through to now and as there is 7 year age gap I never really paid much attention throughout the 80's. In my 1st year of secondary school all my friends were swooning over Take That etc and I just didn't get them and the teeny bop music of those days I seemed to be the odd one out!! Then The Fly was released, I saw the video on Top of the Pops I think and that was it WHAM BAM well and truly devoted to U2 from that moment on. Where had the man in the fly glasses been all of my life?? My friends were debating who was sexiest Robbie or Mark Owen, whilst Bono had put the fire in my belly!! From that day U2 are my one and only and will be for the rest of my days, I cannot imagine my life without their music and prescence, long live the inspirational,mesmorising, magical men U2 xx
skywarn
The First Time
A strange choice, I know. But I associate it with one of the most profound experiences of my life. October 22, 2005 didn't exactly start out as a normal day(after all, I was about to see U2 for the first time since 1992), but I had no clue I'd get hit by a spiritual fireball so big it would change my entire outlook. I went from living with a Debbie Downer attitude to becoming an "others-oriented" person. I don't recall the exact moment the change happened, but it was dramatic and was cemented by the performace of "The First Time". Even though seven years have passed, I still live by the new attitude I got that night.
parrski
A Sort of Homecoming
This song didn’t just stop me in my tracks. It slapped me in the face and kicked me in the gut. Within moments first hearing the it, I was struck by the uncanny similarity between the lyrics and a recurring nightmare I’d been having for years. It was shocking to hear the details of my worst dream in a song. Listening to the lyrics was actually painful because of the stark, negative images it evoked. But…it certainly caught my attention! From that moment on, I began to listen to U2 in curiosity about what else the band had to say. This led to a deep appreciation and passion for the band’s music, and to some incredible memories from experiencing their music live in concert. Thank you U2.
Kes2Death
Window in the Skies
Just perfect.
DavidAU2
Where the Streets Have No Name
1980. My older brother came home from work one day with this LP (October) with four of gawky-looking teenagers on the cover. On listening, I thought, "hey, this is raw, but I really kinda like it". Another three albums later (War, Unforgettable Fire and Wideawake in America) I was well hooked - and buying my own U2 LPs by the stage. Then, in mid-1987, at age 21 (when the world appears to be at your feet) I met this amazing 18-year old girl, just as the most fantastic slow building crescendo of sound I had ever heard kicked off that year's U2 release (Joshua Tree). No other music had matched it for immense power back then, and nothing has come close since. "Streets" is a masterpiece without equal. I listen to it at least once or twice a day and never get tired of the original or the multitude of different recordings (be that studio, live or cover). And, it always reminds me of the day I met that girl. She's 43 now, and we're still together. Rock on!
beautflstranger
Journey
In 2001 my Mom was dying of cancer. i slept in her room at the hospital . each night after she'd fall asleep, i'd listen to ' Walk On '. That song brought me so much comfort. I'd been listening to your music since the very beginning. But ' Walk On ' just resonated with me, night after night. Your beautiful voice and the music took me on a journey, your poetry in music , your eloquence and elegance found its way into my heart, tugged on each heart string and left me forever changed. Thank You for being with me during one of the most heartbreaking times in my life. Your words and music saved my sanity. With Love.X
brettfish
One [to the lepers in my head]
One has always been my favourite U2 song because it is so incredibly haunting and yet so strongly spiritual - the line "Have you come here to play Jesus To the lepers in your head" for some reason stuck with me and resonated deep within my fibred - U2 is definitely one of my top 3 always and you can buy any new album and not be disappointed but that song in particular will always ring true - the call to carry each other as the true mandate of what the church is meant to be doing...
kweir
MLK
I remember being at the Lansdowne Rd, Dublin concert in August 1997 when Bono started to sing this song for the sad loss of Princess Diana. It touched my heart and everyone one in that venue! Really heartfelt lyrics and wouldn't expect any less from Bono and the lads. Secondly i sing this song to my baby when getting him to sleep - it really works! Thank you for touching our hearts U2.
elevation54
I WILL FOLLOW
the first time i heard this song i was coming home from work and it sooo great i turned it up loud and went directly to the music store and bought the album. went home and played it on the stereo even louder and told anyone who listened that these boys were gonna go far. and wow have they ever. finally got to see them in concert for their U2 360 tour (was a long time coming) but was worth every penny. have all their concerts on dvd and every time they break out this song from the cobwebs it just sounds better and better. KEEP IT UP GUYS !!!!
zooropalg
The Fly
Back in 1991. I used to ear techno and shitty music. I open my fav radio and here comes "the fly" :) Bam! my life has changed forever !
bobcaygeonmary
BAD
Recently "The Moose" radio (north Ontario) has been playing the radio version - oh my, time to stop what I'm doing & just smile, listen, and relax . The first few guitar licks from Edge & I swear I can feel my blood pressure lower immediately - the song is timeless - Thank you for the moments -
october269
All I Want Is You
This was the first song my wife and I danced to at our wedding. I've always loved this song and waited years to find a woman to share it with. It means more than ever to me now. :)
babyfez
Miami Vice
Recently caught an old episode of the 80s classic Miami Vice and towards the end of the episode , during the climactic scene was "Race Against Time" being played as the scene music. So cool!
Chowie2
All I Want is You
We used the song for our bridal waltz and my niece was 5 years old and our flower girl then. She also played for her bridal waltz twenty years later. To see the Boys in Sydney on the 360 tour with my wife and hear it live was even more special. Thanks U2!
nanacastro
Mysterious Ways and I Will Follow
I knew U2 for Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Years day and Beautiful day. I liked it. And that was all. But then I went to a U2 Cover band concert. They played Mysterious Ways and I will follow. Then I was like: OMG! What songs are that? And, since this day in 2006, I'm an U2 fan! XD
nanacastro
Unknown Caller and Breathe
I was passing through a rough time at work, with no perspective or anything. And then NLOTH was release. Breathe told me that I had worst days in life, that I could walk out with open arms, embrace new things. That what I had inside was much more important than the problems. And and Unknown Caller was playing in my mind, telling me to "restart" myself, That I was free to go if I wanted. The songs helped me a lot and kept me strong to face the problems. And I'm here now, breathing and "restarted", with a new job and new perspectives! XD
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