Author: Rob Laing Posted on December 21

The Edge also explains how Madchester, nine-inch nails, and KMFDM are all integrated into U2’s Achtung Baby sound transformation

Achtung Baby, now celebrating its 30th birthday, marked a turning point for U2, when the music industry was undergoing tremendous changes. After the great global success of The Joshua Tree and Rattle And Hum, as dance penetrated the mainstream, rock, industrial and Madchester scenes caused the band to change its voice. But it was Achtung Baby's first single that became the blueprint for their best time.

"I remember Paul McGuinness, our manager said,'Now, Bono, you don't want the band to look too stupid to have fun at number one, do you?" In a recent Radio 2 interview, Bono told the broadcaster Jo Whiley smiled and reviewed The Edge's album. 

Even when we emerged from punk in the late 1970s, we were still a more surreal band, far less serious

"We took these very serious photos with Anton Corbijn in the desert — four very serious people. So yes, we wanted to cut out some space for ourselves — to break any image we had built of ourselves. 

"The images we made for albums like The Joshua Tree," the singer continued, "Anton is saying,'I'm not the one who is shooting you, I'm shooting your music.' So really everything comes from music. Songs tell you what you want to do and so on. So we want to find some materials, some songs, let us be the person who incarnates us with the band in the early days. Even in the late 70s, coming out of punk, we are a more surreal The band is far less serious."

You re-established rock music as a rhythmic form, this is the meaning of Manchester

The idea is in place. But for The Edge, this means guiding the music around him. 

"I only remember being completely lost in music at the time; the music that is about to appear is so diverse. The amazing Manchester sport is a combination of club music and rock music, but there are also industrial music such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM. At the time. I am really attracted by a lot of 12-inch music. 

"For me, this is a very rich time," The Edge continued. "You re-established rock music as a rhythmic form, which is what Manchester means. Then you have this exploration of the sound of industrial music, this exploration is so radical and experimental. So this opportunity, this game fence opens up. , I just want to do it."

The Fly combines all these ideas, and the band insists that it becomes the album's lead single. 

The reason we want it to be the first single is that it defines the whole theme of the album in some ways

"The reason we want it to be the first single is that it defines the entire theme of the album in some ways," The Edge explained. "This is a great lyrics by Bono. It is characterized by the fact that the singer is a bunch of contradictions. The statement from the sublime to the most absurd is obviously untrue. At that moment, we began to realize the fact that honestly , We have been hiding something. In fact, it is more interesting to admit our contradictions and explore them.

"So The Fly gave Bono the opportunity to do this. As a theme, it runs through the entire tour, and we have been sticking to this idea ever since. But that was the moment that pivot happened." 

The Edge: "Even better than the real thing may be U2's closest approach to the sound of the Rolling Stones"

U2 embraced the rock star image with imitation and sincerity. The critically acclaimed TV tour of the zoo found that they blur the line between the two.

"It's kind of neurotic," Bono added. "But this is the line from Oscar Wilde,'Mask reveals men.' You'll notice this when you see people dress up and go out on Halloween. People don't treat us. Think of it as rock stars; we are the father of pilgrims crossing the desert. So we climbed there in plastic pants, and then you know we started to enjoy being a rock star. At first it was imitation, and then it was a bit close to the bone.

"But The Fly, the sound of the guitar is the sound of The Edge's brain," Bono continued. "If you hear'ner ner ner nernernerner', if you are as close as I am now, you will hear the voice of the limbic brain. Then there is the roar of lyrical maxims."

U2 fans have a b-side demo, thank you not only for The Fly, but also for the other two Achtung Baby tracks. 

"Because we are exploring rhythm, we have this song called The Lady With The Spinning Head. We seem to be unable to complete it, but in the process of working hard to complete it, we ended up using Zoo Station, Light My Way and The Fly! They all came out of that exploration. So, in our case, failure is often very effective." 

I’m the guitar editor of MusicRadar, and I’m responsible for dealing with news, reviews, features, tuition, suggestions, and everything in between. Before MusicRadar, I worked on Guitar Magazine for 15 years, including the editor of Total Guitar. At the moment, I have given up any daydreams of going anywhere with my own songs, and like to play covers in functional bands. 

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