Released Date: November 21, 1983
Produced By: Jimmy Iovine
Engineer: Shelly Yakus, Bobby Cohen
Label: Island Records
Recorded At: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado
Under A Blood Red Sky is U2’s first live album, with tracks compiled from three concerts in their 1983 War Tour and their performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. A companion film, recorded at the Red Rocks show, was released the following year. Several interesting releases include the Korean issue with a blue cover. In Australia, a limited red 12″ vinyl edition was pressed, along with 5 copies in light blue. These colored editions were released to commemorate the band’s 1984 Live Under Australian Skies tour. The original live version of Electric Co., recorded at the Rockpalast concert in Lorelei, Germany, contains snippets of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Send in the Clowns.’ This was removed in later pressings for legal reasons. The re-issues of the Island Masters series contain the edited version of the song.
Under A Blood Red Sky helped establish U2 as a renowned international live act. Hot Press readers voted it No. 1 for Best Album and Best LP Sleeve. It remained in the UK album charts for a total of 192 weeks, peaking at No. 2. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, the album was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.
Songs included on ‘Under the Blood Red Sky’:
Gloria, 11 O’Clock Tick Tock, I Will Follow, Party Girl, Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Electric Co., New Year’s Day, 40
