New Year's Day (U2 song)

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"New Year's Day"
File:U2 New Year's Day.png
Standard European artwork (pictured variant used for 12-inch maxi-single and later CD editions)
Single by U2
from the album War
B-side "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"
Released 10 January 1983[1]
Recorded September–November 1982
Studio Windmill Lane Studios (Dublin)
Genre
Length <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • 5:36 (album version)
  • 5:40 (original 12-inch long version)
  • 4:17 (video version)
  • 3:53 (7-inch edit)
Label
Songwriter(s) U2
Producer(s) Steve Lillywhite
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology
"A Celebration"
(1982)		 "New Year's Day"
(1983)		 "Two Hearts Beat as One"
(1983)
Music video
"New Year's Day" on YouTube
Audio sample

"New Year's Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their 1983 album War and was released as the album's lead single in January 1983. With lyrics written about the Polish Solidarity movement, "New Year's Day" is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and the Edge's piano and guitar playing. It was U2's first UK hit single, peaking at number 10, and also their first international hit, reaching number 9 in Norway, number 11 on the Dutch Top 40, number 17 in Sweden, and number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming the band's first single to chart in the US.

In 2004, the song was ranked 427th on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It was also included in the Pitchfork 500.

The UK cover features a photograph of Peter Rowen, who grew up near the group's lead vocalist Bono in Ireland.[4]

Writing and composition

The lyric had its origins in a love song from Bono to his wife,[5] but was subsequently reshaped and inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement.[6] The bassline stemmed from bassist Adam Clayton trying to figure out the chords to the Visage song "Fade to Grey"[7] during a soundcheck.[8]

In 1983, Bono said of the song, "It would be stupid to start drawing up battle lines, but I think the fact that 'New Year's Day' made the Top Ten indicated a disillusionment among record buyers. I don't think 'New Year's Day' was a pop single, certainly not in the way that Mickie Most might define a pop single as something that lasts three minutes and three weeks in the chart. I don't think we could have written that kind of song."[9]

Music video

The video was one of their first to see heavy rotation on MTV. It was filmed in December 1982 in Sälen and Mora, Sweden, and directed by Meiert Avis. The band only appeared in the performance scenes of the video, for it was filmed in the depth of the Swedish winter. U2 guitarist Edge said in the band's official biography that the four people riding on horseback in the video who appeared to be the members of U2 were in fact four Swedish teenage girls with masks over their faces as disguises – employed because the band were frozen from shooting the video in sub-freezing temperatures on the previous day. The biography states that Bono refused to wear any headgear despite the cold weather, and had a lot of trouble mouthing the lyrics.[10] The video also features footage of Soviet troops advancing in winter during World War II.

U2 allowed free-of-charge use of this song in a spot prepared by the European Commission. This clip, published on YouTube, shows a transformation of Poland in the last 20 years, mixed with short scenes from today's Warsaw seen from a perspective of a 20-year-old woman.[11]

Live performances

"New Year's Day", U2's seventh-most frequently performed live song,[12] has been a standard on every U2 tour since its debut on 1 December 1982 at the first show of the War Tour's Pre-Tour. However, the Innocence + Experience Tour only featured three performances of the song.[citation needed]

In concert, the Edge switches between piano and guitar during the song. In 1980s performances he used a Fender Stratocaster and a Yamaha CP70 electric grand piano. During the 1990s and 2000s he alternated between a Gibson Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Standard. The Les Paul that the Edge used during the writing of "New Year's Day" was sold for charity. Until the Elevation Tour, Clayton normally used a chorus effect on his bass guitar when performing this song live.

"New Year's Day" has appeared on many of U2's concert video releases including 1983's U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky, Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago, Live from Paris, and U2 3D.[citation needed]

U2 has never performed in concert the B-side of "New Year's Day", "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop?)", although they played an early version known simply as "Pete the Chop" at some concerts in 1980.[13]

When the band played "New Year's Day" during the Vertigo Tour performance at Silesian Stadium in Poland, the crowd surprised the band when the lower sections waved red-coloured items while other sections waved white, creating the Polish flag.[14] This was repeated during the U2 360° Tour at the same venue.[15][16][17]

Reception

In 2004, Rolling Stone placed the song at number 427 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time";[18] the song was re-ranked to 435th on the magazine's 2010 version of the list.[19] The song was also included in the Pitchfork 500.[20]

Cash Box said in its contemporary review of the single that "an agitated yet steady rhythm lays the foundation for this stark, AOR-slanted single by a thinking man's rock 'n' roll band."[21]

Formats and track listings

7-inch - Island / WIP 6848 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (Short version) 3:53
2. "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"   3:24
7-inch - Island / 811 323-7 (France)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (Edit) 3:40
2. "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"   3:24
7-inch - Island / 7S-86 (Japan)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (Special version) 4:16
2. "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"   3:24
2x7-inch - Island / UWIP6848 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (Short version) 3:53
2. "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"   3:24
3. "Fire" (Live from Werchter, 4 July 1982) 3:45
4. "I Threw a Brick Through a Window"/"A Day Without Me" (Live from Werchter, 4 July 1982) 6:58
12-inch - Island / 12 WIP 6848 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (Album version) 5:35
2. "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"   3:24
3. "Fire" (Live from Werchter, 4 July 1982) 3:45
4. "I Threw a Brick Through a Window"/"A Day Without Me" (Live from Werchter, 4 July 1982) 6:58
12-inch - Island / 814 948-1 (France)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (U.S. remix) 4:30
2. "Two Hearts Beat as One" (U.S. remix) 5:40
CD - Island / 664 973 (Austria)
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Day" (Album version) 5:35
2. "Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"   3:24
3. "Fire" (Live from Werchter, 4 July 1982) 3:45
4. "I Threw a Brick Through a Window"/"A Day Without Me" (Live from Werchter, 4 July 1982) 6:58

Charts

Musique remix

"New Year's Dub"
File:Musique vs. U2 - New Year's Dub.jpg
Single by Musique vs. U2
Released 21 May 2001 (2001-05-21)[37][38]
Length 2:57 (radio edit)
Label Serious
Songwriter(s)
  • U2
  • Moussa Clarke
  • Nick Hanson
Producer(s)
  • Nick Hanson
  • Moose

In May 2001, dance act Musique released a remix of the song, "New Year's Dub". The remix charted in some European countries, including in the UK and in Ireland, where it peaked at number 15 and number 13, respectively. It also charted in Australia, where it peaked at number 74.

Track listings

CD-Maxi Serious 572 922-2
No. Title Length
1. "New Year's Dub" (7-inch Radio Edit) 2:57
2. "New Year's Dub" (Mauro Picotto Club Mix) 8:38
3. "New Year's Dub" (Hybrid Remix) 6:59

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "New Year's Day" by Musique vs. U2
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[39] 74
Ireland (IRMA)[40] 13
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 55
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 93
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[43] 15

Year-end charts

2001 year-end chart performance for "New Year's Day" by Musique vs. U2
Chart (2001) Position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[44] 64
2002 year-end chart performance for "New Year's Day" by Musique vs. U2
Chart (2002) Position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[45] 131

See also

References

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Template:U2 songs

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  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – U2 – New Year's Day" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  24. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6323." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – New Years Day". Irish Singles Chart.
  27. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – U2 – New Year s Day search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  28. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – U2 – New Year's Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  29. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – U2 – New Year's Day". Top 40 Singles.
  30. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – U2 – New Year's Day". VG-lista.
  31. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – U2 – New Year's Day". Singles Top 100.
  32. ↑ "Archive Chart: 19830205" UK Singles Chart.
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  39. ↑ "Issue 587" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia.
  40. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – New Years Dub". Irish Singles Chart.
  41. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Musique vs. U2 – New Years Dub" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  42. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Musique vs. U2 – New Years Dub". Swiss Singles Chart.
  43. ↑ "Archive Chart: 20010602" UK Singles Chart.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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