U2 aren’t the only ones celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree!
In the new issue of Hot Press, we bring you the definitive insiders’ account of the landmark album that not only made Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam the biggest band on the planet, but also soundtracked a period of seismic change on this island.
“The world looked at us differently as a result of The Joshua Tree,” writes Hot Press Editor, Niall Stokes. “Mary Robinson was elected President soon afterwards and shifted things again. The momentum towards peace in the North gathered pace. Ireland kept producing great singers, great bands. The power of the Church began to crumble. U2 had played their part in style.”
The band, Gavin Friday, legendary Hot Press writer Bill Graham and Joshua Tree producer Daniel Lanois feature in Olaf Tyaransen’s forensic examination of how U2 magicked up the fastest selling record in British and American rock ‘n’ roll history, and one which went on to bag two Grammys and sell over 25 million copies worldwide.
“The Joshua Tree is not Irish in any of the obvious senses,” Bono reflected. “In a much more mysterious way, it is very Irish. The ache, the melancholy, is uniquely Irish.”
Maria McKee, whose band Lone Justice criss-crossed the world with U2 on the Joshua Tree Tour remembers the magical times they had together.
“Bono’s voice was just incredible, he would truly soar,” she says . “It was operatic, almost high church, reverential and transformative.”
U2 designer Steve Averill recalls the Californian desert road trip with photographer Anton Corbijn, which resulted in the album’s classic back cover image.
“Anton spotted this tree out in the distance, a single tree, which is odd because they tend to grow in numbers,” Steve says. “It was just out there on its own and obviously stood out so starkly against the landscape. Anton had his panoramic camera and thought that the location could work. So that’s where we ended up shooting.”
Elsewhere, the band contribute to our excerpt from Niall Stokes’ track-by-track guide to The Joshua Tree; celebrity fans Miriam O’Callaghan, Kevin Thornton and novellist Joe O’Connor tells us why it means so much to them, and we re-print Bill Graham’s prophetic 1987 review of “the first album where U2 have dared to let the demons loose in the studio, the one where ultimately all the issues of religious faith seem as complex and clouded as they really are.”
The new issue of Hot Press is a must-have celebration of the moment when U2 became the biggest band in the world.

You can Buy Hot Press 41-04 : U2 - The Joshua Tree - 30th Anniversary special direct from hotpress.com

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