The Unforgettable Fire
(9/100 Greatest Irish Albums)

When U2 set about making the follow up to 1983’s War, onlookers were somewhat bemused by the band’s choice of former Roxy Music man, oblique strategist and ambient wizard Brian Eno as producer. However, there was obviously higher instincts at work, with Eno responding to the gospel evangelist in Bono, and his right hand man Daniel Lanois proving the perfect foil for Edge, Adam and Larry. Recorded in Slane Castle in Co. Meath, this was the first U2 album on which the quartet used the studio as brush rather than canvas, with results that were often dense and impressionistic: the majestic title track, the fractious punk-funk of ‘Wire’, the slow motion fireworks of ‘MLK’ and ‘Bad’. The album also contains ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’, U2’s first top five hit single in Britain. The ensuing tour, culminating in Live Aid, established them as one of rock’s biggest acts.