U2 showcased songs from their new album ‘Carnaval De Luz’ along with a host of classic tracks at a surprise concert in London in collaboration with the BBC. Check out photos, the setlist and what went down below.
The one-off show was held and recorded at an intimate gig in the underbelly of the Tate Modern Museum inside The South Tank last Tuesday (November 3). The select audience of fans and celebrities included Noel Gallagher, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and rom-com director Richard Curtis, alongside art students from the Royal College of Art, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, Slade School of Fine Art, Norwich University of the Arts, plus young artists and creatives from both Tate Collective and BBC Music Introducing and winners of Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 audience ballot.
Set against a 360 degree backdrop of the artwork ‘77 Million Paintings’ by long-time U2 producer and musician Brian Eno, who was also in the audience, the one-off show followed their recent 50 year anniversary celebration gigs in Dublin in September.
Introduced by Jo Whiley to a pre-recorded version of ‘Zooropa’, Bono gave a shout out to a group of fans at the front sat on beanbags before launching into ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ for its first airing since 2018. They followed with the classic ‘Bad’, which featured on the same 1984 LP, and much like their legendary performance at Live Aid in 1985, Bono threw in the lyrics to The Rolling Stones‘ ‘Ruby Tuesday’.
Bono told the crowd “what a privilege it was” to play at the venue and pointed out that late French-American artist Louise Bourgeois was the first person to open “this incredible place” in 2000 with a giant spider sculpture.
They then debuted new track ‘Can’t Stop Us Now’ from ‘Carnaval De Luz’ ahead of its release on November 13. The rocky number features an upbeat chorus, which finds Bono and guitarist The Edge swapping vocals towards the end.
Ahead of a gentle rendition of ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ track ‘MLK’, Bono recalled how he once went to Bourgeois’ house in Chelsea with some Irish whiskey and explained that “it made him want to sing songs that I don’t know the words to” like the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, which he sang to her.
The band then launched into the seminal ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’ from the same record, which saw Sadiq Khan nodding his head along to before they performed their emotively epic new single ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ for the first time.
Later in the show, U2 played another Eno-produced song ‘COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’ from their recent ‘Easter Lily’ EP.
Wrapping up the show with a euphoric ‘Beautiful Day’, Bono urged the audience to get on their feet before the frontman went into the crowd to bring Eno onstage for closer ‘With Or Without You’, leading the crowd in a football chant of his surname to thank him for his art and continued musical legacy.
U2 played:
‘The Unforgettable Fire’
‘Bad’
‘Can’t Stop Us Now’
‘MLK’
‘Pride (In The Name Of Love’
‘The Greatest Show On Earth’
‘In A Little While’
‘One’
”COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)’
‘Beautiful Day’
‘With Or Without You’
The concert will be broadcast on BBC Two in late November, as part of a night of programming on the channel dedicated to U2. It will also be aired on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds on Monday November 30 between 7pm and 9pm, and come with new interviews with the band.
After the initial broadcasts, the programmes will also be available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, and the band will also join Vernon Kay on his Radio 2 Show for Tracks of My Years – choosing 10 songs that have soundtracked their lives and careers.
Their new album meanwhile will drop this Friday (November 13), their first full-length collection of new material since 2017’s ‘Songs Of Experience’.
They will hit the road for ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’ world stadium tour in 2027 with the band set to play a series of dates at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London next summer. Find any remaining tickets here.
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