"It's a love song to our audience": U2 borrow from Blondie's Call Me on new single Atomic City
U2 have released a new single in advance of their 25-date residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Atomic City, which the band premiered during a video shoot at the Fremont Street Experience in the city on Sunday, is available on streaming platforms now.
Eagle-eared listeners may notice the chorus of Atomic City – named after the nickname Las Vegas was given in the 1950s, when the US was testing nuclear bombs at a test site in Nevada – is similar to Blondie's 1980 Call Me. But before anyone calls the copyright lawyers, it should be noted that Call Me's composers – Debbie Harry and Giorgio Moroder – are both credited on Atomic City's YouTube page.
"It’s a love song to our audience," says frontman Bono. "Where you are is where I’ll be."
During the video shoot, Atomic City was introduced as "a rock'n'roll 45 in the tradition of late '70s post-punk". It also marked the return of drummer Larry Mullen, who will be sitting out the residency while he recuperates from surgery. He will be replaced by Bram van den Berg, drummer with Dutch band Krezip.
Atomic City was produced by Jacknife Lee – whose previous work with the band includes remixes of Bullet The Blue Sky and Vertigo – and regular collaborator Steve Lillywhite, who also produced the band's early albums Boy, October and War. It was recorded at Sound City in Los Angeles.
U2's residency at The Sphere begins tomorrow night (September 29). Full dates below.
U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere 2023 dates
Sep 29: Las Vegas Sphere at The Venetian, NV
Sep 30: Las Vegas Sphere at The Venetian, NV
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