U2 Play ‘One’ With Daniel Lanois and Break Out Fan Favorite ’40’ at Final Sphere Concert

U2 closed out the final night of their Las Vegas Sphere residency by playing the War deep cut “40” for the first time since 2016. The 1983 tune closed out countless U2 shows throughout the Eighties, and it happened to be U2’s 40th show at the Sphere since they opened up the $2 billion venue in September 2023.

Astute fans knew “40” was coming when bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge swapped instruments, which was a ritual in the group’s early days. “It’s been 40 days and 40 nights in the desert,” Bono told the crowd. “What’s a fellow with a messianic complex going to do? Here’s a song we wrote in 40 minutes. I opened up the sacred text of the Psalm of David. I just kind of read it out. That was the lyric.”

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Earlier in the night, they invited Achtung Baby co-producer Daniel Lanois onto the stage to play guitar on “One.” Bono traditionally played guitar on the song alongside Edge, but he hasn’t been able to use the instrument since he damaged his shoulder and arm in a 2014 Central Park bicycle accident. Lanois and Lady Gaga – who joined the group for “Shallow” and “All I Want Is You” in October 2023 – are the only guests to sit in with U2 throughout the entire Sphere residency.

At the end of the mid-show acoustic set, where they’ve been playing Crowded House’s “Don’t Dream It’s Over” for the past few weeks to honor Alexei Navalny, Bono told the crowd something slightly new was about to happen. “The other day we got a beautiful e-mail from Neil Finn, who wrote this bewilderingly beautiful song,” Bono said. “Attached to the e-mail was a version of the song he said we could play whenever we wanted. It’s a new version that he did, and we’re going to try and record it.”

What followed was a stripped-down rendition of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” where Bono and the Edge duetted virtually with Finn. “Neither party has spoken to our record label [about releasing this], so this might be the only recording that might ever exist,” Bono said. “Please take your phones and send it to whoever loves freedom you know. Maybe send it to people that don’t [too]. There’s a few of them around.”

U2’s plans now that they’re done with the Sphere residency are a bit murky. They haven’t put out an LP of new material since 2017’s Songs of Experience. It’s the longest they’ve gone without releasing an album since the start of their recording career back in 1980. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. remains sidelined by back issues, though he was in the crowd for the penultimate show of the Sphere run on Friday night.

Last year, The Edge told Rolling Stone that they were working on an album “driven by guitar.” “That isn’t to say we are turning into AC/DC,” he said, “but we will find a way to use the instrument in a fresh way as much as possible. It’s still my first love for me as an instrument.” He refused to give a timeline on when it might come out. “We’re anxious and would love to get them out, but there will be a lot of options and other advice we’ll be taking about when to drop some new material,” Edge said. “But just to say, we’ve been busy and very inspired creating new stuff.”

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