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History FAQ
E: Let's Go Shopping - Pop to The Best of 1980-1990
- Why'd they call the album Pop?
- Who is Bill Graham and why is the album dedicated to him?
- Who are those four guys on the "Please" single?
- My "Please " single doesn't have four guys on it!!??
- Is that supposed to be the McDonald's arch on stage during the PopMart tour?
- Who's that girl (guy?) dancing on the video screen during the "Lemon (Remix)"?
- Did the PopMart tour really play in Springfield? And what's the deal with Adam and spoons?
- I thought U2 said they'd never release a greatest hits / best of album.
- Who's the kid on the cover of the Best of 1980 - 1990 album?
- How come my Best of 1980 - 1990 only has one CD, but yours has two?
1.
Why'd they call the album Pop?
Because it was a satire/tribute to pop music, pop art, pop culture....
[QC]
Edge offered this explanation to the online magazine Reverberation:
"It's our most diverse record ever, sonically and in terms
of the influences and in some ways that's why the title Pop
seems somehow appropriate at the end is because it's sort of
a broad term. It doesn't really tie you down to one style, one
idea. It's quite open." [M2]
2. Who is Bill Graham
and why is the album dedicated to him?
Bill Graham was one of the band's earliest Dublin supporters
who became one of their best friends and advisors. He was a longtime
writer and co-founder of Hot Press magazine who was actually the
person who suggested U2 ask Paul McGuinness to be their manager.
Bill died May 11, 1996, at the age of 44. Bono and Edge were pallbearers
at his funeral, and Bono sang Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song"
during the funeral Mass. [M2]
3. Who are those four guys
on the "Please" single?
The four guys on the "Please" single are:
- Gerry Adams (the leader of Sinn Fein) is on the top left corner
with a green face.
- David Trimble (moderate unionist party) is on the top right
corner with a yellow face.
- Ian Paisley (radical unionist party) is on the bottom right
corner with a red face.
- John Hume (moderate democratic party) is on the bottom left
corner with a blue face.
All these men took part in the Northern Ireland peace process.
[CM]
4. My "Please"
single doesn't have four guys on it!!??
That's because it's the "Please PopHeart EP," with live songs
from the PopMart Tour. [CG]
5. Is that supposed to be
the McDonald's arch on stage during the PopMart tour?
See the Live / Concert FAQ for an answer.
6. Who's that girl (guy?)
dancing on the video screen during the "Lemon (Remix)"?
See the Live / Concert FAQ for an answer.
7. Did the PopMart Tour really
play in Springfield? And what's the deal with Adam and spoons?
U2 were guests on the 200th episode of The Simpsons, titled
"Trash of the Titans", airing for the first time on April 26,
1998, in North America. Bono, Edge and Adam had speaking parts,
Larry was in character in a non-speaking role, and therefore did
not attend the studio for the recording. The band performed a
song called "The Garbageman" which aired during the TV program.
The song appears on the album Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons,
but that version was done by studio musicians without U2. On the
show, the PopMart Tour does visit The Simpsons' hometown of Springfield.
Adam, it seems, was spotted a few times purchasing collectible
state / city spoons on the PopMart Tour. During this Simpsons
episode there was a skit at the end where Adam was showing off
his "Springfield spoon, for my spoon collection." There was also
an interview with Adam, I believe for Hot Press, where Adam is
presented a spoon as a gift from the interviewer. I think as a
joke. Not very funny. [AC, SCT, AS]
8. I thought U2 said they'd
never release a greatest hits / best of album.
Well...they changed their minds!
The record deal that covers the three "Best Of" compilations
was signed in the midst of Seagrams' acquisition of Polygram,
which owns Island Records. There were many suggestions in the
financial media that the U2 Best Of record deal was a means
for U2 to use a holiday release (The Best of 1980-1990
was released Nov. 3, 1998) to help bolster the revenues and value
of Island / Polygram. At the time, Polygram's business performance
had been declining so much that Seagrams was able to cut its'
original takeover price by $200 million.
Similar evidence suggested U2 agreed to the Best Of deal
as a sort-of "going away" gift to Island Records. With the sale
of Island / Polygram to Seagrams, there was a major shakeup at
several of the record labels involved. In the process, U2 switched
to Interscope Records for its future U.S. studio releases, but
the Best Of contract called even for the future Best
Of albums to be released on the Island label. [QC, M2]
9. Who's the kid on the cover
of The Best of 1980-1990 album?
Peter Rowen, the same boy on who's on the cover of Boy
and War. (see History FAQ
section A) The photograph was taken prior to the War album
release. It is also featured on some of the War Tour programs.
[M2, CG]
10. How come my Best
of 1980-1990 only has one CD, but yours has two?
The Best Of album was released in two formats: the first
had two CDs (the Best Of and the B-Sides) and was
released in a limited edition that was supposed to be on store
shelves only for a week. (But most stores pre-ordered so many
copies of the album that it remained available long after the
first week of release. And while this version was called "limited",
the initial production run was at least in the six-figure range,
and the 2-CD set was even re-released in the U.S. in 2001.) The
second version of the album, with only the Best Of CD,
was released a week later and was supposed to replace the 2-CD
set on store shelves. [CG, M2, AS]
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